What is a High Friction Beam Clamp?

Recently Kee Safety released a new line of high friction beam clamps. We contacted Julie at LNA Solutions and asked her some questions about these new clamps. We hope that these questions will better help you to better understand high friction beam clamps.

In simple terms: what is a High Friction Beam Clamp?

The Type BY High Friction Clamp is very similar to our standard Type BA/BB clamps however is used when high frictional loads are encountered. High friction basically means that the clamps will not slip.

How is a high friction clamp different from a standard beam clamp?

The Type BY is different from our standard clamps due to its bulkier size and shape and therefore can be torqued down to a much higher torque rating. This higher torque allows the frictional value to levels much, much higher than our standard clamps. In addition to higher frictional values, the tensile values also increase due to the size of the clamp.

When would I be most likely to use this kind of clamp?

The Type BY is used when high frictional loads are encountered as stated above. In some occasions, it is also used when higher tensile values are required, however, for the most part as the clamp name states, the major benefit is the frictional value. This means that the clamp can be used for vertical arrangements such as in the picture above.

What are some common applications and uses for the high friction variety of clamp?

Common applications include connections to columns, connections with an inclined slope, special condition rigging applications, offshore pipe supports, connections with combined loading requirements and connections with tensile requirements that exceed those of our standard clamps.

Beam Clamp is an engineered connection that connects I-beams without welding or drilling.

Want to find out more about Beam Clamp connections, visit our Beam Clamp product page.