Wire Rope Clips

Wire rope clips are fittings used to make an eye or join two cable or wire rope ends
together. They are a simple fitting that can be installed in the shop or in the field. There
are three basic types of steel wire rope clips – Drop forged, malleable iron and fist grip
types. The intended application for the wire rope or cable should determine which type
to use.
For important or critical applications and if to be used in overhead lifting or suspending,
always use standard drop forged type and drop forged fist grip type clips. Never use a
malleable iron type clip for these applications.
The components of wire rope clips are the saddle, the bolt(s) and the nuts.
Forging is the practice of heating a piece of steel and hammering it to shape. Doing this
gives the steel linear grain structure and greater strength. In the drop forged clips, the
saddles are the parts that are drop forged. The saddles of malleable iron clips are made
from a type of steel with poorer strength qualities and is cast into shape and therefore,
has a granular microstructure and not linear. This means the cast malleable saddle can
yield under greater loads and cause the wire rope or cable to slip through and
potentially fail. In general, forging is stronger than a casting.
For clips to work properly and gain their design efficiency (see charts), both the
minimum number of clips required and the nuts must be torqued to the prescribed
foot/pound rating.
In drop forged and fist grip type clips, the saddle pieces are hot dip galvanized and the
bolts and nuts are electro-galvanized (zinc plated). With malleable clips, the saddles, u-
bolts and nuts are electro-galvanized.
All three types of clips that E-Rigging sells conform to U.S. Federal Specification FF-C-
450. It should be noted that stainless steel wire rope clips do not conform to this federal
specification.
Wire Rope Clip Installation
It is important to ensure wire rope clips are installed properly. Incorrect installation can
reduce the working load limit by 40%. Below are general guidelines for installing wire
rope clips.

Parts of a Wire Rope Clip & Assembly

Clip Installation Diagram
Below is a diagram showing proper clip installation it is imperative that you install the
saddle on the live end of the wire rope. An easy to remember saying to help remember
proper clip installation is:
NEVER SADDLE A DEAD HORSE!