Steel Wire Rope - Use & Maintenance
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In this section you will find some essential details on the use and maintenance of steel wire rope
from unreeling, lubricating to the correct coiling on a drum and more. If you feel unconfident in
performing safe and correct lifting operations please consult our training.
Use
Before first use
please check that:
a)the steel wire rope is according to order;
b) the steel wire rope and the packaging aren't damaged;
c) the steel wire rope diameter, is according to below;
d) that certificates exsists;
e) that the steel wire rope is suitable for the application;
f) that the equipment that the steel wire rope is going to be used together with is in
working condition.
Use in hazardous conditions
If the steel wire rope is to be used in hazardous conditions a risk evaluation is to be
done. The WLL of the steel wire rope should be decided or adjusted according to this.
Example of such conditions are offshore, lifting people or dangerous load.
"Ensure the longevity and safety of your steel wire rope through our teaching. We
have hands on training from crane rope inspection, lift rope inspectors and more.”
Use in Adverse Environments
Temperature affect on working load limit (WLL)
Account should be taken of the maximum temperature that can be reached by the wire
rope sling in service. This is difficult in practice but underestimation of the temperature
should be avoided.
The table below summarises the necessary de-rated working load limits of a sling due
to temperature, taking into account the type of rope termination, the ferrule material and
the core of the rope.
When wire rope slings are to be used in temperatures below -40 °C CERTEX should be
consulted.
The use of wire rope slings within the permissible temperature ranges given in the
table does not require any
permanent reduction in working load limit when the rope is returned to ambient
temperature.
Terminatio Rop
Ferrule- De-rated working load limit expressed as % of WLL of the sling
n e
type material core Temperature (t) ºC
-40 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 201 - 300 301 - 400 400<t
Fibr Do not Do not
Ferrule Aluminium 100 Do not use Do not use Do not use
e use use
Do not
Ferrule Aluminium Steel 100 100 Do not use Do not use Do not use
use
Fibr Do not Do not
Ferrule Steel 100 Do not use Do not use Do not use
e use use
Ferrule Steel Steel 100 100 90 75 65 Do not use
Fibr Do not Do not
Splice - 100 Do not use Do not use Do not use
e use use
Splice - Steel 100 100 90 75 65 Do not use
Instruction for Handling of Steel Wire Rope
Following instructions and warnings are issued to give guidelines for safe installation
and handle. Warning texts point at areas where large risk for considerable reduction of
life of the steel wire rope and/or damage on equipment and to person by wrong handle
exists.
WARNING! Handle and installation of steel wire ropes shall always be performed by a
person with knowledge and education about valid safety regulations.
Packing
Wire rope is generally delivered in a coil, plywood or wooden reel. On the European
mainland a cross reel is also common. Please specify packaging when ordering.
Lifting and Handling
Ensure that the rope is not damaged by fork lifts or other handling equipment, by lifting
or handling.
WARNING! Wrong handling/lifting can damage the rope.
Storage
Steel wire ropes shall be stored in a dry and well ventilated location. Cover with
waterproof material by outside storage. Rotate the reel periodically during long periods
of storage, partuculary in warm environments. The ropes shall be examined regulary
and lubricated if necessary.
WARNING! Incorrect storing can cause damage on the wire rope. Never store the rope
in environment with highly various temperature.
Unwinding
Wrong coiling can cause serious damage to the steel wire rope. Coil or wind according
to the following:
- Reels should be rolled out or alternatively placed on a turnable centre.
- Cross reels and drums should be placed on a shaft that allows it to rotate.
- Wind and unwind the rope in the same direction.
- In some cases it may be necessary to brake the drum.
WARNING! Wrong "opening" of packing can cause serious injury to personnel, first
ensure that the rope is under control.
Never pull a rope from a stationary reel or drum - due to the risk of kinking.
Cutting
Usually ropes are supplied in cut lengths, with "tapered" ends made by annealing. If the
rope is required to be cut during assembly the rope shall be seized each side of the cut,
to prevent damage from opening strands and/or changing lay length.
One seizing either side of the cut is normally sufficient for preformed ropes. For "rotation
resistant" and special wire ropes a minimum of two seizings each side of the cut will be
necessary. The length of each seizing should be a minimum 2 x rope diameter.
Cutting should be made with a high speed abrasive disc cutter, cutting torch or other
suitable mechanical or hydraulic shearing equipment.
After the rope has been cut the seizing should be left until all the wires are welded or
otherwise secured.
WARNING! Incorrect cutting can cause damage to the rope. Be extra careful when
cutting rotation resistant ropes.
Use safety goggles and other appropriate safety equipment when using a disc cutter or
other mechanical or electrical devices.
"Breaking in"
After the rope has been installed and before it is taken into operation, several run-
throughs of normal operation circle should be carried out under light load to let the rope
adjust itself to the actual operating conditions.
Drum - Groove
Check the general condition of the drum. If the drum is grooved, check the radius and
pitch are compatible with the diameter of the new rope.
WARNING! The drum can in some cases cause damage to the rope and lead to early
discard. If the drum diameter is too small this can cause permanent distortion to the
rope which will cause to early discard of the rope.
Drum - Correct Coiling
The rotation direction and the attachment point of the rope determines whether right or
left hand lay rope should be used. To determine the correct rope the following rule
should be followed:
Right thread groove on the drum - left hand lay rope.
Left thread groove on the drum - right hand lay rope.
WARNING! Incorrect choice of lay can adversely affect rope performance.
Pass a shaft through the reel and place the reel in a suitable stand which allows it to
rotate and be braked to avoid over run during installation. Where multi-layer coiling is
involved it may be necessary for the reel to be placed in equipment which has the
capability of providing a back tension to the rope as it is being transferred from reel to
drum. This is to ensure that the underlaying (and subsequent) laps are wound tightly on
the drum.
WARNING! Incorrect coiling may cause severe damage to the wire rope as well as its
performance.
Drum - Multiple Layers
Multiple layers of wire on the drum can cause deformation (flattening, distortion etc) in
the lower layers if the wrong rope construction is used and/or by incorrect winding.
Drum - Fleet Angle
Too large a fleet angle can cause excessive wear of the rope against the adjacent wrap
on the drum. This can also lead to torsional problems.
Drum - Connection
When installing a new rope a cable sock or alternatively a welded pad eye can be
used as connection between the old and new rope.
Individual turn between two ropes when installing can be possible with a swivel, which
avoids turn being transmitted from the "old" rope into the new rope.
WARNING! Always check that "rope torque" does not exist during installation. A cable
sock or other connection should be equipped with a swivel.
Drum - Capacity
The following formula gives an approximate indication of the length of a rope of a given
diameter (d), which can be installed onto a drum.
Rope length (m) = (A+B) x A x C x π x 106 / d2
A, B and C are quoted in metres and d in millimetres.
Note that ropes are normally manufactured to a maximum oversize tolerance of up to
5%.
Lubrication of Wire Ropes
Lubrication of wire ropes
Running wire ropes must be lubricated regularly when in operation. Regular treatment
with suitable lubricants may significantly increase rope service life.
Contact CERTEX for further advice and help on lubrication.
Examination
At examination of steel wire ropes attention shall specially be drawn to the parts of the
rope that are, known from experience, exposed to wear and damage.
Wear, broken wires, distortion and corrosion are more common visible signs of
deterioration.
Wear is a normal feature of rope service and the correct rope construction ensure that it
remains a secondary aspect of deterioration. Correct lubrication of the rope may help to
reduce both outer and inner wear.
Broken wires are normally feature of rope service towards the end of the rope's life,
resulting from bending fatigue and wear. The local break up of wires may indicate some
mechanical fault in the equipment. Correct lubrication in service will increase fatigue
performance.
Individual broken wires shall be attended to by removing the wire, see figure.
Distortions are usally as a result of mechanical damage, and if severe, can
considerably affect rope strength.
Corrosion, both outer and inner, indicate unsuitable grease. Pitting on the external wire
surface can result in breaking wires. Inner corrosion occurs in some environments when
lubrication is inadequate or of unsuitable type. Reduction in rope diameter will frequently
guide the observer to this condition, but confirmation can only be made by inner
examination of the rope
WARNING! Do not cut the wire, bend it until it breaks and let the break be close to the
inner of the rope construction. This reduce the risk for ends of wires sticking out of the
rope.
WRONG RIGHT
Rope discard
Discard the wire rope in accordance with current regulations or according to the
manufacturers recommendations.
Only a qualified and experienced person should be responsible for discard.
The pictures show typical examples of wire rope deterioration.
WARNING! Failure to take adequate precautions could result in injury.
Number of visible brokenb outer wires over a length of:
Section of rope working in steel Sections of rope
sheaves and/or spooling on a spooling on a multi-
Rope Number of load-bearing
single-layer drum layer drum c
category wires in the outer layer of
Classed M1 to M4 or class
number strands in the rope a All classes
unknown d
Ordinary and Lang
Ordinary lay Lang lay
lay
RCN n 6d e
30d e
6d e
30d e
6de 30de
1 n ≤ 50 2 4 1 2 4 8
2 51 ≤ n ≤ 75 3 6 2 3 6 12
3 76 ≤ n ≤ 100 4 8 2 4 8 16
4 101 ≤ n ≤ 120 5 10 2 5 10 20
5 121 ≤ n ≤ 140 6 11 3 6 12 22
6 141 ≤ n ≤ 160 6 13 3 6 12 26
7 161 ≤ n ≤ 180 7 14 4 7 14 28
8 181 ≤ n ≤ 200 8 16 4 8 16 32
9 201 ≤ n ≤ 220 9 18 4 9 18 36
10 221 ≤ n ≤ 240 10 19 5 10 20 38
11 241 ≤ n ≤ 260 10 21 5 10 20 42
12 261 ≤ n ≤ 280 11 22 6 11 22 44
13 281 ≤ n ≤ 300 12 24 6 12 24 48
Ropes having outer strands of Seal construction where the number of wires in each strand is 19
or less (e.g. 6 x 19 Seal) are placed in this table two rows above that row in which the
construction would normally be placed based on the number of load bearing wires in the outer
layer of strands.
a) Filler wires are not regarded as load-bearing wire and are not included in the values of n.
b) A broken wire has two ends (counted as one wire)
c) The values apply to deterioration that occurs at the cross-over zones and interference between
wraps due to fleet angle effect.
d) Twice the number of broken wires listed may be applied to ropes on mechanisms whose
classification is known to be M5 to M8.
e) d= nominal diameter of rope
Kassation
Discard the wire rope in accordance with current regulations or according to the
manufacturers recommendations.
Only a qualified and experienced person should be responsible for discard.
The pictures show typical examples of wire rope deterioration.
WARNING! Failure to take adequate precautions could result in injury.
New Table
Number of visible brokenb outer wires over a length of:
Section of rope working in steel Sections of rope
sheaves and/or spooling on a spooling on a multi-
Rope Number of load-bearing
single-layer drum layer drum c
category wires in the outer layer of
Classed M1 to M4 or class
number strands in the rope a All classes
unknown d
Ordinary and Lang
Ordinary lay Lang lay
lay
RCN n 6d e
30d e
6d e
30d e
6de 30de
1 n ≤ 50 2 4 1 2 4 8
2 51 ≤ n ≤ 75 3 6 2 3 6 12
3 76 ≤ n ≤ 100 4 8 2 4 8 16
4 101 ≤ n ≤ 120 5 10 2 5 10 20
5 121 ≤ n ≤ 140 6 11 3 6 12 22
6 141 ≤ n ≤ 160 6 13 3 6 12 26
7 161 ≤ n ≤ 180 7 14 4 7 14 28
8 181 ≤ n ≤ 200 8 16 4 8 16 32
9 201 ≤ n ≤ 220 9 18 4 9 18 36
10 221 ≤ n ≤ 240 10 19 5 10 20 38
11 241 ≤ n ≤ 260 10 21 5 10 20 42
12 261 ≤ n ≤ 280 11 22 6 11 22 44
13 281 ≤ n ≤ 300 12 24 6 12 24 48
Ropes having outer strands of Seal construction where the number of wires in each strand is 19
or less (e.g. 6 x 19 Seal) are placed in this table two rows above that row in which the
construction would normally be placed based on the number of load bearing wires in the outer
layer of strands.
a) Filler wires are not regarded as load-bearing wire and are not included in the values of n.
b) A broken wire has two ends (counted as one wire)
c) The values apply to deterioration that occurs at the cross-over zones and interference between
wraps due to fleet angle effect.
d) Twice the number of broken wires listed may be applied to ropes on mechanisms whose
classification is known to be M5 to M8.
e) d= nominal diameter of rope
Number of visible brokenb outer wires over a length of:
Section of rope working in steel Sections of rope
sheaves and/or spooling on a spooling on a multi-
Rope Number of load-bearing
single-layer drum layer drum c
category wires in the outer layer of
Classed M1 to M4 or class
number strands in the rope a All classes
unknown d
Ordinary and Lang
Ordinary lay Lang lay
lay
RCN n 6d e
30d e
6d e
30d e
6de 30de
1 n ≤ 50 2 4 1 2 4 8
2 51 ≤ n ≤ 75 3 6 2 3 6 12
3 76 ≤ n ≤ 100 4 8 2 4 8 16
4 101 ≤ n ≤ 120 5 10 2 5 10 20
5 121 ≤ n ≤ 140 6 11 3 6 12 22
6 141 ≤ n ≤ 160 6 13 3 6 12 26
7 161 ≤ n ≤ 180 7 14 4 7 14 28
8 181 ≤ n ≤ 200 8 16 4 8 16 32
9 201 ≤ n ≤ 220 9 18 4 9 18 36
10 221 ≤ n ≤ 240 10 19 5 10 20 38
11 241 ≤ n ≤ 260 10 21 5 10 20 42
12 261 ≤ n ≤ 280 11 22 6 11 22 44
13 281 ≤ n ≤ 300 12 24 6 12 24 48
Ropes having outer strands of Seal construction where the number of wires in each strand is 19
or less (e.g. 6 x 19 Seal) are placed in this table two rows above that row in which the
construction would normally be placed based on the number of load bearing wires in the outer
layer of strands.
a) Filler wires are not regarded as load-bearing wire and are not included in the values of n.
b) A broken wire has two ends (counted as one wire)
c) The values apply to deterioration that occurs at the cross-over zones and interference between
wraps due to fleet angle effect.
d) Twice the number of broken wires listed may be applied to ropes on mechanisms whose
classification is known to be M5 to M8.
e) d= nominal diameter of rope
