A wire rope clip, sometimes called a u-bolt clamp or uclamp is used to clamp the loose end of a length of wire rope, once it has been looped back to form an eye. These fittings consist of a u-bolt and has a saddle secured by two nuts. Generally, wire rope assemblies need at least two or three wire rope clips to secure the ends properly to the length of the rope.
SL-450 Uclamps vs. Local Uclamps
While wire rope clamps are not designed to be used in an overhead lifting situation (mechanically spliced with ferrule should be used ), SL-450 wire rope clips are a heavy duty wire rope clip that can be used for sustaining loads. Examples include guy lines, support lines, scaffolding, etc.
SL-450 clips are galvanized, meaning they have a heavy coating of a zinc solution that will hold up to worksite abuse and the elements for a long time. SL-450 are excellent for use as guy wire clamps for heavy duty guying applications because they are both strong and resistant to corrosion.
Local Uclamps are a light duty clamps and cannot sustain in many applications. As they are “malleable” indicates, it is a softer wire rope clip, thus a lighter duty option. They can be used for fences and other applications that do not sustain heavy loads.
How to use Uclamps
The proper way to use Uclamps can be remembered this way: “Never saddle a dead horse.” The saddle of the clip is the piece that fits into the U bolt. The dead end of a wire rope is the end of the eye that contains the cut side. The U bolt should always be in contact with the dead end, while the saddle should be on the live end.
