Understanding the Caster Effect: What It Is and How It Works

[sreenathb]

could anyone please tell me what the caster effect is?or some links that give a good explanation?

 

[Danger]

Sorry, man, but I don't understand the question. I've never heard of the 'caster effect', unless you're referring to the tendency of a castor (wheel) to align itself with the direction of travel. That is based upon the centre of thrust being offset from the axle of the wheel.

 

[rcgldr]

Try a web search for automobile caster.

Caster effect occurs when the point of contact is offset from the pivot axis, like a wheel on a shopping cart. The wheel will align itself to the direction of travel, because if it's sideways, there's a torque force created that straigthens out the wheel.

In the case of motorcycles, the distance between the contact point and where the axis would intersect the pavement is called "trail".

 

[brewnog]

You might have more fruitful searches if you type "castor" instead of "caster".

The spelling seems to be pretty ambiguous, but most of the sources I've ever used use 'castor'.

 

[krab]

No, it's caster with an e. Castor is a type of oil.

 

[brewnog]

And caster is a type of sugar!

My dictionaries (Cambridge, and Collins (and also, Dictionary.com!)) give either spelling as valid (when dealing with small wheels, or the effect in question). I was just suggesting trying a different spelling for searching purposes!