Eye Bolts
An eyebolt, or a lifting eye, is a bolt with a loop at one end. The eyebolt has a threaded shank or rod which is securely screwed into a structure. Once the bolt is secured in place, ropes or cables can be anchored to or fed through the protruding loop (eye). Heavy-duty eye bolts can be used in rigging for lifting heavy loads, and a smaller eyebolt can be used for tensioning wires, securing loads and in other non-load bearing applications. You can find more information in our eye bolts guide.
Types of Eyebolt
- Forged: These eye bolts are forged as one piece rather than formed and have a continuous eye and shoulder. This design enables them to be used for heavier loads.
- Plain or Regular: These eye bolts are used for vertical loading only and are not recommended for angular lifting. They can also be used with tie-downs to secure loads and as wire guides.
- Collared: Collared or shouldered eye bolts are fully threaded and reinforced with a collar or shoulder. When installed the shoulder sits flush with the mounting surface and offers more stability to the base of the eye and prevents bending and deforming. This design means that these eye bolts can be used for angular loads of up to 45°. Commercial or Load Rated: These eye bolts are designed for use in lightweight non-load bearing applications such as securing ropes or cables to posts and are not used to lift or suspend an object. Load-rated eye bolts often have embossed stamping on the body of the eyebolt stating the working load limit (WLL), batch number and thread size.
- Machinery: Machinery eye bolts are forged and shouldered and have threads with a high holding strength. These eye bolts have a heavy-duty design and are made to high specifications and standards. Applications include connection points in rigging applications and, due to their shouldered design, can be used to angled loads.
- Swivel: Swivel eye bolts can rotate 360°. The eye of the bolt can also move around which improves flexibility in the attachment. Swivel eye bolts are used in heavy applications and are designed to lift from various angles. An eyebolt can also be galvanised, anodised or plated to prevent corrosion. The most common material is stainless steel as it is corrosion resistant and makes the eyebolt suitable for use in the outdoors or in offshore applications such as marine applications and in the oil, gas or wind energy sectors.
