Designers guide
This guide will help you to choose the right suspension system that suits your need.
1) Load & Cable
How heavy is the product you wish to suspend? The table below shows different cable diameters together with their recommended load when used with our grippers in a vertical direction. The recommended load is 20% of the breaking load based on a 5:1 safety factor.
| Cable diameter | Recommended load | Breaking load |
|---|---|---|
| ø 0,8 mm | 4 kg | 20 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 |
Don’t worry about the nipple at this moment. No matter if you choose a stopper, a ball or a loop as cable ending, they are all stronger than the breaking load shown in the table if you use the cable properly.
A thin cable is most popular because of how it is barely visible and do not attract attention from your product. However, a thicker cable gives the viewer a feeling of extra safety. Those are some things you can consider when choosing cable diameter except weight guidelines.
2) Attachment & Cable Ending
Now that you have determined the cable diameter for your suspension system, it is time to decide how it should be attached to the ceiling. As seen above we can offer a number of different solutions for this purpose. One important question is what is the ceiling like? Can you use a self tapping screw? Or is a T-bar clip for suspended ceilings a better choice? An extremely easy installation is attaching a self tapping hook to the ceiling and simply using a cable with loop ending. How you choose is up to you but remember this: how much weight the cable can carry is irrelevant if the ceiling itself cannot handle the load!
3) Connect the gripper to your product
The last part of the system is also the most interesting. The gripper allows you to easily adjust the height of your product alongside the cable. This is especially time saving when you want to suspend multiple products from the ceiling and you want to adjust them to be in the same height.
The first thing you have to think about is how the cable should exit the gripper. As seen above the gripper is basically divided in to two categories: exit from bottom or exit from the side. A gripper with bottom exit is hidden inside your product and therefore almost invisible. Side exit is preferable when there is not enough space for the cable ending inside your product, or when you need a special connector.
The grippers shown above are only a few of our full assortment. Please check the Grippers’ page on this website, or check the Cases section and our Technical Manual for more examples on how to use our suspension systems with your product.
