Pinch wheel
Pinch wheel or pinch roller was the name used for the plastic or rubber wheels used for or in the 8-track cartridge, Compact Cassette, Microcassette, VHS, Betamax, Betacam, Digital Compact Cassette, Elcaset, and open-reel tape. They are used to guide and align the magnetic tape through the transport, which is made up of the record head, playback head and an erase head, as well as two capstans. Compact Cassettes used one head for recording and playback. Rubber rollers were known to degrade over time, creating a maintenance issue.
