In material handling, eye bolts commonly come in handy in areas where a specific load is away from or toward its eye. They have the most basic shape, but their material consists of tempered and quenched forged steel. It also comes with a typically threaded shank consisting of an eye or ring at one of its ends.
Such is made up of stainless steel and they are generally secured with a nut. They’re made to make the lifting eye out of cable, rope, or shackles you may require for a safer working load. Eye bolts come in various shapes, materials, sizes, and finishes. Thus, to help you choose the right kind for your application, here are five ways.
- Consider Different Types of Eye Bolts
The eye bolt designs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, bent or forged eyes are only suitable for lightweight applications. But you can use the developed eyes for heavy applications since they can bear a load when you weld them in place.
- A collared eye bolt is completely threaded and strengthened with the collar, making them safe to lift at 45-degree angles. Only use eye bolts that come without collars for straight mounting and lifting.
- A Swivel eye bolt and swivel ring bolt can spin 360 degrees. The eye of the bolt can move around flexibly. You can use them to lift it from different angles and find its application in heavy jobs.
- For lightweight applications, you may employ commercial eye bolts. You can secure the cables or ropes to posts, buildings, and other objects. However, you cannot use these eye bolts to hang or lift something. Such eye bolts come with an impression of working load limit, batch number, and thread size on the body.
- Stainless steel is ideal for use in harsh or maritime conditions, as it does not rust. Eye bolts are comparatively smaller than 12mm. Hence, you should not use it for regular lifting, tensioning, or staying because they are too tightly screwed up, creating severe torsional stresses. Moreover, the bolt should be snug but not overly so. The space between the collar and the load’s face should be smaller than 0.04 mm.
- Measure Their Size and Capacity
Eye Bolt sizes are the easiest method to understand eye bolts. Take the measurements strictly under the eye, as there are numerous shank lengths. The following are standard requirements found in most eye bolts:
- Shank diameter
- Exterior eye diameter
- length of the shank
- Overall length
- Interior eye diameter
The length and diameter of the shank are the most crucial features of eye bolts since they determine the operating thickness and load limit of the material into which they will put the eye bolt. Eye bolts come in different working load limits to lift varied weights. As a result, it’s critical not to surpass the eye bolt’s capacity. It mainly indicates the maximum force an eye bolt can raise when you deliver it vertically via the eye bolt’s shank.
The capacity of an eye bolt begins to reduce as the sling angle changes. The marked capacity lowers more dramatically as the angle increases. Riggers must grasp the lifting eye bolt capacity of the angular bolt to lift an object safely.
- Check The Sling Angle
The stress applied to the eye bolt grows as the sling angle decreases, but the eye bolt’s capacity decreases dramatically. Riggers must thoroughly understand this phenomenon to select the right eye bolt for a safe lift.
When employing an eye bolt with a 30-degree tight sling angle, the stress imparted to the eye bolts during the lift will be twice the weight of the load raised. Simultaneously, it lowers the eye bolt’s capacity to 25% of its original. Some manufacturers advise against using eye bolts at angles less than 45 degrees. The trigger will overwhelm your eye bolt if you don’t account for both the increase in tension and the decrease in capacity, and you risk destroying your equipment or losing weight.
- Shouldered or Non-Shouldered Eye Bolts
Even though eye bolts come in various shapes and sizes, they all fall into one of two categories: shouldered and non-shouldered. The shouldered ones are the flexible and safest option; such an eye bolt is suitable for lifting an object at a specific angle. Nevertheless, before lifting at an angle, you should study the manufacturer’s angle recommendations. Non-shouldered eye bolts are solely for vertical raises, and you might make a blunder if you try to elevate an angle using a non-shouldered eye bolt.
Most eye bolts are forged or bent eyes, depending on how the manufacturers make them. When bending a usually straight rod into a looped head, it forms the bent eye bolt. Manufacturers shape the raw materials using heat and a hammer to create forged eye bolts. Forged eye bolts are nearly always more robust and durable than bent eye bolts.
- Eye Bolts Can Rotate or Not?
Eye bolts aren’t designed to handle spinning loads in general. Several swivel rings are available that you may use in addition to or in place of the eye bolt. Using a regular eye bolt to accomplish the hoist that involves rotation may break the bolt and lead to an accident. If your load has the potential to rotate, use a swivel eye bolt to safeguard yourself and the people around you.
Conclusion
Therefore, these were some of the helpful tips for choosing the right kind of eye bolts that will serve your purpose right. Keep them in mind wherever you want to purchase eye bolts for any purpose.
