Lifting clamps are used to lift, hoist, and transfer items like plates, sheets, grinders, pipes, and other materials. Lifting clamps employ powerful springs that allow the clamp to become one with the material being clamped. Lifting clamps are most used on sheets, plates, or fabrications; as a result, many people refer to them as 'plate clamps' or 'sheet clamps'.

Before using a plate clamp, check for the following:

• Loose bolts or fasteners
• Cracked or worn gears, pulleys, sheaves, sprockets, bearings, chains, and belts
• Structural deformation, cracks, excessive wear, or bends
• Loose or missing guards, stops, or nameplates
• Excessive wear of friction pads, linkages, and other mechanical parts
• Excessive wear at hooking points and load support clevises or pins
• Missing or illegible product safety labels

Plate clamps should be inspected at the following intervals:

Initial Inspection: Before first use (new, altered, modified, or repaired clamps)

Frequent Inspections: Daily or before each shift

Periodic Inspections:

• Normal service: Annually
• Severe service: Monthly
• Special service: As recommended by a qualified professional

• Always follow the hardware manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations.
• Inspect internal and external surfaces for forging or weld fractures, wear, or distortion.
• Check all pin holes for wear.
• Inspect the throat (clamp opening) width – At zero grip, the clamp should be in full contact with the pad.

Customers can come to one of our shops across the country or we can come to you with our Mobile Testing Unit. Technicians at Hercules SLR are trained and certified with LEEA accreditation. All inspections are completed within ASME standards.

• Do not lift over workers.
• Do not stand near a load.
• Position yourself away from and fully clear of the load. Remember to also consider howthe load might fall when it lands.
• Do not overload or under-load a clamp.
• Do not lift from the side with a vertical clamp.
• Do not lift more than one plate at a time with a vertical clamp.
• Do not lift plate from the bottom of a plate stack.
• Do not drag the load using the plate clamp.
• Do not grind, weld or modify a clamp.
• Do not use a clamp having a minimum jaw opening larger than the thickness of the load.
• Do not leave suspended loads unattended.