A CUSTOMERS NEED RESULTED IN A REGISTERED PATENT
A leading global customer had a problem. They needed an easy-to-handle fully braked castor that would be mounted in a space with minimal construction dimensions. The challenge was to be able to reach the brake with the foot. They asked Swede-Wheel for help. The result was a revolutionary brake solution and a registered patent.

It turned out that Swede-Wheel needed to solve two problems.
Hans Odin, Product Development Manager at Swede-Wheel explains the problem faced by the development team:
"We have been supplying wheels to the customer's cart for several years. What was new was that the customer's customer had expanded the work function for the cart. The trolley would now also serve as a display in stores and with that came new requirements. The wheel needed to pass a noise PIEK test and at the same time have as low rolling resistance as possible. This meant that we could no longer use the old wheel, but we had to start two projects. One for the bracket/brake and one for the material of the wheel."
The choice of material determines the characteristics of the wheel.
Hans says that the previous wheel consisted of elastic rubber with a hardness of 75° Shore A together with hard PP. PP material does not pass the PIEK test, and the elastic rubber has two disadvantages. On the one hand, it gives the trolley too much rolling resistance and, on the other hand, it is manufactured in Asia with long delivery times.
Step 1. Brake.
The development team's experience and willingness to solve the problem paid off! The brake pedal was designed in two parts that make it easy to both lock and release the brake. When you step on the red field, you lock the wheel. To release the brake, one has only to press the green pedal. As icing on the cake, the turning radius was also minimized.
Step 2. Wheel material
The new softer wheel is based on Swede-Wheel's standard PUR/ TPU 98° Shore A. The new material passes the PIEK test and shows a much better rolling resistance than the elastic rubber.
Investments that brought benefits
During this project, Swede-Wheel benefited greatly from the possibility of manufacturing tools under its own roof. "The fact that we have the opportunity to manufacture tools in-house gave us the opportunity to quickly test the concept during the work. In short, the drawing went from CAD directly to tools and prototype, which gives both us and the customer quick results", concludes Hans.