5 Tips for Selecting Heavy-Duty Industrial Carts

The movement of heavy materials and equipment are part of the operational procedures in many warehouses and manufacturing shop floors.

When moving heavy items, certain precautions must be taken to ensure shop floor traffic is properly managed and accidents are avoided. To achieve these, it is generally recommended that heavy-duty industrial carts be used in transporting heavy equipment across the shop floor. But when choosing heavy-duty carts, there are some important details to look out of and here are the five tips you need to know.

Load Per Cart

As expected, the first step to take when choosing a heavy-duty cart is to understand the load it intends to carry. The weight of the load should be measured or determined and an additional 25 to 30% of the measured weight should also be added to the initial measurement. This total weight should then serve as the load used in searching or selecting your cart. The reason for the additional 30% is to ensure the safe use of the cart in diverse situations.

Here is an example of how to calculate load per cart. For a 2000lb load, the total load capacity for choosing a cart should be 2600lbs. Thus the selected cart must be able to support or carry 2600lbs of load.

Caster or Swivel Tires

Heavy-duty carts rely on casters or swivel tires to provide the support and ease of movement required to transport items across the shop floor. Thus, this support base must be equipped to carry heavy loads and move around with buckling under stress. Here again, an understanding of the weight to be carried is important. Also, the degree of freedom the swivel tires can achieve must be put into the equation, as well as, the speed at which it travels across the shop floor.

Shop Floor Environment and Layout

The environment where the heavy-duty industrial cart is to be used is also a key consideration. This is because the shop floor layout determines the width and in some cases, the height of the cart to be used. Other environmental considerations include the floor condition, and again the load to be transported. Having an understanding of the environment the heavy-duty cart will be applied, allows you plan for the material and coating the cart should be built with. These parameters will also affect the swivel tires the cart should run with.

Power-driven Vs. Manual Driven

Another specification to consider is the process used in transporting the heavy-duty industrial cart across the shop floor. For heavier equipment such as automobile components and large assemblies, manually pushing the cart across the shop floor is impossible. Thus, a power-driven cart is recommended. Manually driven carts can also be used for transporting heavy-duty items but supporting mechanisms that enable load transfer are integrated into the development. So, the choice between a power-driven or a manually driven cart depends on the load to be carried.

Additional Support Features

Versatility is great for material handling and this also applies when selecting heavy-duty industrial carts. A versatile cart equipped with hangers to transport hanging tubes, as well as, heavy-duty equipment will be more useful to the material handling process.

Heavy-Duty Industrial Carts You Should Use

With these tips in mind, here are some heavy-duty carts you can consider for your material handling processes:

Heavy Duty Hanger Cart – 1400 x 1120 mm – Q-100-0872

This unique cart is designed for transporting extremely heavy hanging components. Each of the hangers is reinforced so they can withstand carrying heavy cables, wires & chains. The cart is also equipped with a tow bar so it can be transported easily throughout your facility.

The Shelf Tugger Cart (1260 x 2730mm) – Q-100-2500

The shelf tugger cart is for heavy-duty material handling and it is equipped with to transport loads of 999lbs. It is also equipped with heavy-duty solid pneumatic tires which ensures stability when transporting loads.

You can also choose to customize your heavy-duty industrial cart to meet specific shop floor requirements. You can contact our experienced engineers at FlexQube to learn more about customizing a heavy-duty industrial cart.