Product Overview
The tecsis XLK shackle load cell (now WIKA Sensor Technology) puts the measurement inside a piece of rigging: a design-patented one-piece clevis with an integral gauged pin that installs exactly like the shackle it replaces and reads 1,000 to 20,000 lb of line tension at ±0.15% FSO combined. It is specified the way rigging must be — 400% safe overload and a 50-million-cycle fatigue life — and reads out the way instrumentation must: 4–20 mA, 0–5 V, or 0–10 V from one connector. For hoist lines, tie-downs, winch pulls, and suspended-load monitoring where the sensor has to survive being treated like hardware.
Related WIKA-ST crane & heavy-lift sensors
Tension Links — F7301 family — from 5 kN, ATEX / functional-safety variants
Heavy-Duty Load Pins — F5308 family — gauge the pin already in the joint
XLPD Dual Load Pins — the high-accuracy pin — loading-error cancellation to 0.25%
Wire-Rope Tension Cells — clamp onto the installed rope — retrofit overload protection
Key Features & Benefits
- The shackle is the sensor — no pin swap in existing hardware, no link added above the hook — the XLK replaces a shackle the rigging already uses, so tension measurement drops into the line with zero re-engineering of the lift. Rig it like hardware, read it like an instrument.
- 400% safe overload — rigging-house margin — a 10:1 ratio at 2 tons means a shock, a snag, or an operator surprise lands inside the safety margin instead of inside the gauge — the overload philosophy of lifting hardware applied to a load cell. Specified like the shackle it replaces.
- Fifty million cycles of load-on, load-off — rigging tension is the definition of cyclic duty — every lift is a full cycle — and the XLK carries an explicit 50,000,000-cycle fatigue life where general-purpose cells simply do not say. The duty cycle is in the spec, not in the fine print.
- ±0.15% combined from a piece of rigging — linearity, hysteresis, and repeatability roll up to ±0.15% FSO — tight enough that the same shackle doing overload protection can log a credible weight. Hardware-grade toughness, instrument-grade numbers.
- Three outputs from one receptacle — 4–20 mA in 2- or 3-wire, 0–5 V, or 0–10 V — the XLK meets whatever the crane display, PLC, or datalogger wants without an outboard converter. Pick the signal at order, not in the panel shop.
Specifications
- Operating principle
- A one-piece shackle assembly that is itself the load cell: the machined clevis body with its integral measuring pin (cotter-pin retained) drops into the rigging line like the shackle it replaces, and reads the tension passing through it. Standard calibration in tension.
- Capacity / measuring range
- 0–1,000 to 0–20,000 lb (ordering XLK-01K through XLK-020K); dimensions shown through 6,500 lb, larger capacities change the envelope. Metric versions available.
- Accuracy & repeatability
- Linearity, hysteresis, and repeatability ±0.15% FSO combined; zero balance ±1.0% FSO.
- Output & excitation
- Multi-output: 4–20 mA (2- or 3-wire), 0–5 VDC, or 0–10 VDC; excitation 5–15 VDC on a 700-Ω nominal bridge; NC5MD-L-1 receptacle (mating cable optional).
- Overload & breaking force
- Safe overload 400% of capacity (10:1 at 2 tons).
- Dynamic / fatigue rating
- 50,000,000-cycle fatigue life — rated for the load-on/load-off duty rigging actually sees.
- Body material
- Machined stainless assembly (hermetically sealed stainless product family).
- Dimensions / fit
- Design-patented one-piece geometry (US D703,907S); the shackle envelope through 6,500 lb is printed on the sheet, larger sizes per order.
- Mounting / load introduction
- Installs in-line in the rigging exactly as a shackle: pin through the mating clevis or padeye, cotter-retained. Spherical-washer set available for clean load introduction.
- Temperature range
- Operating −46 to +121°C (−50 to +250°F); compensated +15 to +71°C.
- Thermal effect
- Zero ±0.05% FSO/°F; span ±0.02% of reading/°F.
- Approvals & options
- CE mark; options include the spherical-washer set, mating-connector cable, and a high-resistance bridge.
- Build & lead time
- Ordered by capacity (XLK-01K … XLK-020K), output, and options; metric or imperial. Quote-only, no public price list.
Common Applications
- Lifting and rigging tension — hoist lines, slings, and spreader bridles
- Suspended-load monitoring and overload protection at the shackle point
- Winch, tie-down, and guy-line tension measurement
- Load verification during lifts where the measuring point must be ordinary rigging
Fit guide: the XLK is the in-line rigging sensor at 1,000–20,000 lb. For higher-capacity links with ATEX and functional-safety variants see the tension links (F7301 family); to gauge a pin in existing hardware, the heavy-duty load pins; for rope tension without opening the line, the wire-rope tension cells.
Design & Selection Considerations
- It measures tension — keep the load in line — standard calibration is tension along the shackle axis; side pulls and twisted rigging read wrong and wear the assembly. The optional spherical-washer set exists to keep the introduction clean where alignment cannot be guaranteed. Rig it straight or fixture it straight.
- The load cell is not the lifting certificate — the XLK is a measuring instrument built as a shackle — the lift plan’s rated hardware, inspection regime, and safety factors are set by your rigging standard, and any suspected overload event should also trigger recalibration. Measurement duty and rigging duty each keep their own paperwork.
- No IP rating is printed — ask before the weather does — the sheet comes from the hermetically sealed stainless family but prints no ingress rating; for washdown, marine, or permanently outdoor duty, confirm the sealing for the exact build at quote. Omitted on the sheet means confirmed at order, not assumed.
- Compensated band is narrower than the survival band — the cell operates −46 to +121°C but is compensated +15 to +71°C — winter-yard precision work should budget the published zero/span drift outside the band. Two ranges, two error budgets.
- Get the load axial, centered, and free of side load — these transducers measure force introduced straight down their axis. Take an off-center or transverse load and the reading is wrong and the element can be damaged — the datasheets call for a load that is axial, centric, and free of transverse force and torque. Most field errors here are load-introduction errors, not sensor errors.
- Size so the working load lands in the upper part of the range — aim to put the routine working load high enough in the range for good resolution and signal-to-noise, with headroom for peaks. Oversize and resolution suffers; undersize and an overload event shifts the calibration. Use the input form to tell us the static load and the worst-case peak — not just the nominal.
- Know the gap between safe overload and breaking force — every unit has a safe overload it can see without losing calibration and a higher breaking force where it is destroyed. The danger zone is between them: a unit overloaded past safe but not to breaking keeps reporting plausible, wrong numbers. Any suspected overload should trigger a recalibration before you trust the data again.
- Watch cross-sensitivity where the load can swing off-axis — a side load produces a real, specified error (the F5301, for example, carries a cross-sensitivity rating for load applied at 90°). Where the loading geometry can move — a swinging sheave, a misaligned fixture — account for it in the error budget or constrain the geometry. Off-axis load is a spec line for a reason.
- Pick the output to match what is reading the sensor — a raw mV/V bridge needs a conditioning input (DAQ or indicator with a bridge card); an integrated or cable amplifier reads straight into a PLC as 4–20 mA or 0–10 V. Use 4–20 mA for long, noisy runs; 0–10 V for short test-bench runs. Decide it from the receiver and the cable distance.
- A legacy tecsis part number cross-references to a current WIKA-ST unit — the tecsis force line is now built under WIKA Sensor Technology. Use the input form to send the tecsis part number and we match the current WIKA-ST equivalent at the same spec, so a field replacement does not require re-engineering the installation. No need to re-spec from scratch on a like-for-like swap.
To spec the right WIKA-ST shackle load cell:
To configure the right WIKA-ST force sensor, have these ready: the capacity (and the worst-case peak load); whether the force is tension, compression, or both; how the load is introduced (through an existing pin, a ring in the force path, or a threaded line); the output you need (4–20 mA, 0–10 V, mV/V, CANopen, or wireless) and the cable run; the environment (temperature, washdown, classified area); any certification (ATEX/IECEx, functional safety); and, for a load pin, the existing pin dimensions to match. A legacy tecsis part number is fine — send it and we cross-reference the current WIKA-ST equivalent.
Force & Pressure Application Sheet ›Talk to an engineer directly — Scott Prater, Principal · 917-580-0878 · scott@pratertechnical.com
Specifications compiled by Prater Technical Partners from WIKA product datasheets.