Steel Wire Ropes for Construction Machinery must be selected based on the equipment, working conditions, and wire rope environment. Key properties to consider include strength, anti-rotation, anti-fatigue, wear and friction resistance, anti-impact, and anti-corrosion.
Table of Contents
- Selection Factors for Construction Machinery Wire Rope
- Strength Requirements and Breaking Force
- Anti-Rotation Steel Wire Rope Selection
- Twist and Rotation Under Load
- Anti-Fatigue Performance for Pulleys and Drums
- Wear Resistance and Friction Resistance
- Compression Resistance in Multi-Layer Winding Systems
- Anti-Corrosion Selection and Lubrication
- Common Wire Rope Structures by Application
- Contact a Steel Wire Rope Supplier
Selection Factors for Construction Machinery Wire Rope
When selecting steel wire rope for a certain construction machinery, the following properties should fully considered according to equipment, working conditions. As well as wire rope environment: strength, anti-rotation, anti-fatigue, anti-wear and friction, anti-impact and anti-corrosion.
Strength Requirements and Breaking Force
A. The minimum strength of steel wire ropes used in specific systems determined by the manufacturer of equipment, machinery, or lifting facilities. The general procedure is that the manufacturer of equipment, machinery or lifting facilities needs to know the regulations, standards or operation rules of the country, industry and region, which will affect the design parameters of wire rope (usually called safe use coefficient). Other factors may affect the design of pulley and drum, and the shape of rope groove surface and related parameters. Such as radius, drum groove distance and rope setting angle have influence on the performance of wire rope.
B. After the strength of the steel wire rope (minimum total breaking force or minimum breaking force) determined. It is necessary to consider which type of steel wire rope is suitable for that purpose. Designers need to fully understand the performance, characteristics, and constraints of various optional steel wire ropes in use, which is very important.
Anti-Rotation Steel Wire Rope Selection
A. Before use, determine whether to use low rotation or non-rotating steel wire ropes, which commonly referred to as multi-layer strand steel wire ropes.
B. In use, usually choose six-strand or eight-strand wire rope, unless the single rope system produces low rotation, or the multi-rope system is inconvenient to operate due to laying.
C. When the steel wire rope bears weight, it will produce “torsion” (if both ends are fixed) or “rotation” (if one end is fixed).
Twist and Rotation Under Load
When both ends of the steel wire rope are fixed, the applied tension produces torsion at the fixed positions at both ends.
A. When one end of the wire rope is free to rotate, tension will generate rotation.
B. When the load increases, the torsion or rotation will also increase accordingly. The degree of torsion or rotation depends on the structure of the wire rope. Recognizing what will happen after the wire rope bears load, it is necessary to choose the correct wire rope type. It is worth noting that all steel wire ropes will experience some degree of rotation during load-bearing.
C. As the lifting height of the steel wire rope increases, the trend of rotation also increases. In a multi rope system, a decrease in the distance between wire ropes can also lead to an increase in the trend of mutual entanglement. Choosing the correct wire rope helps prevent knots and rotation of lifting objects.
Anti-Fatigue Performance for Pulleys and Drums
When the wire rope is bent around the pulley or drum, it may cause damage due to bending fatigue. The degree of damage depends on factors such as the number of pulleys in the system, the diameter of pulleys and drums, and the carrying capacity.
Wear Resistance and Friction Resistance
Friction damage usually occurs between wire rope and pulley, wire rope and roller, but the biggest friction is usually due to mutual interference in the roller. If wear is the main cause of wire rope damage, wire rope with larger outer wire should selected.
Compression Resistance in Multi-Layer Winding Systems
A. In a multi-layer rope winding system, tension is required during rope installation due to at least two layers of steel wire rope wrapped around the drum. Guizhou Steel Rope Co., Ltd. suggests applying an installation tension of 2% to 10% of the minimum breaking force of the steel wire rope. If this cannot achieved, or if some bottom layer steel wire ropes are inevitably subjected to high pressure. Such as lifting the cantilever steel wire rope from a horizontal position, it can avoided. For example, a cantilever steel wire rope raises the cantilever from a horizontal position.
B. The bottom layer steel wire rope will severely crushed, so choosing a steel core steel wire rope is more effective than using a hemp core. To further improve the compressive strength, it is necessary to choose compacted strand steel wire rope because its metal filling area is larger.
C. In multi-layer rope winding operation, it is inevitable to extrude the bottom wire rope. So it is recommended to use compacted strand steel wire rope, which is beneficial to reduce the crushing injury caused by roller rope winding.
Anti-Corrosion Selection and Lubrication
When using steel wire ropes in environments with strong corrosion resistance, it is recommended to choose galvanized steel wire ropes. If water vapor or other harmful substances can penetrate into the core of steel wire rope, metal core coated steel wire rope can selected. In addition, in order to minimize the impact of corrosion, appropriate lubricating grease should selected. At the same time, lubricating grease should added to the wire rope regularly, which is conducive to giving full play to the best use efficiency of the wire rope.
Common Wire Rope Structures by Application
This table lists typical wire rope types and common constructions for each application, including construction machinery, to support quick and accurate rope selection.
| Application | Wire rope type | Common structures |
|---|---|---|
| Excavator (electric shovel winch) | Line contact wire rope | 6×36WS+IWRC, 6×41WS+IWRC, 6×49WS+IWRC, 6×55WS+IWRC, 8×36WS+IWRC, 8×41WS+IWRC |
| Excavator (electric shovel winch) | Compacted strand steel wire rope | 6×K36WS+IWRC, 6×K41WS+IWRC, 8×K36WS+IWRC, 8×K41WS+IWRC |
| Vertical shaft balance rope | Multi-layer and multi-strand steel wire rope | 35W×7, 24W×7, 18×19W, 34×7, 36×7, 18×19S, 18×7 |
| Vertical shaft excavation (for well construction) | Multi-layer and multi-strand steel wire rope | 17×7, 35W×7, 24W×7, 34×7, 36×7, 18×7 |
| Vertical shaft excavation (for well construction) | Four strand fan-shaped steel wire rope | 4V×39S, 4V×48S |
| Vertical shaft lifting | Line contact wire rope | 6×19S, 6×19W, 6×25Fi, 6×29Fi, 6×26WS, 6×31WS, 6×36WS, 6×41WS |
| Vertical shaft lifting | Multi-layer and multi-strand steel wire rope | 17×7, 35W×7, 24W×7, 34×7, 36×7, 18×7 |
| Inclined shaft winch | Compacted strand steel wire rope | 6×K7, 6×K19S |
| Outdoor slope hoisting | Line contact wire rope | 6×19S, 6×25Fi, 6×29Fi, 6×26WS, 6×31WS, 6×36WS, 6×41WS |
| Blast furnace hoisting | Line contact wire rope | 6×36WS, 6×41WS, 6×49WS, 6×55WS, 6×37S |
| Belt conveyor and cable car, cable car | Line contact wire rope | 6×19S, 6×25Fi, 6×29Fi, 6×26WS, 6×31WS, 6×36WS, 6×41WS |
| Pile driver | Compacted strand steel wire rope | 6×K36WS+IWRC, 6×K41WS+IWRC |
| Rotary drilling rig | Compact strand, multi-layer and multi-strand steel wire rope | 35W×K7, 24W×K7, 15W×K7 |
| Crawler crane | Compact strand, multi-layer and multi-strand steel wire rope | 35W×K7, 35W×7, 24W×K7 |
| European style crane | Parallel laid and compacted strand steel wire rope | 6×19S+PWRC, 8×26WS+PWRC |
Contact a Steel Wire Rope Supplier
If you would like assistance selecting the correct wire rope type for your application and working conditions. Contact KNKT steel wire rope supplier for product support and supply.
