The lifting beam (also known as traverse, spreader beam) is a steel beam that is attached to the hook of the crane in order to spread the
slings from one end of an elongated load (like a
wall panel
A wall panel is single piece of material, usually flat and cut into a rectangular shape, that serves as the visible and exposed covering for a wall. Wall panels are functional as well as decorative, providing insulation and soundproofing, combin ...
) to another. The bottom of the beam has multiple connection points for hanging the load.
The lifting beams are used in multiple cases:
* lifting an asymmetrical load. Without a beam, it might be hard to strap the load so that its
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...
is exactly below the
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
;
* handling a long load with a single-hook crane. Sufficient spread between the slings prevents the load from slipping out;
* increase the headroom: slings cannot be stretched close to the horizontal direction, so attaching them directly to the hook requires a minimum distance from the hook to the load. When the lifting beam is used, the slings can be shorter, providing more vertical clearance during lifting;
* if the attachments of the load are on its vertical sides, the slings have to go over the edges of the load, which can damage these edges. A lifting beam allows attaching slings to the side lugs without touching the edges;
* the top of the beam can have two attachment points at the ends thus allowing two cranes to share the load.
See also
*
Container spreader
A container spreader is a tool used for lifting containers and unitized cargo. The spreader is placed between the container and the lifting machine.
The spreader used for containers has a locking mechanism at each corner that attaches to the f ...
References
Sources
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Lifting equipment
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