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A basic guide to choosing the components for your installation. Read the safety information before you begin.
A wire suspension system consists of three key parts:
Attachment:Â fixed to the ceiling, wall, floor or product, and what the suspension hangs from.
Wire: the steel wire that links the attachment to the gripper.
Gripper: grips the wire and lets you adjust the height of the object along it.
Selecting parts, step by step:
This guide has covered the essentials of choosing parts for your suspension system.
For more advanced insights and to explore complex aspects, continue reading to deepen your understanding of selecting parts.
Contact us if you require any assistance.
From a design perspective a thin wire is usually preferred: it is less visible and does not draw attention away from the suspended object. A thicker wire can give a greater sense of security. Both are worth weighing alongside the load figures when you choose a diameter.
The figures below apply to complete Alemtek wire and gripper assemblies suspended in a vertical position. Use them to select the correct wire diameter for your luminaire or object. For applications outside the conditions described on this page, contact our technical team.
| Wire Diameter | Working Load Limit | Minimum Break Load |
|---|---|---|
| Ø 0.8 mm | 5 kg | 25 kg |
| Ø 1.0 mm | 8 kg | 40 kg |
| Ø 1.2 mm | 12 kg | 60 kg |
| Ø 1.5 mm | 18 kg | 90 kg |
| Ø 1.8 mm | 24 kg | 120 kg |
| Ø 2.0 mm | 28 kg | 140 kg |
The total weight of the suspended object must not exceed the working load limit. Do not size to the minimum breaking load.
Working Load Limit (WLL)
The maximum permitted weight in normal static service. Each value is one fifth of the minimum breaking load.
Minimum Break Load (MBL)
The lowest force at which the assembly is guaranteed not to fail, established by tensile testing.
Safety Factor
Alemtek applies a safety factor of 5:1 to all wire and gripper assemblies. The working load limit is one fifth of the tested minimum breaking load. This is the established coefficient for wire rope and rope terminations in European practice.
Rated as a complete assembly
These figures are for the complete wire and gripper assembly – at larger diameters the gripper, not the wire, governs capacity. Figures published elsewhere often refer to bare wire rope and will look higher for the same diameter. They are not comparable. Contact us if you need the bare rope value for a structural calculation.
For use with a gripper, the wire construction must be 7×7 – 49 individual wires twisted into strands around a core. The core is central to the rope’s structure and determines much of how it behaves.
7×7 is flexible, takes high loads, and grips reliably in a friction-locking gripper. That combination is why we specify it as standard.
Other constructions are available for specific uses: 1×19 for safety wires, and 7×19 where a thicker wire needs to stay flexible.
Wire is available in stainless and galvanized steel. Special materials and surface treatments are available on request.
Stainless steel suits almost any installation. It costs slightly more than galvanized, but offers better corrosion resistance and a better appearance, and it can be produced in smaller diameters than galvanized wire.
Stainless steel resists corrosion because of its chromium content. Our stainless wire is grade AISI 304, suitable for damp and demanding environments. AISI 316 adds molybdenum for higher corrosion resistance where the environment demands it.
For chlorinated indoor pools and chemically aggressive environments, contact us before specifying. Standard stainless grades, including AISI 316, are not always sufficient and material selection depends on the specific environment.
Galvanized steel is steel coated with zinc. Corrosion resistance is good but lower than stainless, and it is generally the more affordable option.
Wire can also be supplied with PVC or nylon coating in a range of colours.
Contact us if you are unsure which wire suits your installation.
Start with the ceiling. Different constructions take different solutions: clips for grid ceilings, ceiling attachments for straight or angled suspension, magnets, carrying rails and ceiling covers.
Then consider how the attachment fixes to the structure. Use plugs and screws suited to the substrate. The performance of the suspension system is irrelevant if the ceiling itself cannot support the weight.
The attachment and the installation conditions together decide the wire ending. An angled ceiling, for example, takes an attachment with a slit and a ball-shaped ending, which stops the wire bending at the fixing. Where the ceiling has only a self-tapping hook, use a wire with a loop ending.
Attachments used with grippers let you adjust the height at ceiling level rather than at the product – see attachments with grippers. These can also be mounted on the product itself if you prefer. The end of the wire that goes into the gripper must be the plain end, the moulded or swaged ending fixes to your product.
The gripper is what makes height adjustment possible. Push the wire through and it locks automatically, with no tools – which matters most when several products hang from one ceiling and all have to align to the same height.
Grippers fall into two categories, depending on where the wire exits:
Usually chosen to conceal the gripper inside the product. For luminaires with bottom-exit grippers, the product must be designed so a moving wire end cannot damage internal components. Where space inside the product is tight, the wire needs a clear path out of the gripper – if it catches on an internal wall, height adjustment will not run smoothly.
Preferable where there is not enough space for the wire inside the product. Turning the gripper sets the direction the wire exits. Set the height first, then either cut the wire or leave it resting on top of the product so the height can be lowered again later.
Starting a project? Send us the product weight, connection point, the number of suspension points and the drop length, and we will come back with a solution. Contact our technical team now.