Synthetic Lifting Slings
Synthetic lifting slings are manufactured in two main types of material, nylon and polyester. Depending on the environment the slings are being used in, you will need to select the best material that suits your application.
Polyester web slings should have a different coloured yarn down the centre of the webbing; nylon material would not have such a tracer. The tag must also state the material of the sling - either nylon or polyester. Flat type synthetic slings come in different types: Type 1 (Triangle Choker Type), Type 2 (Triangle Triangle Type), Type 3 (flat eyes -these are the most common), Type 4 (twisted eyes), Type 5 (endless slings - continuous loop), Type 6 (return eye) and Type 7 (light duty and comes in eye & eye and endless configurations).
Synthetic slings are economical, lightweight, flexible and easy to store. The down side to these slings is they do wear and cut much easier than wire rope and chain; however the use of wear pads and other protective products really helps extend the life of synthetic slings and allows them to be used in many applications where cutting and wear might be an issue. Synthetic slings are used in almost every industry in which chain and wire rope are used, but they are also often used in areas where you do not want to damage or mark finished products as wire rope and chain will. One example would be the marine industry where marine slings have been developed to lift boats out of the water without damaging them.
There are also round slings which fall under the umbrella of synthetic slings, the most common being polyester round slings. When higher workload limits are required, you can also use High Performance Round Sling which uses specially designed fibers instead of polyester yarns. This allows for stronger round slings to be manufactured in smaller diameters and lighter weights. Often people refer to polyester round sling and High Performance Round Slings as "Kevlar" slings but they are no longer manufactured with Kevlar fibres and instead use specially designed fibers such HMPE (High Modulus Poly Ethylene) and Aramid. The covers of our High Performance Slings now come with an Armour Cover which is much tougher than the standard covers that may be used by others in the market.