The Many Benefits of Air Casters
Air casters go by many names including air pads, air skates, air skids and air bearings. Air casters are commonly used to lift and move heavy, awkward, delicate or unbalanced loads on a film of compressed air. Air casters have been used in every major industry for over 50 years and have become a proven effective material handling technology.
The benefit to air casters is the significant reduction in downtime and manpower costs while realizing significant gains in safety. Unlike rollers or wheeled equipment, air casters are omni-directional and take remarkably little manpower to move and maneuver — a capability of great value in tight spaces. Air casters are highly maneuverable and precise – they can thread gigantic components between columns, equipment, shelving, or components that are typically in the move path. Floating a load on air makes it easy to traverse corners and make u-turns or spin a load around and back it out or in. Some staggeringly heavy loads can be safely moved by a single person or a small crew, contributing to reduced downtime and reduced manpower costs.
Air casters are often used in conjunction with traditional material handling such as cranes, forklifts or conveyors. Sometimes air bearings are the only available load moving option when it is impossible to install a crane or conveyor system into a facility. Plant managers purchase air caster systems in order to make efficient use of the areas surrounding an installed crane or conveyor system.
The additional benefit to air casters is low floor load and no floor damage, cuts, or dents. Oftentimes wheels or rollers used to move heavy loads run the risk of scraping the floor or falling through the floor. Air bearings solve the floor loading issue because the load is spread out over a huge area – much larger than a wheel or roller. The net floor load with an air bearing is virtually the same as would be put on the floor when a person walks across it.
For more information on air casters, contact 800-426-4757 or email [email protected] or visit www.aerogo.com. AeroGo products are CE compliant and meet ISO9001:2008 quality standards.
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