As a leading supplier of lifting, rigging, load restraint and height safety products, Austlift has a reputation for being innovative when it comes to product development. Managing Director Shang Wang introduces a range of wear-resistant round slings called Durabone.
The patented Durabone range of slings are manufactured with a herringbone pattern, which reduces the amount of friction and abrasion the sling is subjected to during lifting, explains Shang.
“With the traditional round sling material, the surface face of the sling under load will rub and create friction against the load point and the product being lifted. With our patented Durabone round slings, only the high point of the herringbone pattern design is subjected to these forces. This reduction of friction ensures our slings last far longer than those made with traditional patterns,” said Shang.“We patented the design last year, and our distributors’ customers have been using the Durabone slings for about 12 months. The response has been very positive. They are getting far more lifts from our slings, which is a good thing. They are getting excellent value for money and a return on their investment, which also reduces the amount of slings making their way to landfill.”
The lifting capacity of the Durabone range starts at just over one tonne and goes through to 10 tonnes with various capacities in between.
The Durabone design was subjected to significant testing before being released to the market, said Shang.
“We set up a test where we could compare a sling with the normal pattern with our Durabone sling. We attached them to a motorised drum and a hexagon-shaped axle and ran the slings continuously for 15 hours to simulate the wear and tear they would be subjected to when lifting. The results spoke for themselves.
“After a few hours, the normal sling started to heat up, and once this happens, the internal polyester yarn starts to melt and loses its flexibility; it becomes solid in nature and has to be thrown out. After 15 hours, our Durabone sling was hardly damaged because of the herringbone pattern and the normal sling was almost destroyed. From this testing, we calculate that our Durabone sling is up to 75 per cent more durable than a normal sling, and we are selling it for the same price as a normal sling,” said Shang.
Another innovation with the Durabone range relates to the Information Tag.
“Before we started the design process of the new range, we consulted with a couple of important customers and asked what they’d like to see from their round slings. Less wear was one point they raised, but they were also frustrated with the information tag,” Shang said.
“They highlighted how difficult it was to view the information on the tag because it was covered by a protective jacket sleeve and how difficult and frustrating it was to pull back the sleeve to record the tag’s information, especially on the one, two and three tonne slings.
“We addressed this by attaching the information tag to an elastic belt. This patented innovation enables the tag to be pulled out from the protective jacket sleeve, and then it self-retracts after the information is recorded and released. It’s a simple but very effective design which will save time.
“Our approach to innovation has always been driven by the people who use our products every day. Our continuous commitment to listening, collaborating, and engineering solutions with industry partners ensures that every new design is safer, easier to use, and truly makes a difference in the field. Our Durabone range of slings is the latest example of how our distributors and their customers’ feedback and real-world challenges shape the future of lifting products at Austlift.”
