Douglas Equipment has been in business since 1955. That’s more than 60 years, which is impressive – and what’s even more impressive is that one of our suppliers, the Colson Caster Corporation, has been in business more than twice as long as we have! They began in 1885, and are now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of caster and wheel products.
We are an authorized distributor for Colson’s products. Over the many years we have worked with them, we’ve been struck by their willingness to listen to their customers, and develop new products specifically tailored to meet the changing demands that new technology imposes.
A great example of Colson’s responsiveness is provided by their Enforcer Series of kingpinless casters. With manufacturing and operations plants becoming more demanding over the years, Colson learned that their customers were in need of higher performance equipment.
In response, Colson developed the Enforcer Series. This line of products has new engineering features, heavy-duty capabilities, and is built specifically for today’s environments and demanding applications. The Enforcer is perfect for heavy manufacturing settings, such as tow-line operations in automotive manufacturing or tire production lines. The enforcer is also great for medium capability requirements, like those found in food processing centers, or for use on equipment like sheet rock dollies.
The Enforcer is rated for load capacities up to 6,000 lbs., and will perform superbly in even the most exacting and rigorous production sites.
Kingpinless Design – The Key to the Enforcer’s Strength
One of the most demanding applications for casters occurs in tow-line operations. Most casters are designed to be used at walking speed, approximately 3 miles per hour. Powered tow-lines will often move equipment twice as fast, at 5 or 6 miles per hour. That increase in speed may not seem like much, but it can be devastating to casters!
With kingpin style casters, the kingpin absorbs most of the abuse in tow-line operations. Cornering can be particularly damaging: the momentum of the equipment continues in a straight line, but the towing vehicle pulls the equipment in a new direction, creating excess forces that are transmitted directly to the kingpin. Over time, these forces can cause the kingpin to deform or break.
One solution to kingpin failure is to eliminate the kingpin altogether. That’s exactly what Colson did with the Enforcer – it has a completely kingpinless design. The single ball hardened swivel raceway, with tight tolerances, provides limited play in the swivel motion of the caster. This distributes load forces evenly over the entire circumference of the raceway, which helps prolong caster life.
Construction Details
The Enforcer has a zinc-plated finish. The rugged top plate is made from 3/8” steel, and the beefy fork legs are 3/8” thick by 3”wide. For consistent quality, the formed fork legs employ robotic welding inside and out.
The solid axle is ¾” in diameter, and features a nut. There is a grease fitting on the wheel bearing for easy maintenance, and a recessed zerk grease fitting on the swivel raceway, which prevents damage. Colson’s multi-temp grease provides lubrication, even in extremely hot or cold temperatures.
Wheel Selection and Tread Types
Colson makes many wheel and tread types available for the Enforcer
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Performa
– These wheels combine the advantages of hard and soft tread material. The thermoplastic elastomer tread, which is non-marking, is bonded permanently to a ribbed polyolefin core.
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Rubber on Cast Iron Core
– These wheels absorb shocks and vibrations, and operate quietly. Moldon rubber is bonded to a cast iron core.
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Polyurethane Hi-Tech
– These wheels employ a technique in which the polyurethane tread is molded in and around a ribbed extension of the core, which prevents de-bonding.
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Polyurethane on Cast Iron Core
– Polyurethane is bonded to a cast iron core, which makes for strong and very durable wheels.
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Phenolic
– These wheels are made from a phenolic resin filled with macerated fabric. They are quieter than aluminum or steel, resist steam, most chemicals, and impacts – and even provide floor protection.
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Forged Steel
– For heavy-duty service, these wheels are almost unbreakable, resist wear, and take shock impacts well.
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Cast Iron
– These wheels work well for excessive load weights and for resisting sharp impacts.
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V-Groove
– These wheels work on tracks or on floors. They are cast with reinforced sections at the points where maximum stress is highest.
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Commander HD
– These wheels were developed to perform under abusive impacts and heavy loads. The durable Nylatron wheel material provides floor protection, and is suitable for corrosive environments.
Note: The highest load capacities are available with V-Groove wheels (6,000 lbs.) and Commander HD wheels (5,400 lbs.).
Options Available for the Enforcer
To meet your particular application requirements, you can customize the Enforcer with any of the following optional features.
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Tread Lock Brake
– this toe activated brake provides positive engagement by pressing a rubber-faced plate against the wheel tread. It is available on all casters, except for V-Groove models.
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Swivel Lock
– this feature uses a stainless steel spring to force a pin into notches in the Enforcer’s raceway, which locks the swivel in one of four positions at 90° intervals. This allows you to quickly convert swivel casters to rigid casters, for tracking in a straight line, or for parking equipment on sloping surfaces. You can easily convert from the rigid position back to the full swivel position for more maneuverability.
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Bearing Options
– the Enforcer comes standard with roller bearings. Optional two-piece Delrin bearings are available.
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NSF Listed
– some Enforcer models are NSF approved for the food service industry.
For More about the Enforcer – Contact Douglas Equipment!
This review is meant to give you a quick guide to some of the Enforcer’s many unique features. For more details about the 8 Series Enforcer, or the other Enforcer models – 4 Series, 6 Series or 7 Series – please contact Douglas Equipment’s customers service team at 800-451-0030 (or 305-888-3700 in the Miami area). You can also reach out to us via email through our contact form.
