Which category do lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts fall in?
Pursuant to the Machinery Directive, lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts are slinging devices and fall into the category of lifting accessories. As such they must satisfy consumer essential safety requirements.
 

How can you recognise a quality lifting eye bolt-nut?
These are the characteristics of a quality eye-bolt:
- its size and tolerance comply with those specified by the standards;
- it has no sharp burrs which could damage guy ropes;
- it has no cracks which could cause the piece to break;
- it has clearly legible markings;- packaging comes with instructions for use;
- the piece is marked with the lot number which guarantees the traceability through time of the whole manufacturing process;
- the mandatory certificate 3.1 EN 10204 (2.2 EN 10204 for the pre-2010 DIN standards) is issued.
 

What is the groove for the Lifting eye bolts?
The groove allows for the eye-bolts to be fully screwed and for the bearing surface of the crown to rest perfectly on the object which needs to be lifted. This guarantees safety usage conditions.
 

Whose responsibility is it if an eye-bolt breaks?
Under directive 85/374/EC on liability for damages caused by defective products, the manufacturer’s liability is implied only if the product was originally defective and is reduced, if not disallowed, if the user does not comply with the instructions for use and with the specifications included in the product data sheets.
The Machinery Directive and the laws on safety on the workplace impose regulations on producers, but at the same time oblige users to make sure at the time of purchase and before using the product that the latter complies with said directive.
 

What do the markings on the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts mean?
Machinery Directive 2006/42/CE and product regulations provide for the CE-marked lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts to have the following markings:
- threading size
- manufacturing lot
- identification of material
- directional arrow (which indicates the direction of pull to which the maximum working load limit WLL– edition 2010 DIN standard an subsequent) refers
- identification of maximum working load limit (WLL) with straight pull expressed in kilograms (or in metric tonnes for previous standards)
- identification of manufacturer
- CE marking
 

What does the CE marking on lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts imply?
According to the Machinery Directive, putting the CE marking on lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts enforces compliance with the essential requirements of safety and health protection for the prevention of specific risks arising from lifting operations:
as well as its technical specifications, each ‘lifting accessory’ or each commercially indivisible lot of lifting accessories must be accompanied by instructions setting out the use and the declaration of conformity must be made available.
The CE symbol is a mark of conformity with the community technical regulations in force only and does NOT relate to other declarations of conformity with different types of regulations.
 

How much can one lifting eye bolt-nut lift?
The safety load of standard sizes is set out by the DIN regulations according to which the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts are manufactured. For the same size eye-bolt load varies between:
- straight pull load, applied to 1 eye-bolt (along the threading)
- angled pull load, applied to 1 eye-bolt (with a maximum tilt angle between the eye-bolt’s shaft and the pull cable of 45° degrees, and 60° degrees).
- orthogonal pull load, applied to 1 eye-bolt (with a maximum tilt angle between the eye-bolt’s shaft and the pull cable of 90° degrees).
The safety working load limit (WLL) is always specified on the eye-bolt itself or on the label affixed to the packaging.
 

Which is the safety factor?
Product Standards DIN580:2018 and DIN582:2018 require a minimum use working coefficient of 6;
this means that the tensile strength tests of eye-bolts and eye-nuts must be carried out for up to 6 times the working load specified on the tables and specified on each piece. The tensile strength tests carried out on the whole range of our products resulted in a safety factor (working coefficient) which varies depending on size. In some cases, causing the breakage of the product has resulted in more than twice the value required by the standards.
Warning!:
The safety factor (working coefficient) only represents a guideline with respect to the product’s safety. The maximum loads specified in the tables and those marked on the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts and specified in certificates and on labels must never be exceeded.
 

Who guarantees that the product can lift the specified load?
For every size and every lot of our products you can obtain free of charge an Inspection certificate 3.1 pursuant to European standard EN 10204 (Lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts in DIN:2010 and subsequent standards) or a test report EN 10204 2.2  (Lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts in pre-2010 DIN standards)
View sample certificate 3.1 EN 10204
View sample certificate 2.2 EN 10204
 

Can lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts be screwed to the sides of the object which needs to be lifted?
Yes, the DIN580:2018 and DIN582:2018 standards allow for lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts to be applied to the side of an object for a 90° lifting; the specific maximum working loads with orthogonal lifting for this operation are set out in the standard.
 

Is the working load of the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts made using the C15/C15E material the same as that of the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts made using the INOX A2 or A4 material?
Yes! The working load limits (safety load) is the same. In conformity with product standards DIN580:2018 and DIN582:2018 lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts can be built using: 
- A2 stainless steel (AISI 304 or 304L) 
- A4 stainless steel (AISI 316 or 316L) 
The working load remains the same.
 

Can lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts be used at any room temperature?
No! In conformity with Standards DIN580:2010 and DIN582:2010 the maximum working load limits refer to a use temperature included between –20°C and +200°C (-4°F and +392°F). In case of use at extreme temperatures we recommend that resistance is checked by carrying out specific tests.
 

How much should lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts be tightened?
They must be thoroughly tightened making sure that excessive tension is not caused in the threadinged part as this would reduce the lifting eye bolt’s (nut's) working load.
Please be very careful; if the eye-bolt (nut) becomes unscrewed the working load is no longer guaranteed, especially as far as angled pull is concerned.
 

Must lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts always be thoroughly tightened?
Yes, lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts must always be thoroughly tightened (this being an essential safety condition). If 2 lifting eye bolts or lifting eye nuts are used for lifting, the rings must be aligned using, where necessary,  washers of at least the same external diameter as the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts’ bearing surface.
 

Can lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts be used several times?
Yes. At each new use a visual check must be carried out to make sure the lifting eye bolts and lifting eye nuts show no sign of deformation, dents, stripped or missing threadings, rust or evident signs of incorrect storage which may compromise safety.
 

What is the difference between white and yellow galvanising?
The difference is visible based on the zinc-plating colour. The final colour is given by the final zinc-plating treatment.This treatment is called passivation.
WHITE PASSIVATION:
- mostly chosen because of the pleasant aesthetic effect;
- the normal 8-micron thickness has a salt-spray resistance to corrosion of about 50 hours;
- commonly used to protect items used indoors in damp conditions or outdoors in less aggressive weather conditions.
YELLOW PASSIVATION:
- chosen because it gives better resistance to corrosion;
- the normal 8-micron thickness has a salt-spray resistance to corrosion of about 150 hours;
- recommended to protect items which are more exposed to the weather.
The products we supply comply with the requirements of RoHS (Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances) directive 2011/65/EU
 

What is hot dip galvanisation?
Hot dip galvanisation is one of the most commonly used methods to protect steel products from aggressive weather conditions. Steel dipped in zinc reacts at a temperature of approximately 450° C forming by diffusion iron-zinc alloys. These alloys create a very strong metal bond between coating and steel, ensuring optimum adhesion. In case of scratch or where an area is not superficially protected, the cathodic protection offered by the zinc layer oxidises instead of the steel, thus preventing the ‘iron’ from rusting. A 78/86-micron hot dip galvanisation gives a salt-spray resistance to corrosion of over 250 hours.
 

What is the difference between hot dip galvanisation and electrolytic zinc plating?
The difference basically lies in the following:
- the hot dip method consists of immersing the eye-bolt in molten zinc at approximately 450° degrees.
The ensuing diffusion processes cause the zinc to penetrate the steel thus forming a highly adhesive alloy. Further zinc creates a pure layer of cathodic protection with significant thickness and higher adhesion and resistance.
- in the electrolytic process on the other hand, pieces are immersed in aqueous solutions of zinc salts;
by applying an electric current to the bath the zinc is attracted by the metal and sticks to the same forming a surface layer. This procedure does not create a steel-zinc alloy. The protective layer sticks to the piece by ‘clinging’ to the steel’s roughness and is not very thick.
The layer’s thickness in standard electrolytic zinc plating corresponds to 8 microns, whereas in standard hot-dip galvanisation it corresponds to 78/86 microns. Upon request we can carry out galvanisation processes with different thicknesses.