Load equalising clevis

In most applications the load being lifted is supported by more than one leaf chain. The safety of the products or people being lifted depends on the leaf chain to a large extent. These load supporting chains are designed to work with a liberal margin of safety, based on the load being equally distributed.  Although leaf chains are of equal length when installed the loads on each leaf during use do not remain uniform. All leaf chains elongate due to wear as a result of articulation and load weight. They also stretch and it is important to understand the difference between leaf chain wear and chain stretch as this article in the Knowledge Hub explains: /knowledge-hub/what-is-the-difference-between-leaf-chain-wear-and-chain-stretch

In many leaf chain applications two chains share the working load. In forklift designs, the mast and carriage ensure the load is distributed equally between the two leaf chains.  On some machines the load is not equal. This could be because the weight of what is being lifted is not evenly distributed; like a car lift for example where the load is heavier at the end with the engine.  The design of a lifting system needs to consider either intentional or unintentional uneven loading on leaf chain and chain anchor bolts.

Many designers interpret the Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWP) and telehandler design & safety requirement standards to mean that a chain lifting system should have a load equalising device or a way of showing that the leaf chains are sharing the load equally.  Therefore a load equalizing chain clevis could be the solution. 

To meet the requirements of machinery standards where the chain load must be distributed equally, we supply a number of load equalisation solutions. These range from simple balancing bars, leaf chain clevis to more complicated pivoting chain adjusters.