Projects
Below we report some of the most popular projects made, developed and implemented in TRLab in cooperation with Customers.

DRIVE WHEELS
Realized for a drive wheels producer
Activities:
- analysis of the ideal characteristics of drive wheels in action;
- define the polyurethane compounds in order to suggest different uses: resistance to stress, ability to transfer traction on wet pavement, reduced energy loss
- definition of the dimensional characteristic of the product
- through software simulations
- prototype development

ANTISTATIC POLYURETHANE COMPOUND
Addressed to manufacturer of electronics equipment trollies and/or for explosive environments
Activities:
- define a polyurethane compound with the additives added allowing, through a productive process equivalent to the standard, to realize wheels with specific electric characteristic
- prototype development

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PALLET TRUCK WHEELS MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL
Made for a manufacturer of manual transpallet
Activities:
- innovative design of wheel, combined with a trans pallet completely made of plastic materials from food environment
- prototype production
- performance verification

SCAFFOLDING WHEELS AND CASTORS
Made for European manufacturers of scaffolding and mobile towers
Activities:
- design of wheels made of thermoplastic material according to the legislations EN 1004:2005
- design of castors with solutions to ensure an easy locking of wheel’s rotation and support during use
- idesign of complexes “wheel+castor” with support integrated leveling device
- prototype production
- performance verification

WHEELS AND CASTORS FOR ERGONOMIC TROLLEYS
Made for companies whose factories are organized on basis of lean production philosophy
Activities:
- define an hardness reduced polyurethane compound (70-75 Shore A) with high abrasion resistance, stress reduce in manual handling, excellent performances when the mechanized handling is up to km/h 12km/h
- design of wheel with an high depth made of polyurethane
- design of rotated castors designed for “guide at the helm” provided with equipment for vibration dumping produced by movement external/internal paving without uniformity of the path

The laboratory also develops projects with other research institutions. Below is a brief description of the most significant:

Development of methodologies and techniques for mobile robots
The project is implemented with the collaboration of the Center Intemech MO-RE, Democenter-PETS and 6 industrial partners. The activities performed by TRLab has as its object the study and definition of models of thermal-mechanical behavior of elastomeric wheels with tread
Vibro-acoustic Project
Developed in collaboration with the Engeneer department at the University of Ferrara, has as its object the study of vibrations produced / transmitted from the wheels and castors and methods of controlling the acoustic quality of the adhesion between elastomer and metal
Research on the properties of elastomers
Developed in collaboration with the department of materials Engeneer of environment of University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, has as its objective the study of the changing properties of the elastomer with nano-structured use of additives.