There are various names and applications for no crush wheels, and also numerous reasons to specify polyurethane versions. What is involved in specifying them?
There are times when the lightest of touches, and minimal friction or pressure, are core values for how wheels operate within machinery and equipment. That runs alongside ensuring they are perfect in terms of size, shape and performance too.
This is when ‘no crush wheels’ are required, though you may also have seen them referred to as zero crush rollers, soft touch wheels, or even spacer or hold-down wheels.
The common denominator is that this item needs specific tensile, structural and performance factors. Each of which ‘revolves’ around a component that reduces contact force and friction.
Where would no crush wheels be vitally important? Wheels that guide and move materials along without leaving a mark are a common requirement for manufacturing paper and board, for instance. Soft touch wheels can also be vital in printing, laminating and coating machinery.
Textile manufacturing is another sector that relies on passing materials through a production process – often swiftly – without affecting the integrity, aesthetics and other quality standards of materials.
You will also find no crush wheels in fields such as label and carton printing and bottle manufacturing, when speed is of the essence, without compromising the finish on each product.
How is a no crush wheel made?
The design of a machinery wheel that guides and moves without leaving a mark is crucial. To offer a specific degree of traction and pressure usually requires a wheel with a distinctive spoke structure. This looks like a series of equally spaced ribs in the body of the wheel, which enable the surface of the part to move materials along without pressure, dragging or interruption.
However, when you use a specialist to manufacture this part, it can still involve wheels operating under high levels of speed, able to stand up to considerable wear and tear. That’s due to the versatility and durability of polyurethane for no crush components.
Why polyurethane wheels for a soft touch?
No crush or soft touch wheels must be robust enough to withstand daily demands, but also environmental issues such as heat or cold, and moisture in the air. For instance, imagine the problems you can get when wheels are being used to guide paper into a printing press, and they warp, contract, expand or slip.
It can sometimes be tricky to pinpoint why you have a drop in quality in this situation.
Fortunately, polyurethane is highly resistant to all climates and contaminates in modern manufacturing settings.
What other reasons are there for sourcing no crush wheels made of polyurethane?
Polyurethane is probably best known for its ability to match a vast range of shore hardness specs – from foams and adhesives to structures as firm as metal.
So, one of the best reasons this material is ideal for soft touch wheels, is that it can be custom produced to match even the most exacting, specialist formats. Polyurethane’s versatility means it can be moulded into the exact shape and size needed too, with any intricate finishing touches required. Always with all the ‘give and take’ required for high performance in no-crush operations.
However, polyurethane is also superbly durable too, reducing the number of times you need to replace no crush wheels in your machinery. That can make polyurethane a cost-effective option for this specialist component, especially when you source soft touch rollers and wheels from a British manufacturer.
Read more:What is MOCA in Polyurethane?
Where to buy polyurethane no-crush wheels
The team at UK-based Custom Moulded Polyurethane can produce soft touch wheels in a shore hardness range of 45 to 95. That includes 100% accurate parts, in any colour, size and shape.
We can work in partnership with specifiers, to produce the perfect zero-crush wheel for any application that is also long-lasting and reliable.
The fact we are a British polyurethane expert means lead times are low too, for both wheel prototypes and substantial production runs.
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