Mailbox Mouldings, a manufacturer of rotational moulded polyethylene
trucks, trolleys and bins for materials handling duties, is using
specially designed four-stud plates, supplied by Bighead Bonding
Fasteners, to fix castor wheels to its range of products. One of the key
design criteria for these fixings is durability, particularly as most of
Mailbox's products are subjected to rough handling in tough industrial
environments.
Bighead makes the castor plates in sizes appropriate to the loads they
will be required to carry. Placed in position in the mould before
operations begin, they become encapsulated during the moulding process to
form a permanent and invisible part of the product. The plastic melt
flows through the holes in the plates to key them into the moulding,
leaving the four studs projecting from each plate. The castors are then
simply secured to the stud groups using locknuts.
*Bighead has recently introduced a version of its 'Bigring' circular
bonded fastening, which allows threaded studs to pass through the collars
welded to the stainless steel wire rings. Uses for these 'see through'
products include porthole reinforcements for maritime craft and headlamp
retaining surrounds on railway locomotives.