Key Facts of Wire ropes

                       

When the group of fibers is twisted so as to make it a strand, a rope is made. The discovery of wire rope was done by a German named Wilhelm Albert in 1830’s; he was a mining engineer by profession. Wire ropes were developed primarily for the purpose of lifting and hoisting in cranes and elevators. The most important quality of rope is its high strength which enables it to support large tensile forces. Wire ropes are made by combining small individual wires that are in turn combined into strands, those  strands are then twisted together to form a solid rope. Talking about the steel wire ropes they are made of non alloy carbon steel with 0.4 to 0.95 % of carbon content. People usually get confused between cables and rope. The difference between the two lies in their diameter. Ropes are the ones which have diameter larger than 3/8 inches while as sizes smaller than this come under the category of cables or cords. Wire rope slings are used in various industries such as mining, oil, gas, crane and many more such industries for the purpose of lifting. As they are used for lifting there is a probability of getting hurt while handling various equipment. So, one has to be really very cautious while dealing with them as safety comes first.

Let us throw some light on some of its features

Ø  Strength: These ropes are very strong that's why they are used for lifting purpose.

Ø  Flexibility: Flexibility is the key criteria in manufacturing of the ropes.

Ø  Durability: Ropes have to go undergo ware and tear because of the force to which they are subjected so, they need to be strong enough to handle it and for a long time

Ø  Resistance: It should have great resistance to abrasion and heat.

Precautionary measures

Keep checking for the damages in the rope, if any then change the wire rope immediately.

Prior to using the slings just make sure the hooks are fastened properly to the load and appliances.