In today’s world, there are a variety of large materials that are used to make the enormous structures we see all around us, such as skyscrapers, bridges and so much more. As you are going about your daily business, you may not even think about what kinds of special tools and processes are needed to build these gigantic structures. However, there are a variety of processes and work involved in order to construct skyscrapers and bridges that we all put our implicit trust in by walking through and over them high above the ground. One extremely important tool that construction workers and contractors are use plate lifting clamps.
What Are Plate Lifting Clamps?
Plate lifting clamps are tools that are especially designed to hold large and heavy plate materials, such as sheets of steel and carry them straight up or in a horizontal direction. Large sheet materials are often some of the most difficult items to move around during a construction job but the plate lifting clamp can effectually remove this difficulty. The clamp itself features a slot which is meant to hold the plate material itself. It can be adjusted to the right size if necessary and locked into place. There are two major kinds available: horizontal plate lifting clamps and vertical lifting clamps. As you can probably guess from their names, the type of plate lifting clamp you get will depend on what sort of job you are doing and in which direction the plate material needs to be lifted.
Using Your Plate Lifting Clamps Safely
Lifting heavy materials can be a very risky procedure, especially if they need to go straight up, unless you follow all the right safety precautions. Before you begin lifting something with a plate lifting clamp, it is vital that you double check that the load is securely locked in place. You also need to make sure you are using enough clamps to properly balance out the load. In addition, it is important to use the right size of clamp for the load you need to lift. For example, you shouldn’t use a lightweight clamp to lift a heavier load then its capacity allows for.
