To demonstrate the significance of our exclusive 5 Star Certification which addresses critical performance factors for cord strapping we’ll take you back to our lab to compare the system strengths of Redback 1 ¼” woven strapping and buckles to the system strengths of a leading competitor’s product. But first, we want to explain what system strength actually means so you can make smart and safe decisions when buying and using strapping.
Traditionally, linear strength (end to end) has been used to describe strapping performance but that’s not really how strapping is used. Strapping is used in loop form as a system with a fastener and when it comes to woven and composite cord strapping the joint at the buckle is usually the weakest link. So loop strength, also known as system strength, is a better indicator of performance. Because it takes into consideration the joint strength of the fastener. Steel banding and plastic strapping however tend to break at the corner of the load rather than the fastener. So, the joint strength and consequently their system strengths aren’t as relevant.
System strength is not a formula or value of linear strength and straps alone do not have system strengths. A cord strapping system ignores both strap and buckle, and the results vary greatly depending on buckle geometry, width, and wire gauge.
So today, we’re going to take a look at how Redback Woven Strapping performs when coupled with Redback buckles of different widths and gauges and then compare our results to similar strapping and buckle combinations of a leading competitor.
We’re using our ASTM calibrated tensile test machine with accuracy of more than 99% and we have a PC controller to chart the results. We’re conducting all tests with the strapping in loop form joined at the buckle with single wraps in the same way you would use strapping and buckles in the field. No double wraps, and we’re pulling all tests at 5 inches per minute.
First up is our CW105 1-1/4” woven 3,300 lbs. strapping coupled with our recommended BF3270 1 ¼” .275 gauge phosphated wire buckle. This is our heaviest gauge 1 ¼” phosphated wire buckle and the average of 3 consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of 5,591 lbs.
And here is the comparison to the leading competitors 1 ¼” 3,285 lbs. strapping coupled with their 1 ¼” .275 gauge phosphated wire buckle. The average of 5 consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of only 4,738 lbs., about 15% lower performance than Redback Strapping.
Now there are some situations where you might want to use a lower gauge buckle. Either to operate at a lower working tension, or to save some money. So let’s take a look at what happens when we downgauge our 1 ¼” wire buckle from .275 to .238 gauge.
Using the same Redback 1 ¼” strapping as before, the average of three consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of 4,808 lbs. outperforming the competitors heavier gauge buckle and strap combination.
Which brings us to our next group of tests. Downsizing to 1” buckles. Now just because you can cram an 1 ¼” strapping into a 1” buckle, it that doesn’t make it an 1 ¼” buckle, but since we see this type of pairing in the market. Lets take a look and see how things stack up.
Using Redback 1” .238 gauge buckles with the same Redback 1 ¼” strapping as before the average of 4 consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of 4,540 lbs. About 81% of the performance compared to our recommended 1 ¼” buckle.
And when downgauged further to our 1” .197 gauge phosphated buckle, the average of 4 consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of 4,231 lbs., about 75% of our original performance.
But now lets compare that to the competitor 1 ¼” 3,285 lbs. strap with their 1” .197 gauge phosphated buckle. The average of 5 consecutive tests resulted in a system strength of only 3,152 lbs. about 25% lower performance than the equivalent Redback paring and in our opinion, this pretty much defeats the purpose of spending the money on an 1 ¼” woven strap. Considering our ¾” 2,425 lbs. woven strap with our ¾” .160 gauge wire buckle has higher system strength as demonstrated in our previous video.
So to recap, here are the side by side comparisons. As you can see, strapping alone does not have system strength, and not all straps and buckles are created equal. This is just another illustration of how Redback’s superior weave patterns, coating, and buckle geometry provide some of the highest joint strengths and repeatable performance in the industry.
Is your strapping 5 Star Certified? Ours is. To learn more about Redback strapping and our 5 star performance standard, give us a call or check us out on the web at Redback.com.