What Is A Spreader Bar In Construction?

What Is A Spreader Bar In Construction
What are the benefits of using a spreader bar? – Spreader bars have many benefits. A spreader bar is a device used to distribute weight evenly. It consists of a long bar with attachment points at each end. It is often used in construction and industrial settings to evenly distribute loads.

  • They can be used to evenly distribute weight, which prevents overloaded areas and structural damage.
  • They can also be used to stabilize loads, preventing them from shifting during transport.
  • Spreader bars are also useful for suspending loads.
  • When you’re using a crane, the last thing you want is for the load to become unbalanced and fall.

To help prevent this, many cranes are equipped with a spreader bar.
Spreader Bars – Spreader beams (spreader bars or lifting spreaders) consist of a long bar that serves to keep two slings apart from the lifting distance. It is designed with two lifting eyes at the top of the beam. The legs of a chain belt convert the lifting loads into compressive forces in the bar, and tensile forces in the slings.

What is a spreader bar on a crane?

Lifting Beam or Spreader Bar – What’s the Difference? What Is A Spreader Bar In Construction When it comes to lifting a load with a crane, in most cases the operator must decide between using a lifting beam or a spreader bar to properly stabilize and distribute the weight of the object being lifted. Both tools attach to the hook of the crane, but the variation between them is sometimes confusing.

The CL of Charlotte website recently published a helpful article that explains the difference. What is a lifting beam? A lifting beam is composed of a simple design: a horizontal beam hangs at a single attachment point on the top surface which connects directly to the crane or hoist. Two lugs are located underneath the beam which can be placed in fixed or variable positions.

The object to be lifted is attached to the lugs with a hook or sling. The beam is designed to bend slightly at both ends as the object is lifted, thereby causing the stress to be placed on the bottom slings and through the beam itself. Lifting beams are ideal in locations with limited headroom, such as inside a building or underneath a structure.

  1. What is a spreader bar? A spreader bar, also called a spreader beam, is a simple bar that holds two slings apart and distributes the weight over two or more pick points.
  2. Two lugs on top of the bar are each attached at an angle with a chain or sling that is connected to the crane.
  3. They’re most often used for very wide or heavy loads.
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The spreader bar is lighter, more compact, and less expensive than a lifting beam, and designed for the weight to be distributed equally across the length of the bar. Forces are compressive instead of bending. What are the differences between the two? The design of each of these devices determines how force is transmitted and how it’s used.

A lifting beam absorbs most of the stress of the load, while the spreader bar shares that stress with the slings. A lifting beam is simple to use, requires less overhead clearance and rigging but its costs are considerably higher and stability is less than lifting beams. Read the entire article by, Additional details about lifting beams and spreader bars can be found at Engineered Lifting Technologies by,

September 18, 2020 : Lifting Beam or Spreader Bar – What’s the Difference?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a spreader bar?

Spreader Bar or Lifting Beam – Basepoint Engineering The main difference between the two comes down to the engineering. A spreader bar has a very elegant mathematical solution that eliminates opposing loads causing it to act like a pure column. This effect makes spreader bars very efficient at transferring loads and have a much higher capacity then lifting beams for their given size.

The downside of spreader bars is that they require upper rigging. This upper rigging comes at a cost for the equipment but also requires a lot more hook height on a crane to lift a given load. The second difference is that spreader bars can easily made to be telescopic. By constructing the spreader bar using hollow structural steel material you can get two or more pieces to slide inside each other.

How A Spreader Beam Can Reduce Horizontal Forces On A Sling Load

This allows spreader bars to become 2-3 times larger than the collapsed length allowing the user to have a much more versatile lifting device. In the mobile crane world this distinction is really important as carrying rigging out to site can be expensive and constrained by what they can fit on the crane or truck.

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A lifting beam is used when hook height and clearance are important. This is because there is no top rigging and connecting your crane directly to the beam via the top lug eliminates the wasted height that the rigging takes up. This allows you to lift your load a lot higher on a given crane using a lifting beam.

However, because the transverse loads are not balancing through the top rigging like on a spreader bar you end up with a bending moment going through the bar. Building the beam strong enough to cope with this bending moment means lifting beams are heavier than spreader bars for an equivalent spread and capacity.

When to use a lifting beam instead of a spreader bar?

Spreader Bar or Lifting Beam – Basepoint Engineering The main difference between the two comes down to the engineering. A spreader bar has a very elegant mathematical solution that eliminates opposing loads causing it to act like a pure column. This effect makes spreader bars very efficient at transferring loads and have a much higher capacity then lifting beams for their given size.

  1. The downside of spreader bars is that they require upper rigging.
  2. This upper rigging comes at a cost for the equipment but also requires a lot more hook height on a crane to lift a given load.
  3. The second difference is that spreader bars can easily made to be telescopic.
  4. By constructing the spreader bar using hollow structural steel material you can get two or more pieces to slide inside each other.

This allows spreader bars to become 2-3 times larger than the collapsed length allowing the user to have a much more versatile lifting device. In the mobile crane world this distinction is really important as carrying rigging out to site can be expensive and constrained by what they can fit on the crane or truck.

A lifting beam is used when hook height and clearance are important. This is because there is no top rigging and connecting your crane directly to the beam via the top lug eliminates the wasted height that the rigging takes up. This allows you to lift your load a lot higher on a given crane using a lifting beam.

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However, because the transverse loads are not balancing through the top rigging like on a spreader bar you end up with a bending moment going through the bar. Building the beam strong enough to cope with this bending moment means lifting beams are heavier than spreader bars for an equivalent spread and capacity.

What are spreader bars made of?

Spreader Bar or Lifting Beam – Basepoint Engineering The main difference between the two comes down to the engineering. A spreader bar has a very elegant mathematical solution that eliminates opposing loads causing it to act like a pure column. This effect makes spreader bars very efficient at transferring loads and have a much higher capacity then lifting beams for their given size.

  1. The downside of spreader bars is that they require upper rigging.
  2. This upper rigging comes at a cost for the equipment but also requires a lot more hook height on a crane to lift a given load.
  3. The second difference is that spreader bars can easily made to be telescopic.
  4. By constructing the spreader bar using hollow structural steel material you can get two or more pieces to slide inside each other.

This allows spreader bars to become 2-3 times larger than the collapsed length allowing the user to have a much more versatile lifting device. In the mobile crane world this distinction is really important as carrying rigging out to site can be expensive and constrained by what they can fit on the crane or truck.

A lifting beam is used when hook height and clearance are important. This is because there is no top rigging and connecting your crane directly to the beam via the top lug eliminates the wasted height that the rigging takes up. This allows you to lift your load a lot higher on a given crane using a lifting beam.

However, because the transverse loads are not balancing through the top rigging like on a spreader bar you end up with a bending moment going through the bar. Building the beam strong enough to cope with this bending moment means lifting beams are heavier than spreader bars for an equivalent spread and capacity.