Sugarcane slings are uniquely designed sling systems used to lift and transport bundles of sugarcane to the sugar mills. Using this sling system, the process begins with bundling sugarcanes. The main sling system components consists of a grip trip, chain and lug rings. The grip trip™ acts as a tightening device to keep the bundle of sugarcane together. The trip toggle on the grip trip™ acts as a quick release mechanism when the sugarcane is released at the sugar mill.
Depending on the bundle size, two or more sugar cane slings can be used on a bundle. It is important to evenly space the slings over the length of the bundle in order to ensure a stable and well balanced lift. Bundle sizes normally range from about 6 -10 tons. One sling is rated to safely lift 3.2 tons. This implies that two slings can safely lift a 6 ton bundle. For larger bundles, more slings must be added to the system to ensure a safe lift. An important consideration is that the centre of gravity of the system must coincide with the centre of the bundle to be lifted. This will prevent tilting of the bundle which will cause the chain to operate at an angle which will, in turn, increase the applied load.
Sugarcane chains are mainly available in 13mm Grade 8 short link chain and 11.2mm Super 6™ short link chain. Customers can purchase the individual sling components or alternatively the entire sling system.
Sugarcane was the most produced crop or livestock product worldwide in 2021, at 1.86 billion metric tons. Sugar cane is grown for both sugar production and ethanol for biofuel production.