How to choose your chain sling?

Do you know the main criteria of a chain sling? It is crucial to choose a sling adapted to your lifting situation to work safely. You will find here the non-exhaustive list of criteria to determine to choose the proper chain sling.

1. Determine the lifting capacity needed.

• What is the weight of the load to be lifted?
• Identify the center of gravity of the load to be lifted.
• What is the lifting capacity of the equipment available (crane)?

2. Define the number of strands needed.

• How many anchor points are there on the load? 1, 2, 3 or 4?

Reminder: when slinging on 4 legs, a maximum of 3 legs are considered to be bearing, the fourth leg only intervening for balancing.

3. Choose the chain grade.

• 50, 80, 100 or 120.

For ergonomics and working hardness reasons, increasing the chain grade of your sling enables – for an equivalent chain diameter – to benefit from a higher lifting capacity. The weight of your sling will therefore be lower.

4. Calculate the length of the sling.

This step is crucial because the length determines the working angle of a multi-leg sling.

The greater the angle, the greater the stress on the sling ring, and the greater the angular load loss on each leg.

• The length of the strands should be determined in such a way as to keep an optimal angle of the strand with respect to the vertical axis between 0 and 45.
• Attention, beyond 45°, take into account the pressure drop.
• Above 60° it is forbidden to carry out the lifting operation.

5. Define the sling termination.

• Hook with automatic locking, swivel, latch…

You must ensure compatibility between the accessories of your sling and the external elements that will be connected to it (hoisting device hooks, anchorage on the load, etc.).

6. Determine the options.

• The use of shortening clutches: to adapt the length of the sling legs to suit to make it more versatile and adapted to the part to be lifted.
• The possibility of optionally affixing your own traceability to the sling.

Customizing slings offers you many advantages. Many customization or custom manufacturing solutions are possible by calling on PMS Industrie, a French manufacturer. Contact us to find out more.

Whatever your lifting configuration, be sure to use your sling in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.