Braking Ground: A Comprehensive Guide to Diverse Industrial Caster Brake Types
When purchasing industrial casters, people can get lost in the sea of information surrounding the multiple possibilities. At Barron Equipment, we’d like to provide the most information possible to help you make an informed decision about your casters that will provide the best ergonomics and highest efficiencies for your company.
One aspect of casters that can become complicated is choosing the type of brake for the casters. Not all casters come with wheel brakes. This is an optional add-on to many of our swivel casters and some of our rigid casters. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of caster brakes we offer:
The Face Contact Brake
A Face Contact Brake mounts directly onto the tread of the wheel. It is engaged at the trailing end of the caster and it locks directly onto the face (or the tread) of the wheel.
Benefits of this type of brake are that they are fantastic for everyday use and they have the capability to be field installed. This brake is also commonly used on Mother/Daughter carts transported long distances throughout a factory.
Barron casters that include a Face Contact Brake have part numbers that end in “FCB.”
The Built in Brake
Similar to the Face Contact Brake, the Built in Brake on a caster makes contact with the tread of the wheel in order to stop the caster, but this brake is built into the fork of the caster.
Because of its unique design, this brake is stronger than the Face Contact Brake and is ideal for heavy duty applications, especially when the caster brakes are consistently being engaged and disengaged more than average.
You will also find this style of brake being used in Mother/Daughter cart applications, similar to the Face Contact Brake.
For Barron casters with Built in Brakes, look for “BIB” at the end of the part number.
Check out this video to learn about the differences between the Face Contact Brake and the Built in Brake (or Integrated Brake as it’s referred to in this video).
The Top Lock Brake
Rather than being mounted on to the face of the wheel, like the Face Contact Brake and Built in Brake, the Top Lock Brake is mounted to the side of the caster with a lock that activates on the top face of the wheel.
Because of the placement of the activation pedal, there is a smaller swivel radius for the swivel caster, making this brake an ideal option for applications in tight spaces.
While this brake is only available with our 40 series, Industrial Casters, it does have the option to be added to a rigid caster, which is not common for most brake types. Another advantage to the Top Lock Brake is that they are field installable. If you purchase a 40 series caster and decide you need a brake later, Barron can help get top lock brakes installed in the field.
To find casters with a Top Lock Brake, look for part numbers that end in “TB.”
The Ideal Stop Brake
The Ideal Stop Brake is a total lock brake and is the best caster brake offered by Barron Equipment. It not only locks the wheel, but also the swivel raceway simultaneously. The pedal of the brake does not rotate with the swivel part of the caster, so it’s always accessible. The main disadvantage for other brake types is that they are not always accessible if the caster swivels under the cart.
Another advantage of the Ideal Stop Brake is that it eliminates the need for floor locks. Two brakes can also be merged into one by using a foot bar to engage two brakes at once. The only disadvantage for this type of brake is that it’s only available on 40 series Industrial Casters – specifically 6 inch and 8 inch wheel diameters.
Caster models with Ideal Stop Brakes have “IS” at the end of the part number.
Check out the video below for more information about our Ideal Stop Brake.
Additional Items
A couple of other options available for casters include a Ring Activated Demountable Swivel Lock or a Foot Activated Demountable Swivel Lock. To activate the Ring Activated Lock, a ring is pulled. For the Foot Activated Lock, a pedal is stepped on to activate the lock.
The purpose of these locks are to lock swivel casters into place so they can essentially become rigid casters. This can be beneficial when you’re moving a cart into a tight area that requires four swivel casters, but then needs a change in application to have two rigid and two swivel casters. A ring can be pulled or a pedal can be stepped on to engage the lock on two out of the four casters, allowing for more versatility within the application.
Casters with Demountable Swivel Locks will have “DSL” at the end of the part number.
| Brake Type | Built for Heavy Duty Applications | Field Installable | Ideal for Tight Spaces | Always Accessible | Available for any Caster Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Face Contact Brake | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Built in Brake | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Top Lock Brake | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Ideal Stop Brake | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Conclusion
Barron Equipment carries a wide variety of industrial swivel casters and industrial rigid casters, along with caster brakes that allow for higher efficiency and longer service life of casters. Still not sure which caster is best for your application? We have a team of specialists dedicated to educating people on the different benefits and types of caster products. Fill out the form below and a caster specialist will be in touch soon!