Ashley Sling, Inc., a leader in the lifting and rigging industry, has set their sights on the future and installed a 1,800,000 pound pull-test machine. The machine has been named “The Iron Mule”, and is believed to be the largest on the East Coast. It was built by Roberts Testing, and weighs in at 125,000 pounds is 120’ long and 11’ wide. It has three large 8’ stroke cylinders measuring 16” in diameter and a separate 4’ stroke cylinder for smaller testing needs. The test machine is fully enclosed with a solid metal floor and separate controls for each of the 12 hydraulically operated doors and is capable of breaking products at the full 1,800,000 pound capacity.

This new machine is calibrated to ASTM E-4 and ISO7500 standards by Roberts Calibration, which is an ISO 17025 and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 accredited company. Equipped with the test certificate software program, Test 35, the machine is set up to do cycle test, load control test and has a length measurement system.                   

The cycle test allows for the prestressing of wire rope and other products. During this test, the machine auto cycles up to the predetermined load and holds, then releases to zero and repeats. This cycle can be repeated as many times as needed.

The length measurement system will calculate the stretch of the product under a load. This information will print out on the certificate and also display the actual length/stretch of the product as the load is increased during the entire test. This is important when determining the headroom on critical lifts. The load control feature allows loading of a product to a specific load and holding it at that load for a predetermined length of time.

Ashley Sling, Inc. has a total of 8 test machines, 7 of which were purchased from Roberts Testing. According to Greg Ashley, “The purchase of this machine along with the introduction of Ashley Sling’s ‘Hybrid Power-Z’ clear cover, fully inspectable, high strength round sling, further proves that we are committed to meeting the demands of the critical lift industry and remaining a leader in the rigging industry. As the market for stronger and lighter lifting products continue to grow, we want to be the first choice for all rigging and lifting needs”.

Established in 1992, Ashley Sling, Inc. has 7 full service locations in the southeast including Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Chattanooga, TN, Columbus, MS, Knoxville, TN, Nashville, TN and Norcross, GA.