Success-Story - LSFE-ALST

Compact design reduces costs

The customer

... is a German automobile group, and has been one of the top manufacturers of premium cars and sports cars for several years. The car manufacturer has over 88,000 employees. It delivered almost 1.9 million vehicles and generated revenues of around EUR 60 billion in the 2017 financial year.


The challenge

The challenge

One of the group’s factories is using a special spring-loaded heavy-duty caster for frames which are used to hold automobile components. A different plant intended to use this caster for a similar purpose.

For a variety of reasons, the company’s technicians wanted to make a few changes to the wheel lock system of the caster to optimise it for the new application. One of their aims was to reduce the significant cost of repairing their existing frames, as the casters which they were using frequently collided with the fork when they were moved with forklifts due to their large collision circle. The thread lock lever also stuck out quite far when open, which had the potential to cause an injury when used at the other factory. There were also difficulties releasing the wheel lock. The lever had to be pushed upwards, which employees found difficult to do due to the safety shoes they were required to wear. This also frequently caused damage to their shoes.


Our solution

We decided not to shorten the existing brake lever, as this would have made the wheel stop even more difficult to use. Blickle engineers used a different design for the brake unit in order to decrease the collision circle by 65 mm. The brake lever is now released from the top down, making it much easier and quicker to operate.


The result

Spring-loaded heavy duty caster LSFE-ALST 200K-RA-931841

By switching to the new caster and optimised brake system, the client has dramatically reduced their repair costs by decreasing the amount of wear on their equipment and safety shoes. The new system is also extremely safe. Ergonomic conditions at the workplace have also been improved because the pedal can be operated quickly and easily.


Product advantages and technical information LSFE-ALST 200K-RA-931841

  • Extremely robust welded rig with elastomer spring and “Radstop” wheel lock
  • Excellent operational comfort, low rolling resistance and good vibration absorption due to Blickle Softhane® polyurethane tread
  • Compact design of brake unit with reduced collision circle
  • Easier to operate and improved safety at the workplace
  • Reduced repair and maintenance costs