Enough of TCIA's unethical practices

[bonner1040]

As someone involved with the development and manufacture of the AFB I would like to make a few comments.

• The AFB is a specialized tool for a specific purpose. Much like a micro pulley or a claw hammer it was designed to work under a specific set of circumstances and for a specific type of task.
• The clearly labeled SWL of 1000 lbs is accurate and repeatable with deformation showing regularly above that.
• Repeated testing has proven that it requires in excess of 13,000 lbs of force to break the device or cause catastrophic failure.
• I consider neither deformation of the device, nor a situation where the load was not unintentionally released as catastrophic failure.

There are a lot of folks out there with AFBs that use them regularly with great success. We have also had a few people exceed the SWL and cause deformation as shown in this article. Never has there been a reported incident of catastrophic failure of this device. Anyone who has damaged or deformed one however has been taken care of by our wonderful customer service team.

 

[Tony]

As someone involved with the development and manufacture of the AFB I would like to make a few comments.

• The AFB is a specialized tool for a specific purpose. Much like a micro pulley or a claw hammer it was designed to work under a specific set of circumstances and for a specific type of task.
• The clearly labeled SWL of 1000 lbs is accurate and repeatable with deformation showing regularly above that.
• Repeated testing has proven that it requires in excess of 13,000 lbs of force to break the device or cause catastrophic failure.
• I consider neither deformation of the device, nor a situation where the load was not unintentionally released as catastrophic failure.

There are a lot of folks out there with AFBs that use them regularly with great success. We have also had a few people exceed the SWL and cause deformation as shown in this article. Never has there been a reported incident of catastrophic failure of this device. Anyone who has damaged or deformed one however has been taken care of by our wonderful customer service team.

Nick,

Thanks for the reasonable reply. As stated earlier, the tests were just that, tests, not meant to be replications of real work scenarios. As with all tests there are outlying results. All would do well to remember we look for averages. Your point about the AFB being a specific tool for a specific purpose used in specific ways is well taken and all should heed that advice with any rigging tool.

Be wary of silver bullets in any pursuit.

Tony