Construction & Contractors Blog
When working with a professional rigging company to develop a lifting plan for your job site, sling selection is one of the key factors involved in ensuring the safety of your personnel, equipment, and materials. Rigging is a complex trade with numerous risks, meaning equipment choice can have significant implications for your project.
While riggers use a wide range of sling types — wire rope and alloy chain are two of the most common. These designs each come with several pros and cons, and it's important to understand how they differ and why riggers may prefer one over the other.
Wire Rope – Advantages and Disadvantages
Wire rope slings consist of numerous metal strands twisted or braided to form a heavy rope. While wire ropes look relatively simple, their structure is a little more complex than what first meets the eye. In addition to the obvious stranded wire that makes up the twists, wire rope also contains a heavy-duty core integral to the sling's overall structure.
Wire rope offers numerous advantages with few downsides. Depending on the specific type of wire rope chosen, these slings are highly flexible and resistant to abrasion, fatigue from heavy usage, and even chemical corrosion. These slings can also be used in all three basic hitch styles, making them a highly versatile choice and a go-to for many general-purpose lifting applications.
The primary disadvantages of wire rope relate to extreme usage conditions, maintenance, and inspection. The aforementioned solid core is typically impossible to inspect, and it's impossible to repair damaged or fatigued sections of a wire rope sling. These slings are also unsuitable for environments with extreme temperatures or severe chemical or corrosive hazards.
Alloy Chain – Advantages and Disadvantages
Alloy chains offer all of the advantages of wire rope slings with almost none of the downsides. These heavy-duty slings can handle nearly any load while offering greater resistance to extreme environments. Their relatively simple and repairable design also eliminates many of the maintenance drawbacks found in wire rope slings.
With so many advantages, why don't all lifting plans use alloy chains? Weight and cost are the two primary drawbacks. Alloy chain slings are costlier and offer a poor strength-to-weight ratio. In other words, lifting heavy loads with alloy chains will also require much heavier slings. The weight of the slings can increase site hazards, reduce total lifting limits, and make rigging more challenging.
As a result, choosing between alloy chains and wire rope (or other options, such as synthetic slings) requires care, experience, and expertise. It's important to always work with a professional rigging service when developing a lifting plan to ensure you're using the most appropriate and, more importantly, safest equipment options.
Share14 October 2022
