Durable Plastic for high rolling resistance/durability

[ERIMechEng]

Design goal is to support a 1,000lb spool of cable in horizontal fashion (rotating axis horizontal). Spool flanges (steel-lined) will be sitting on four rollers. Each roller will be lined with (or completely machined out of) a plastic selected to dissipate inertia of spool as the cable is being payed out.
I am looking for a plastic that can hold up for a long time (trying to minimize maintenance) but is still soft enough to dissipate some of that power. Max angular velocity of spool is around 100 rpm, so I don't think speed is an issue. Any ideas?

 

[patprimmer]

Polyurethane is the standard material for such applications.

Heat generation may be an issue.

Regards
Pat
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[ERIMechEng]

Pat,
Thanks for your input. If heat dissipation does become a problem, might there be an alternative to PU, or maybe a specific type of PU you can recommend?

-Matt

 

[patprimmer]

The harder the better for reduced heat generation rather than dissipation, but the less the grip.

Regards
Pat
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[unclesyd]

You don't have to invent the wheel again.

http://www.hamiltoncaster.com/Footer_Menu_Content/Flanged_Wheels_V-Grooved_Wheels.aspx

What are you spooling off as I've never seen this design as the best approach when spooling fibers, rope, wire, or cable on large spools. In my opinion a better design is to have a center line shaft either fixed or removable.

 

[ERIMechEng]

unclesyd: Thanks for that link. Some of their lines of polyurethane wheels seem great, though I will have to contact them about giving me enough of a hub to attach a flange.

We are paying out 11/64-inch steel braided cable. I agree that a centerline shaft would be ideal for most situations, and indeed we played with that idea before abandoning it. The issue is that the whole apparatus needs to be portable, but it will only see intermittent use. Idea is to be able to load the spool (with as little work as possible) into the apparatus, load the whole thing in the back of a pick-up truck, and then you're off.

 

[unclesyd]

ou might want to checkout the following different stands or cable reels. The CBS product is used everywhere for short runs and portability. there are any number of reeling devices on this site. Also look around as you can normally find this type of jack alot cheaper for use as jack not a reel stand.

http://www.cbsproducts.com/D-246.htm