No Minimum Order UK Design & Made Immediate Shipping Technical Advice Original Since 1909 Custom Design

90 SeriesPlain Fit

90 Series - Plain Fit

Push fit units – outer ⌀ 0㎜ – 160㎜ 13/16″ ~ 6 19/64″

15 models

91 SeriesThreaded Stud

91 Series - Threaded Stud

Screw fitting threads: metric M8-M30 & inch 5/16″-1″ UNF

20 models

92 SeriesFlange Mounted

92 Series - Flange Mounted

Square, circular & elliptical base plate flanged units

10 models

93 SeriesFlange Socket

93 Series - Flange Socket

Countersunk square, circular & elliptical flanged drop in units

10 models

98 SeriesTolerance Ring

98 Series - Tolerance Ring

Circular flanged drop fit/tolerance ring ⌀ 0.875″ – 4.0″

5 models

Spring Loaded

They reduce damage caused by shock loads. They also allow for dimension changes due to temperature and self-adjust to evenly distribute loads.

Pneumatic

Allow air-driven positioning of the omnidirectional transfers (balls / wheels / stops).

Heavy Duty Ball Transfer Units - Maximum Precision

  • "Double recirculation", heavy duty range offers maximum precision and smoothest performance.
  • Machined from solid steel this design provides the highest load capacity and longest service life available.
  • User-serviceable with factory spares backup.

Lowest friction design
Heavy Duty Ball Transfer units offer the lowest coefficient of friction. Expressed as a ratio less that1:0.005; or as the break away point of inertia, less than 0.5% of the conveyed load.

Maximum load @ any orientation
Heavy duty units are designed for use at maximum load at any angle of orientation (ball down use).

Heavy loads - 8000 kg / 16000 lbs each
High capacity – heavy duty units handle loads of 8000 kg / 16000 lbs individual unit load capacity (each)

Service life & spares
Longest service life – user-serviceable service kits & full factory spares & reconditioning service.

Smooth, high precision movement
Solid precision machined components individually assembled with 100% inspection & testing. Free 2 year warranty.

Innovative Patented design incorporates a hardened & precision ground internal support component. The heavy duty design allows the internal recirculating balls to form an endless track / race to allow full load to be applied at any angle of inclination.

Compact design allows much higher load capacity than comparable ‘cup & ball’ hemispherical chamber design used in both Omnitrack medium duty & light duty ranges.

Fixing options:
Countersunk flange fixing – square, circular & elliptical fixing flanges. Countersunk socket flanges (83 & 93 series) & base fixing flanges (82 & 92 series) 2, 3 & 4 hole fixing allow recessed & high profile fitment.

Press & interference fitting – Cylindrical push fit units (80 & 90 series) can be recessed or sunk withing appropriate bore with light pressure, or (88 & 98 series) incorporates internal Tolerance ring. 80 series incorporate additional 3-hole equi-spaced internal (female) threads arranged on a pitch circle diameter.

Threaded stud units (81 & 91 series) – incorporate an external (male) fixing thread for fitting &/or height adjustment of the ball caster (similar in appearance to setpin / bolt). Wide range of differing ISO metric & Imperial threads available with alternative thread lengths. (80 series) features hexagonal outside diameter for easy adjustment.

Spring loaded units. Where impact, heavy shock loads or uneven track conditions exist consider the use of spring loaded ball transfers. Cylindrical Die lifters, b-bar & t-bar conveniently recess within machine & press beds with a pre-stressed disc springs to evenly distribute support load over a given number of units. 84 & 94 series feature external springs which can be adjusted to alter pre-loads to your application.

Pneumatic Ball transfers are raised & lowered using compressed air. Ideal for live/dead workstations & assembly areas. PS25 Pneumatic ‘stops’ work as a positioning brake in conjunction with the pop up ball units to securely. Configure & build your own system from our range of air driven tubing, valves, switches & accessories.

Why use heavy duty instead of medium/light duty ranges?

The compact design of the heavy-duty range carries significant improvements:
Smooth precise moment
Higher loads at all angels of inclination
High/low temperature tolerance
Faster, quieter, smoother in operation
Engineered for the longest possible service life

Medium & light duty units will compromise on one or more of these factors but may still suit your application.

Sealing - Heavy duty ball transfers with main ball larger than 12.7 mm / 1/2” all incorporate a woollen felt seal which effectively wipes the main ball during rotation without impeding directional change. In all 9000 series, seals are replaceable. For high temperature applications over 150 degrees centigrade we recommend that seals are omitted. Other seal materials upon request.

Drainage channels - Except 91 series, 9000 series units incorporate a single drain channel. Units with ‘Z’ (arduous contention) & ‘SS’ (all stainless steel construction) have and additional drain through the centre hole.

Lubrication - Standard material specification - lubricated for life with Mobil Vectra 1 oil. Others are assembled dry or to specification upon request (Nucleol radiation resistant grease).

User serviceable – we produce service kits to restore full performance (on-site & in-situ) in the event of failure for the 9000 series. Easy to dismantle & clean with full instructions & factory replacement parts. We offer factory reconditioning service for spring loaded units.
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2 years free warranty – if we agree with your application & operating environment we’ll give you a free 2 year ‘no quibble’ warranty. Omnitrack Ball Units will keep you rolling!

Low & high temperature operation
Heavy duty units offer the lowest & highest temperature resistance possible. Consider the use of stainless steel upgrade options to increase resistance further. We regularly produce High temperature variants specific to user applications which involve the use of ceramic, Teflon, silicone nitrate (SiNi), PEEK, Torlon, Alumina, Zirconia materials.

Maximum speed rating
Testing in ideal conditions allow heavy duty ball transfers to run intermittently at a maximum speed of 3 meters per second (8 feet per second) at full load capacity. Continuous running requires the provision of cooling facility.

Corrosion resistance
Standard materials contain carbon (martensitic) which allow the hardening / carburising heat treatment process to reduce wear & maintain high load capacities across the heavy duty range. We offer differing material upgrades to help reduce corrosion in arduous or corrosive environments which include corrosion resisting alloys (stainless steels). The options are detailed in each produce page. Austinetic stainless steels are usually reserved for light loads but is only suitable for certain non load-bearing components, Diamond & ceramic coating of load bearing components can be effective – please consult us if A, Z, SS material upgrades do not suit the operating environment.

Knowledge base – history

Omnitrack designed & Patented the heavy-duty ball transfer range in 1954. Assembled & 100% product testing ensures outstanding build quality & performance.

Heavy duty units were designed for a high temperature applications within a British Steel manufacturing plant. Large drums containing molten steel required safe handling so the initial solution was to use inverted castors made by Autoset (Production) Ltd which could handle the high temperature, dust, scale & shock loading of this application. Unfortunately the heavy duty casters would not allow instant directional change due to the offset in the castor forks, or castor ‘trail’. Although conventional light duty Ball Units existed at the time note could handle the he vi load drums whilst withstanding high temperatures & offer instant directional change. The Omnitrack Heavy duty ball transfer (OTSF 4070) was first developed with an initial load capacity of 2000 kg / 4480 lbs operating at a temperature of 150 degrees centigrade (300 degrees Fahrenheit). Those original units were in operation until the plant closed in 1972. Subsequent developed into what is now the '9250'.

Knowledge base – Applications

Torpedo/warhead handling in military applications, air, sea & subsea applications. Tube stands & pipe bending machinery.
Tube & pipeline manufacture, installation, inspection, handling & cleaning ‘pigging’.
Robotics
Web guiding machines for sheet steel coils
Press tool & die handling
Shipbuilding
Aero engine testing & handling
Air cargo handling
Mining

1) overview of the sub-category
2) Construction & Materials
3) Fitting & Mounting Options
4) Other USPs wet/dirty environments)
5) FAQs (including upsell to Heavy
6) Typical Applications