This guide below will help you have good knowledge in choosing the right wheel's material. Honestly, each material have its own strength and weakness ~ no material either perfect or superior than others. Wheel tread materials can be categorized into three large types: rubber, plastic and metal.

Rubber Wheel

Rubber wheels are often cushion, shock absorbing and noise reduction. The load capacity of rubber wheels are much less than plastic wheel, average load capacity of rubber wheels should be around 6 - 350kgs per wheel. If properly use, the rubber wheels should have better life time than PU, can be last for 2 - 5 years working or more. However the rubber wheels are weak against gas, oil, grease and chemicals as they will break the rubber's component thus deform or even destroy the rubber. Rubber wheels have some main lines as follow:

Natural rubber



Using the main raw material is natural rubber latex, then vulcanized and molded at high temperature. Natural rubber wheels have low elasticity, moderate wear and tear resistance, and are easily aging due to weather effects.

In terms of load, Natural Rubber usually has the lowest load.

Natural rubber wheels are a strong product of Vietnam - thanks to the abundant domestic rubber raw materials.

Artificial rubber



Artificial rubber is made from compounds derived from the petroleum production process. Synthetic rubber has better elasticity and wear resistance, tear resistance than natural rubber.

The load of Synthetic Rubber is the highest. But the price is also at the top of the rubber line.

This material is often used in high-quality goods from Korea and Japan. Catching the trend, our Vietnamese manufacturers are also investing heavily in this segment.

Soft rubber (ER & TPR)



Includes Elastic Rubber (ER) and ThermoPlastic Rubber (TPR)

  • TPR: created by the synthesis of thermoplastics with rubber. So TPR is not only resistant to water, gasoline, grease and light chemicals but also have good elasticity, help reduce noise and shock very well.
  • ER: slightly softer and tougher than TPR, but not as resistant to gasoline and petroleum (!)

TPR and ER rubber are both non-marking, it means they leave no rolling marks on the floor.

Specialized rubber wheels

Pneumatic: There are two types of tires: pneumatic tires and tubeless tires. To make it easier to imagine, the type of tire with a tube is a bicycle tire; and tubeless tires are the tires of today's scooters. There is also an airless tire with a solid shell of wear-resistant hard rubber, the inner core occupying a large volume made of high-elastic soft rubber. Inflatable tires are shockproof, anti-vibration and especially noise-reducing. This ability is rated as the best. Rubber tires are widely used for hotels, restaurants, resorts and medical areas.

Anti Static rubber: The name is anti that but actually conductive rubber. Conductive matter is added to create a path through to lead the static electricity generated on the platform is sucked to the steel frame and then transmitted through the rubber tire to the ground. Electrostatic wheel on request with impedance at 103 ~ 109 ohm/sq

Plastic wheel

In Vietnam, in addition to plastic beads made from Dung Quat oil refinery and recycled plastic beads, the main raw materials still have to be imported from abroad. In general, plastic wheels are resistant to water, gasoline, grease and some mild chemicals. Plastic wheels have a large load, if the same diameter plastic wheels can have a load of 2 - 10 times more than rubber wheels. It can be roughly divided into two main types: Nylon and PU. Currently, PU plastic is used the most thanks to its wide hardness range, very durable: very good abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, and especially PU is environmental friendly. The main characteristics of each type are as follows:

PA (Nylon 6)

1. Nylon

Nylon: including many materials such as PP, PA (Nylon 6), PVC, PC, MC, etc. Nylon's resistance to water, gasoline, grease and some common chemicals is much better than that of PU.

Nylon is widely used in industry thanks to its ease of rolling, high load bearing and almost no aging – the life span of Nylon can be up to several decades, much longer than PU. In return, hard nylon will cause noise, which is not suitable for use in areas that need quiet and should only be moved on smooth surfaces or for heavy vehicle systems for a long time. If used a lot and continuously in a chemical environment, it is recommended to use Nylon wheels with 304 stainless steel bracket.

2. PU (Poly Urethane)

PU: High load and wear resistance. PU wheel is non-marking even when the vehicle is loaded with heavy loads. PU has a small elasticity, so the wheel also has certain shock absorption and noise reduction capabilities, although not as good as rubber. PU has weak hydrolytic stability, so its durability is strongly affected by the humid environment, especially the hot and humid climate of Vietnam. PU is also less resistant to heat, especially in very hot or cold environments. Accordingly, the physic-chemical ability - which is also the quality decreases due to aging over time.

PU in the Castes and Wheels industry is divided into 2 types depending on the production method: powder pressing and casting from liquid materials. PU pressed from powder is also known as TPU with a lifespan of 2-3 years. PU molded from liquid materials has a longer service life of 3-5 years.

PU cốt gang
Nhựa PA pha sợi thủy tinh chịu nhiệt

3. Heat resistant

Heat resistant: usually Phenolic or PA reinforced with glass fiber. PA kind has a higher load capacity, is more resistant to heat, but also has a higher cost.

Among plastics, the resistance to water, grease, mild acids and common chemicals of heat-resistant plastics is the best. Most importantly, the wheel can withstand high temperatures, depending on the specific material the wheel can withstand temperatures ranging from 200 to 260°C.

The wheel is hard and if it is small (Ø75mm or less) may not be round (the wheel is slightly distorted) due to very high temperature machining, so it is difficult to control the shrinkage of the wheel during cooling. Therefore, often heat-resistant plastic wheels will have traces of machining to be rounded.

Metal wheel

Occupying the lowest proportion in both quantity and sales, this item is usually not imported. Heavy and clunky metal wheels give the user a solid, durable feel.

Wheels can be cast iron, steel or more rarely, SUS. This type is often used as a gate wheel or a rail wheel. Since it is made of processed and tempered metal, the metal wheel can be used in toaster ovens or even extremely hot places such as brick kilns, steel furnaces, etc.

Note:

  • Not recommended for use on expensive surfaces (stone floors, industrial painted floors) due to the plowing and breaking ability of this wheel.
  • Be especially careful when the vehicle is carrying a heavy load or has just been taken out of the oven/ heater, drying with high temperature.

Summary table of product features by material

Rating: A = Excellent | B = Good | C = Average | D = Weak

AttributePPPAPUPU on Iron, Steel coreElastic Rubber (ER)ER on Iron, Steel coreThermoPlastic Rubber (TPR)Pneumatic tireFoam rubberCast iron
Load (kgs)≤ 500 ≤ 3.500 ≤ 1.100 50 ~ 2.000 ≤ 350100 – 500 ≤ 350≥ 125 ≤ 300≥ 200
Lowest Temp.-25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -25°C -40°C
Highest Temp.708070707080808080120
Hardness65D70 – 75D95 ± 2A90 ± 2A 70A75A70A/65A/
Easy to rollBABBCCBCCC
Noise reductionDDCCAAAAAD
Shock absorbingBACBBABAAB
Tear and wear resitantCACABBBBCA
Oil resistantBBBBDDBDDA
Light chemical resistantBBCACBACCA
Strong chemical resistantDBDBCBBCDC
Check our Analysis of the Chemical resistant base on Wheel material
The data table is for reference only, depending on the actual use, please contact us for more details.

Summary table of the responsiveness of the material to the substrate

Rating: A = Excellent | B = Good | C = Average | D = Weak

Ground surfacePPPAPUPU on Iron, Steel coreElastic Rubber (ER)ER on Iron, Steel coreThermoPlastic Rubber (TPR)Pneumatic tireFoam rubberCast iron
Cement
CBBBBBCBCC
Granite tile
CCBCB AABAD
Wooden tile
DDCCAAABAD
Carpet
AAAABBBBBD
AsphaltBBBBCCBCCA
The data table is for reference only, depending on the actual use, please contact us for more details.

Hardness Comparison Table

Based on the Shore A & Shore D scale. The smaller the value, the softer the material.