Lifting Eye & Point

Choosing a lifting eye bolt, eye nut or lifting point

• •DIN 580 lifting eye bolt: an eye with a collar and a threaded shank, screwed into a tapped hole in steel equipment, machines and structures, or bolted through a steel or timber section and secured with a nut.
• •DIN 582 lifting eye nut: the same eye with an internal thread, screwed onto a bolt or stud.
• •Swivel eye bolt (swivel hoist ring): the ring swivels 360 degrees and, on the Grade 80 ring type, pivots 180 degrees, so it turns to face the load and suits dynamic lifting. The Grade 100 type has a locking key to help tighten it.
• •Weld-on lifting point (D ring lifting lug): welded onto any carbon steel surface to give a permanent lifting point on spreader beams, bins, frames and heavy equipment, or an anchor point for load restraint. The pivot D ring has an internal spring that holds the ring in position.
• •All of them are approved for lifting and marked with their working load limit (WLL). Hobson's DIN 580 and DIN 582 sheets list those eyes as connection points for anchoring, rigging, pulling, lifting or hoisting, with ropes, cables, shackles and hooks; the weld-on point sheets list lifting points, spreader beam attachment and load restraint anchor points.

DIN 580 lifting eye bolt and DIN 582 eye nut WLL by angle

The WLL stamped on a DIN 580 eye bolt or DIN 582 eye nut is for an axial (straight, in-line) pull. Pull at an angle and the capacity per eye drops, as Hobson's data sheets set out below. The angle (beta) is measured between each sling leg and the vertical. Hobson's tables stop at 60 degrees from vertical: do not load a DIN 580 or DIN 582 eye at a wider angle. For a sideways pull, use a swivel eye bolt rated at 90 degrees.

Swivel eye bolt (swivel hoist ring) WLL

Swivel eye bolts are rated in tonnes at 0 degrees (pulling in line with the bolt) and at 90 degrees (pulling at right angles to it). Use the Grade 80 ring type with Grade 80 lifting components and the Grade 100 key type with Grade 100 components. Each is marked with its WLL and a trace code linked to its test certificate online.

Weld-on lifting lugs (D ring lifting points)

Weld-on lifting points are rated as a single-leg lift in the table below. Hobson's data sheets also list multiple-leg figures at 60, 90 and 120 degrees, but do not say whether those are per lifting point or for the whole lift, so we do not publish them: have a multiple-leg lift planned by a competent person. Always work to the WLL marked on the lifting point.

• •Welding is to be carried out by an authorised welder to AS 1554 or another relevant standard.
• •Clean the contact areas of oil, paint and rust, align the parts and tack weld them.
• •Do not interrupt the welding, so the weld blocks do not lose temperature. Start the root weld in the centre of the weld block and clean it before the next runs.
• •Reinforce the butt joint with a fillet weld.
• •Position the point so it can take every angle and load it will see, and so hooking and unhooking can be done safely. For a single-leg lift, the point sits vertically above the load's centre of gravity; for two legs, the points are the same distance from it; for more legs, they are arranged symmetrically around it.

316 stainless or galvanised?

• •316 stainless (A4): DIN 580 and DIN 582 from M6 to M30, for wet and coastal work. Hobson's stainless article notes 316 still needs a good finish and rain washing or maintenance, and is not made to sit in seawater.
• •Hot dip galvanised C15E steel: M10 to M20. Hobson's finish comparison rates hot dip galvanising as high corrosion resistance, recommended for long-term outdoor use.
• •Zinc yellow passivate C15E steel: M6 to M24. Low corrosion resistance (more than zinc plated), for low-corrosion environments.
• •Zinc plated C15E steel: M10 to M16, for indoor, non-corrosive environments.
• •Swivel eye bolts and weld-on lifting points are powder coated Grade 80 or Grade 100 steel.

Safe use of lifting eyes

1. Check the WLL marking before every lift, and never use an eye bolt, eye nut or lifting point whose marking is missing or unreadable.
2. The stamped WLL on DIN 580 and DIN 582 eyes is for an axial pull. For angled or multi-leg lifts, use the reduced values in the table above. Hobson's tables stop at 60 degrees from vertical, so do not load these eyes at a wider angle; use a swivel eye bolt rated at 90 degrees instead.
3. Use a swivel eye bolt where the load direction changes or the eye must face the sling, and work to its 0 or 90 degree WLL.
4. Match shackles, hooks and slings to the eye's WLL; the lift is only as strong as the weakest part.
5. Inspect lifting eyes before each use and follow your state work health and safety regulator's requirements for periodic inspection by a competent person.
6. For any lifting arrangement not covered by Hobson's tables, ask before you lift.

Lifting eye bolts in Adelaide

Allmat supplies rated lifting eye bolts, eye nuts, swivel eye bolts, weld-on lifting points, shackles and slings to riggers, fabricators and crane truck operators across Adelaide and South Australia. Add them to a quote with the rest of your rigging and we will price the lot.

Questions