Many people believe that casters do not experience wear and tear as long as they have not been mounted on equipment.

As a result, spare casters in the warehouse often sit untouched for long periods: cardboard boxes pile up in the corner, with the wheels pressed underneath, and they’re simply pulled out and installed whenever replacement is needed.

However, casters don’t “stay exactly as they are forever as long as they don’t turn.”

In particular, casters made of materials such as rubber or polyurethane remain susceptible to environmental factors, compressive stress, and storage conditions during long-term storage.

Therefore, inventory management for casters should go beyond simply tracking “how many are left” and also take into account: What is the current condition of these wheels?

I. Why do inventory casters also change?

Casters are composed of various materials and structures, including metal brackets, wheel hubs, wheel treads, and other mating components.

Different materials exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to storage conditions.

When exposed for extended periods to high temperatures, intense sunlight, humid conditions, or environments containing specific chemical agents, the properties of certain materials may gradually change.

This kind of change is often not as obvious as operational damage.

A caster that has been in inventory for a long time may still appear intact upon retrieval, but that does not mean it is in exactly the same condition as when it was first received.

Therefore, “Not used” cannot be simply equated with “not aged.”

II. The Most Easily Overlooked Issue: Long-Term Storage Under Pressure

To save space, warehouses often stack full-carton casters in layers.

When the packaging is appropriate, this approach poses no inherent issues.

What truly requires attention is to prevent the casters’ wheel surfaces from being subjected to unreasonable, concentrated loads over extended periods.

For example, when bulk casters are stacked haphazardly, with heavy loads on the upper tiers pressing continuously on specific wheel surfaces, or when spare wheels are directly subjected to the weight of other materials, the wheel surfaces may remain under sustained compressive stress.

In particular, wheel‑rim materials with a certain degree of elasticity require extra attention to the manner in which they are loaded during storage.

Warehousing is not the point of use, but improper storage practices can nonetheless compromise product condition ahead of schedule.

III. Sunlight and Heat Sources Are Not Ideal Neighbors

Some warehouses are located near windows, roofs, or production equipment, and certain areas may be exposed to prolonged sunlight or heat sources.

If casters are left in these locations for an extended period, the storage environment may differ significantly from that of other areas in the warehouse.

Therefore, spare casters are best placed in a relatively stable location, protected from prolonged direct exposure to strong light and kept away from obvious heat sources.

This is especially true for products that are kept in inventory for extended periods.

Don’t wait until you pull it out years later only to discover that the appearance and condition of items from the same batch have already diverged.

4. Also, avoid storing together with unknown chemicals.

Industrial warehouses may simultaneously store lubricants, cleaning agents, and other production materials.

If the caster packaging is damaged and the casters are stored for extended periods near chemicals that are prone to leakage, volatilization, or splashing, the risk of material degradation may increase.

Therefore, the caster storage area should be kept clean and protected from prolonged direct contact with liquids or oils of unknown origin.

If special media are indeed present on site, the assessment should be based on the caster material rather than assuming that “it’s fine as long as it’s stored in a box.”

V. Don’t Let the Spare Tire Become a “Forgotten Tire”

Many companies keep casters in commonly used sizes in stock.

The problem is that newly purchased items keep getting added to the front, while the older inventory remains stuck at the back.

Over time, a very common phenomenon emerges:

The newly arrived products are used frequently, while the earliest batch purchased has remained largely unused for a long time.

Therefore, casters inventory is also well-suited for maintaining clear records of receipt dates and batch numbers, and, where feasible, for rotating stock in a logical sequence.

This not only simplifies inventory management but also makes it easier to trace the relevant batch and storage duration should any anomalies be detected later.

6. For casters that have been in stock for a long time, it is best to re-inspect them before installation.

For casters that have been stored for an extended period and are being put back into service, it is not recommended to install them directly after unpacking.

You can start with a basic check:

Inspect the wheel tread for cracks, deformation, or other abnormalities.

Inspect the condition of metal components;

Manually rotate the wheel and associated moving components;

Operational control components: verify that the movements are functioning properly.

A simple comparison with standard inventory products.

In particular, for spare wheels intended for critical equipment, taking a few extra minutes to inspect them is often far more efficient than discovering problems after they’ve been installed.

VII. Warehouse management is also part of caster quality management.

Many companies conduct rigorous incoming inspections of supplier‑provided materials, yet they overlook what happens once the products enter their own warehouses.

In fact, from the time the product arrives to storage and finally to installation, there may be a considerable amount of time in between.

If this stage is entirely unmanaged, even products that enter the warehouse in good condition cannot be guaranteed to remain in the same condition after long-term storage.

Therefore, caster quality management should not end with the phrase “inspection and warehousing.”

Proper storage is, in itself, part of the product’s usage process.

Written at the end

The wear and tear of casters does not necessarily begin only on the day the equipment is first moved.

Prolonged compression, environmental changes, improper stacking, and chaotic inventory turnover can all cause spare casters to undergo an extended storage period even before they are put into actual service.

Therefore, for casters stored long-term in inventory, it is recommended to at least take the following three measures:

Maintain a stable storage environment and avoid prolonged exposure to abnormal pressure.
Record the time of receipt and batch numbers, and manage inventory turnover efficiently.
Before reactivating long-term inventory, perform another basic inspection.

From the completion of production to its actual installation on the equipment, every step in the process can potentially affect its final performance.

How long have the spare casters been sitting in your warehouse? Before taking them out for installation, do you give them a thorough re‑inspection? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Caster Daily Post

Equipment needs to be mobile yet also “stable”: Why are casters often used in conjunction with leveling feet?

Many industrial devices have a seemingly contradictory requirement:

During installation, it needs to be easy to move, but during production, the equipment is expected to be as stable as if it were permanently anchored to the floor.

If only casters are installed, the equipment is indeed easy to move; however, during prolonged machining or operation, or when subjected to external forces, the casters continuously bear part of the load. On the other hand, using fixed support feet directly improves stability, but makes repositioning the equipment more cumbersome.

As a result, on cabinets, workbenches, testing equipment, and certain automated systems, one often sees a particular combination:

The casters handle “walking,” while the adjusting feet ensure “standing.”

It may seem like only a few extra support brackets have been added, but in reality, it rests on two entirely different load‑bearing principles.

I. Why can’t casters handle all functions?

The core function of casters is to enable equipment to be mobile.

Wheels must roll, and universal joints must change direction; these moving components inherently classify it as a “mobile system.”

However, once the equipment is in operation, the requirements may be entirely different.

For example, operators may need to apply continuous force on the workbench, machines may vibrate during operation, or equipment may need to remain in a relatively stable position.

At this point, continuing to transfer the entire load to the ground via casters over the long term may not be the most appropriate solution.

Therefore, some devices are equipped with adjustable feet, allowing the mobile and stationary components to be supported by separate structures.

II. Who bears the load—casters or adjustable feet?

It depends on how the device is designed.

A common approach is:

When the equipment needs to be moved, raise the leveling feet so that the casters make contact with the floor and bear the equipment’s weight.

After the equipment has been positioned at the designated location, lower the leveling feet to ensure more stable support.

Some designs even allow the casters to bear less load or lift off the ground once the equipment is secured.

At this point, the casters and leveling feet do not simultaneously “compete for the load”; rather, they perform distinct functions depending on the operating conditions.

Look at the casters in motion; look at the supports when at work.

Only by understanding this can one properly design the spatial relationship between the two.

III. Why can adjustable feet also address uneven flooring?

Although the industrial floor appears level, it does not necessarily mean that every support point of the equipment is at exactly the same height.

For large worktables, cabinets, or equipment frames, even slight unevenness can result in inadequate contact at certain locations.

The value of adjustable feet lies in their ability to fine-tune the height according to site conditions, ensuring the equipment is supported in a more optimal configuration.

So its function is not merely “to lift the equipment.”

It simultaneously serves to level and stabilize the equipment.

This is also why, after installation, some precision equipment requires re‑alignment of its support points, rather than simply being pushed into place and considered finished.

IV. The “switching process” is often the most overlooked aspect in design.

When casters are used in combination with leveling feet, the truly critical aspect lies in the transition of the equipment from a mobile to a fixed state.

If the adjustment mechanism is difficult to operate, each equipment relocation will take a long time, and field personnel may simply become reluctant to use it.

If the support structure is improperly designed, the equipment may become unstable upon landing.

Therefore, when designing, in addition to considering “whether it can be adjusted,” one should also take into account:

Is the operating position convenient?

Whether the equipment remains stable during lifting and lowering;

Whether the support is reliable after adjustment;

Can it smoothly return to the caster‑supported state when moved again?

A good structure isn’t just theoretically sound—it’s one that on-site personnel are willing to use every day.

5. Do not treat the leveling feet as a “patch” for casters.

After some equipment was designed, it was found to be unstable in motion, so a few adjustable feet were added on short notice.

This line of thinking tends to oversimplify the issue.

It is best to consider casters and adjustable feet together during the equipment design phase.

Because the two factors jointly influence the bottom clearance, support locations, stress distribution in the equipment frame, and operating procedures.

In particular, when the equipment is relatively large, if the adjusting feet are positioned too far from the primary load-bearing area, even with the feet fully on the ground, an optimal support configuration may still not be achieved.

Therefore, the adjustment foot cannot simply be installed in any available slot.

6. After the equipment is secured, also verify the status of the casters.

There is also an issue at the scene that is easy to overlook:

After the adjustable foot is lowered to the ground, has the caster been fully unloaded?

Some structures merely add auxiliary support, with the casters still bearing part of the load.

Some structures, on the other hand, can significantly reduce the load on the casters.

There are also some devices that lift the casters completely off the ground.

The design logic behind these states is not the same.

Therefore, when performing equipment maintenance and selecting casters, it is essential to first understand the actual structural configuration; one should not assume that a caster is no longer load‑bearing simply because it has an adjustment foot.

7. Which devices are worth considering for this combination?

If a piece of equipment simultaneously exhibits both “occasional mobility” and “stable operation during use,” it is worth considering a combination of casters and adjustable feet.

For example, mobile workstations, industrial cabinets, testing equipment, automation units, and mechanical equipment that require adjustable workstation positioning.

They may not need to be moved long distances every day, but when it comes to repositioning, maintenance, or rearranging the layout, they should be easy to move.

In such scenarios, casters and adjustable feet each fulfill their respective roles, which is often more practical than expecting a single component to address all issues at once.

Written at the end

When designing the base of industrial equipment, you can’t just ask:

“What kind of casters are you pretending to be?”

A more complete question would be:

When does the equipment need to be moved?

When is immobilization necessary?

Who bears the load when moving?

And who supports you at work?

When a device requires both flexible mobility and stable operation, casters and adjustable feet are not mutually exclusive options.

One is responsible for getting the device up and running, while the other ensures it stays stable.

Only by carefully considering these two states in advance can the device’s bottom structure truly constitute a complete mobility and support system.

Is your on-site equipment secured directly by casters, or do you use a combination of casters and adjustable feet? Feel free to share your real-world experience in the comments.