KUNFENG is a professional manufacturer of heavy-duty AGV wheels, with the capability to deliver customized solutions tailored to different industrial application scenarios. In this case study, KUNFENG established a strong partnership with a customer in the Philippines, supplying customized high-quality AGV wheels for their airport transport vehicles. The project covered the full technical process from wheel selection and design to delivery and verification, ultimately achieving strong project results and positive customer feedback.
Project Background
Country: Philippines
Industry: Large international airport — ground support and baggage handling
Customer Requirement: To handle the surge in passenger and cargo throughput during peak tourism season, their airport needed to upgrade the wheels across three major fleets, namely airport transfer carts, airport handling carts, and lift trucks, before the peak passenger flow arrived.Therefore, AGV wheels were customized at KUNFENG in advance. Previously coated wheels exhibited delamination within 4 to 6 months, and standard polyurethane treads softened and deformed under tropical daytime ambient temperatures of 32 to 36°C, resulting in frequent downtime and high maintenance costs. Therefore, the customer requires polyurethane AGV wheels that are resistant to high temperatures, do not delaminate, and generate low internal heat.
Client Requirements
Single-wheel load: within 10 tons
Size: 250–400 mm
Type of cargo handled: luggage, etc.
Performance requirements: no delamination, low internal heat generation, high-temperature resistance
Material: polyurethane
Hardness: 88–95 Shore A
Our Solution
Single-wheel Load: within 10 tons
Core Material: SteelCore
Wheel Diameter: 250 - 400 mm
Application Scenarios: Luggage and heavy-duty handling equipment
Material: Polyether-based PU (high-performance)
Hardness Range: 95 Shore A
Performance Requirements: Anti-delamination, Low Internal Heat Generation, High-Temperature Resistance
Custom NDI AGV Wheel Design Features
NDI-based cast polyurethane (Vulkollan-type elastomer) is used. Its highly regular molecular structure generates minimal internal friction during dynamic compression, keeping tread temperatures 8–12°C lower than standard PU wheels under high-frequency start-stop conditions.
The wheel core is sandblasted to Sa 2.5 cleanliness standard and coated with two layers of NDI-specific primer + adhesive system before casting, ensuring a metallurgically clean bonding interface and completely eliminating debonding — the most common failure mode in the heavy-duty wheel industry.
The centrifugal casting process ensures uniform tread density and direct metal-polymer interface bonding. 100% pull-off bond strength testing is performed on every batch, with test results delivered together with the wheel certificate of conformity.
Results
After the wheels were exported to the Philippines, we provided the customer with complete technical documentation, installation guidance, and commissioning support, achieving a dual improvement in handling efficiency and operational reliability while ensuring all three fleets were upgraded and put into service before the peak season deadline.
After commissioning, the customer achieved:
No debonding issues were observed across all three fleets throughout the peak season.
Tread temperatures 8–12°C lower than the original wheels under identical operating conditions (verified by infrared thermal imaging)
No significant compression set observed on 10-ton lift truck wheels after 6 months of continuous air cargo container transfer operations
Wheel replacement interval extended from 4 months to beyond the 6-month reporting period
Estimated reduction of over 60% in wheel-related maintenance labor costs
Stable assurance for continuous ground operations during peak season
Customer Feedback
"KUNFENG's NDI wheels experienced not a single bonding failure throughout the entire tourism peak season. Even for handling cart wheels exposed to the scorching sun on the apron, the tread remained cool and the profile intact. Our wheel replacement workload dropped dramatically, and the engineering test data they provided with each batch gave us even greater confidence in the product. We have already placed a second order for the new automated baggage line."
— Ground Support Equipment Engineering Manager, a large international airport in the Philippines
Why Choose KUNFENG High-Load NDI AGV Wheels
As a professional AGV wheel manufacturer, we have extensive project experience in the field of heavy-duty NDI polyurethane wheels. We can provide customized material handling solutions for industries including airports, ports, warehousing and logistics, semiconductors, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and aerospace, delivering professional solutions tailored to different industrial application scenarios.
If you are looking for customized high-load NDI AGV wheels for transfer carts, handling carts, lift trucks, or other heavy-duty AGV applications, please feel free to contact our engineering team for professional technical support and equipment quotations. We will provide safe and efficient wheel solutions based on your load capacity, wheel dimensions, and on-site operating conditions.
