What is a Twin-Path® Sling? The Complete Guide to Slingmax’s® Lifting Solution

Intro

– If you’re in the heavy lift industry, then there’s a very good chance you’ve either used or at least seen Slingmax® Twin-Path® slings. These slings have been around for over 35 years and are known for being lightweight, durable, repairable. But how do you know if it is the right sling for your work site or your shop? How do you know if it’s the right sling for your application? Today, we are breaking down both the pros and cons of the Slingmax® Twin-Path® sling.

– Hi, I’m Terry Driscoll. I work for Mazzella, and I’ve been in the lifting and rigging industry for 28 years.

What is the Slingmax® Twin-Path® Sling?

The Twin-Path® sling from Slingmax® is a high-performance, roundsling. Twin-Path® slings can be found in most industries, whether you’re talking about automotive, you’re talking about steel mills. You can look at aerospace, construction.

You can clearly see how it gets its name from the twin-path® design. The Twin-Path® sling is fabricated with a nylon Covermax® jacket, and it has high performance K-Spec® Core Yarn that is spun throughout. K-Spec® is a high-performance blended yarn that is very specific to Slingmax® lifting products.

How does the Twin-Path® Check-Fast® make safer lifts?

Very specific to Twin-Path®, of course, is the EWI or the External Warning Indicator, which will give you a visual indication of severe overload. There is a weak link that is tied into the system as we are fabricating Twin-Path® slings. The Check-Fast® system is designed to retract into the body based off of severe overload or shock load.

What Custom Options are available for Twin-Path® slings?

Twin-Path® slings are highly customizable from CornerMax® Sleeves for cut protection, as well as Spider Sleeves that could be utilized in any type of choke configuration, preventing jacket-on-jacket abrasion.

We can fabricate eye and eye Twin-Path® slings. We can fabricate multi-leg Twin-Path® slings. The sling protection could be added on during fabrication process. It could be a sliding sleeve. It could be a Velcro-removable sleeve.

What are the features of Slingmax® Twin-Path® slings?

The Twin-Path® sling can be used up to 180 degrees and it’s resistant to most chemicals. Twin-Path® slings have similar characteristics to wire rope. They are a 10th of the weight, less than 1% stretch, so of course, it is a very versatile sling.

We have dual-layer Covermax® jacket, so if you actually go through, based off of abrasion or cutting, go through the green jacket, you will see the red jacket or the additional layer below, which is also the same Covermax® material. At that point, it’s a good indicator that you should pull that sling out of service, get it back to an authorized repair facility so that they can further inspect and repair that sling. These Twin-Path® slings, of course, are repairable as long as you’re not cutting through and compromising the inner core yarn.

A lot of people will ask, “Why does it have two paths to it?” The Twin-Path® design creates redundancy in case of damage. Getting a 10,000 pound rated Twin-Path® sling like this, throwing it over my back, it’s not going to cause any type of injury. If you try to do the exact same thing with chain, of course, you might be in for a rude awakening.

Slingmax® has been extremely responsible for a number of years, performing all of their due diligence with thousands of break tests, hundreds of thousands of hours in the field testing and use.

What are the disadvantages of Slingmax® Twin-Path® slings?

Some disadvantages with a Twin-Path® sling: Of course, if you have high temperatures, it’s probably not a good choice. If you have some very confined spaces, by the initial design, the sling itself can tend to get a little bit wider. But when it comes to lifting up something that is going to be extremely heavy, factoring in how you’re going to get your rigging onto site, the storage of the slings, a Twin-Path® sling just can’t be beat.

Are Slingmax® Twin-Path® slings repairable?

So only authorized Slingmax® dealers are able to properly inspect and repair slings at their facility. You can’t really perform any type of repairs in the field on these particular slings. The visual indicator, of course, seeing the red below this is a fantastic way to remove it from service.

Can Twin-Path® slings be custom designed for a specific lift?

Since Mazzella is an authorized Slingmax® fabricator, we are able to custom make Twin-Path® slings specific to your job, whether that means fabricating them specifically onto an oblong, adding hooks onto it if the size allows. When you take it out onto your job site, you know that you’re going to have the proper sling in place ready to do the work.

Inspection considerations for Twin-Path® slings

For anyone that’s choosing Twin-Path® slings, first and foremost, always do a pre-inspection prior to any lift. Visually, look the sling over. You want to make sure you’re using a hand-over-hand method. You want to feel inside that sling as well in case there is any type of flat spots. Or picture a snake that just swallowed a rat. You’ll have a big bundle in one specific area if you could have had internal core damage.

You also want to look for the EWI or the External Warning Indicator. Confirm that that’s still functioning and in place. Always visually, inspect your tag. Is your tag legible? Do you have a sling that’s properly rated for the load that you’re about to lift?

Confirm that you do not have any type of excessive abrasion. You don’t have any type of cuts, any type of weld splatter, any punctures within that sling.

According to ASME B30.9 standards, the Twin-Path® sling shall be inspected initially, frequently, and periodically. The initial inspection, of course, is when you first take receipt of that Twin-Path® sling, confirming that you have the correct capacity, you have the correct length, and everything matches properly on the proof test certificates.

Your frequent inspection would mean that you are actually inspecting the Twin-Path® sling before every shift or prior to every lift. The periodic inspection is at a minimum every 12 months documented by a qualified person.

How to use Slingmax® Twin-Path® slings

Twin-Path® slings can be used like any other sling. It could be used in a vertical configuration. It could be used in a basket configuration, a choke configuration. They’re extremely versatile and at the same time, they are just providing you with that extra level of comfort, knowing that you have an external warning indicator on it. And you know as soon as that slack is taken out of the sling, that load is coming with it due to the less than 1% stretch.

What applications are good Twin-Path® slings?

Twin-Path® slings can be used in almost any application. Very specific to heavy lift applications or critical lift applications where knowing the exact length of your sling is going to be a critical factor. While Twin-Path® slings start at 10,000 pounds, they can go as high as 800,000 pounds, and they’re very specific to the heavy lift market.

You can see them quite a bit used in automotive for flipping dyes. Twin-Path® slings can be used in aerospace, lifting up aircraft. They’re utilized in the marine industry, specifically to lift up ships in the fabrication process or even in lock and dam maintenance. Twin-Path® slings are used in general construction. Twin-Path® slings were actually utilized to lift up the spire in the Freedom Tower in New York City. At 1,776 feet, the lighter the material to make that critical lift, the better.

Why consider Twin-Path® slings for your lifts?

If you’re looking for a sling that is going to have consistent lengths, it’s going to have very low stretch, it has high capacities, it has repairability, it has UV protection, it has a Check-Fast® system to give you an overload indicator, Twin-Path® slings might be the choice for you.

Mazzella has made Twin-Path® slings anywhere from three feet in length, upwards of 125 feet. Mazzella has three authorized fabrication facilities throughout the United States. So contact your local rep or get onto mazzellacompanies.com and see which sling is right for you.

– Whatever your lifting needs, Mazzella is here to help. From slings, rigging hardware, wire rope, overhead cranes, lifting devices, inspections, service, and training, we are your one-stop lifting shop.

If you found this video useful, informative, entertaining, or you just feel like being friendly, then hit that Like button so we can get this information out to everyone who needs it. If you have a question, drop it in the comments so we can get you an answer. Remember, safe rigging is smart rigging. My name is Ben. Stay safe out there.