Overview of Wire Rope

The steel wire rope is composed of steel wire, rope core and lubricating grease. The steel wire rope is first twisted into strands by multi-layer steel wires, and then twisted into a helical rope by a certain number of strands with the rope core as the center. In material handling machinery, it is used for lifting, pulling, tensioning and carrying. The steel wire rope has high strength, light weight, stable operation, and is not easy to break suddenly, and the operation is reliable.

Steel wire ropes are standard products in various industrial countries, and are mainly used in transportation such as hoisting and hauling that require high-strength wire ropes. Its diameter, number of rope strands, number of steel wires per strand, tensile strength and sufficient safety factor can be selected according to the needs of the application.

The steel wire is generally selected from high-quality carbon steel No. 65, which can reach high strength after repeated cold drawing and heat treatment. Ordinary occasions can be twisted with smooth steel wire, that is, after the rope-making steel wire is cold-drawn, it can be directly twisted without any surface treatment. Steel wire ropes can be twisted with galvanized steel wires in wet or open-air environments to enhance rust resistance. performance.

Galvanized steel wire rope includes two methods of hot-dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing. The thicker the galvanized layer, the better the anti-corrosion effect. Or it is better to use stainless steel, but the price will be very high compared to galvanized. In addition to the wear of the outer layer of the steel wire, the steel wire rope is gradually broken mainly due to metal fatigue caused by repeated bending when passing around the pulley and the drum. Therefore, the ratio of the diameter of the pulley or drum to the wire rope is an important factor that determines the life of the wire rope. The ratio is large, the bending stress of the steel wire is small, and the service life is long. The appropriate ratio must be determined according to the application. The steel wire rope shall be scrapped when the degree of wear and corrosion of the surface layer or the number of broken wires in each twist exceeds the specified value.

The steel wire rope specifications are classified according to the surface treatment process: oil-coated steel wire rope, hot-dip galvanized steel wire rope, electro-galvanized steel wire rope, and plastic-coated steel wire rope. Among them, oiled steel wire rope is the most widely used, mostly suitable for hoisting and winch occasions. Oiling on the surface of the steel wire rope can prevent rust and lubricate, and the price is relatively cheap. Hot-dip galvanized steel wire rope is a layer of zinc plated on the surface of the steel wire rope through heat treatment. Usually, the hot-dip galvanized zinc layer is thicker and can guarantee that it will not rust for 20 years in the air. Compared with hot-dip galvanized steel wire rope, the anti-rust function of electro-galvanized steel wire rope is poor. Generally, it can only be rust-free in the air for 3-5 years, but electro-galvanized steel wire rope will be relatively brighter than hot-dip galvanized surface metal luster. Plastic-coated steel wire rope is to coat a layer of PVC on the surface of the steel wire rope, which has the effect of lifting buffer and wear resistance.

Wire Ropes consist of

1. Steel wire. The steel wire rope needs to withstand alternating loads during its use, and its performance is mainly determined by the mechanical properties of the steel wire, the surface state of the steel wire and the structure of the steel wire rope. The steel wire material includes carbon steel or alloy steel, which is made by cold drawing or cold rolling. The cross section of the steel wire is round or shaped (T type, S type, Z type). High tensile strength and toughness, and suitable surface treatment of steel wire to meet the needs of different environmental conditions.

2. Rope core. The main function of the rope core is to support the steel wire rope to achieve a stable cross-sectional structure. Rope cores include steel cores and fiber cores. Fiber cores include natural fiber cores and synthetic fiber cores. Natural fiber cores include sisal, jute, cotton, etc., and synthetic fiber cores include polyethylene and polypropylene filaments. The natural fiber core can store more lubricating grease, which can lubricate the wire rope and prolong the service life of the wire rope.

3. Grease. Spraying grease during the wire rope twisting process has two main functions, one is to lubricate the wire rope to slow down the wear of the wire surface, and the other is to isolate the surface of the steel wire from the oxygen in the air and cause oxidation and corrosion to the wire rope play an inhibitory role.

The steel wire is made of high-quality carbon steel, which can reach high strength after repeated cold drawing and heat treatment. Steel wire ropes twisted from galvanized steel wires can be used in workplaces such as wet or open air environments to enhance anti-rust performance. Steel wire ropes are standard products in various industrial countries, and their diameter, number of rope strands, number of steel wires per strand, tensile strength and sufficient safety factor can be selected according to the needs of the application.

Wire Ropes Types

1. Classified by material. Carbon steel wire rope is twisted from high-quality carbon structural steel wire. Stainless steel wire rope is made of twisted stainless steel wire as raw material.

2. Classified by surface condition. Phosphating coated steel wire rope (Chinese patent), referred to as phosphating steel wire rope, the phosphating film weight of the steel wire for rope production is 3-60 grams per square meter. The core and steel wire rope, the phosphating film can improve the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the steel wire surface for rope making, and effectively inhibit the occurrence of fretting fatigue. The phosphating treatment of rope-making steel wire is preferably manganese or zinc-manganese phosphating. After phosphating, the steel wire does not undergo any drawing processing, and the phosphating steel wire is directly used to twist the steel wire rope. Because the phosphating coating makes the surface of the steel wire more wear-resistant, Moreover, the phosphating film is non-conductive, which can improve the corrosion resistance of the steel wire at the same time. The service life of the phosphating steel wire rope is 2-3 times that of the smooth steel wire rope, and the fatigue resistance of the steel wire rope is greatly improved. Galvanized steel wire ropes include two methods of hot-dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing. The protection of the steel wire by the galvanized layer is anodic protection. The thicker the galvanized layer, the stronger the anti-corrosion ability. Plastic-coated steel wire rope is coated with a certain thickness of plastic on the outer surface of the steel wire rope or strand rope, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, etc. Smooth steel wire rope, steel wire obtained after heat treatment and surface preparation by cold drawing (note: the phosphating film formed during the pretreatment process will gradually fall off during the cold drawing process with intense friction with the drawing die), and the steel wire will no longer pass through any Surface treatment for direct twisted strands, cores and wire ropes.

3. Classified according to the twisting method. Single-strand rope, also known as single-twisted rope, is twisted from a rope-making steel wire around a central wire or a hemp core, and can be twisted into one or more layers of steel wire. Double-twisted rope is made by twisting double-strand rope around the rope core (steel core or fiber core). It can be twisted into one or more layers of steel wire. It is the most widely used type of steel wire rope. Three-twisted rope is twisted around the rope core with double-twisted rope as a strand, and is mainly used for thick-gauge steel wire ropes with a diameter of 60mm or more.

4. Sort by status. According to the contact state between adjacent layers of steel wires in the strand, it can be divided into three types: point contact, line contact or surface contact.

① Point-contact steel wire rope: The diameter of the steel wires in the strands is the same, the lay angles of the steel wires in each layer are the same, and the lay lengths are different, so the steel wires of the inner and outer layers cross each other and are in a point contact state.

② Wire rope in line contact: the lay length of each layer of steel wire in the strand is the same and the lay angle is different. Under the same conditions of use, the service life of the line contact wire rope is longer than that of the point contact wire rope.

③Compacted steel wire rope, formerly known as surface-contact steel wire rope, during the twisting process of the steel wire rope, after forging, drawing, etc., the contact surface is formed between the steel wires, including strand rope compaction, steel wire rope compaction and rope strand double compaction, etc. .

④Sealed steel wire rope: The outer layer is made of special-shaped steel wire, including steel wire with T-shaped, S-shaped, and Z-shaped cross-section structures. The surface is smooth and wear-resistant. Withstand lateral pressure, but poor flexibility, complex process, high manufacturing cost, often used as load-bearing cables, such as cables on cable cranes and aerial ropeways.

Features of Wire Rope

1. Wire ropes can transmit loads over long distances.

2. The bearing safety factor is large, and the use is safe and reliable.

3. Light weight, easy to carry and transport.

4. Able to withstand various loads and variable loads.

5. It has high tensile strength, fatigue resistance and impact toughness.

6. Under high-speed working conditions, it is wear-resistant, shock-resistant and stable in operation.

7. It has good corrosion resistance and can work normally in harsh environments with various harmful media.

8. Good flexibility, suitable for traction, pulling, binding and other purposes.

Applications of Wire Rope 

Wire ropes have become indispensable components or materials in metallurgy, mining, oil and gas drilling, machinery, chemical industry, aerospace and other fields.

1. General-purpose steel wire rope (including galvanized steel strand): used in various ranges

2. Steel wire ropes for elevators: used in elevator equipment for carrying people and objects in high-rise buildings, requiring tight structure, softness, and small elongation of the structure, usually with 8-strand structure.

3. Aviation steel wire rope: used for aircraft navigation cables or navigation cables, requiring high fatigue performance and corrosion resistance.

4. Steel wire rope for petroleum: strong bearing capacity and corrosion resistance.

5. Steel wire ropes for aerial ropeways and cable cars: used for aerial transportation tracks, combined with cable cars as transportation means, the steel wire ropes are required to have a large safety factor, corrosion resistance, and smooth surface.

6. Steel wire rope for hoisting: It is required that the steel wire rope has high tensile strength, good flexibility, no rotation, distortion resistance and fatigue resistance, and no looseness.

7. Fishery wire ropes: used for trawling nets, fixed nets, rolling nets, etc., all work in rivers, lakes, and seawater environments, and require good corrosion resistance and softness.

8. Wire rope for mine hoisting.

9. Wire rope for adhesive tape.

10. Balance wire rope

Quality Standards for Wire Ropes

1. Specific gravity. The diameter of the wire rope is the same, the heavier the specific gravity, the better the quality of the wire rope.

2. Wire rope core. The stronger the wire rope core, the heavier the specific gravity, the better the support for the outer strands of the wire rope, and the better the quality of the wire rope.

3. Materials. The material is steel grade and strength. The higher the steel grade, the better the quality of the wire rope with higher strength.

4. After the rope is cut, the quality of the slightly loose wire rope is good, and the quality of the steel wire rope with a relatively long lay length is better than that of a short lay length.

5. The anti-corrosion ability of 316 stainless steel wire rope is stronger than that of 306 stainless steel wire rope, and the anti-corrosion ability of 306 is stronger than that of hot-dip galvanized steel wire rope. Plastic steel wire rope is better in quality than PVC coated steel wire rope, and plastic coated steel wire rope has stronger anticorrosion ability than galvanized steel wire rope.

Price of Wire Rope

The Wire Rope Price will change randomly with factors such as production cost, transportation cost, international situation, exchange rate, market supply and demand of raw materials. Sino Mechanical, as one of global Wire Rope Manufacturers, aims to provide you with high quality and best price Wire Rope. If you are looking for Wire Rope or Wire Rope spares, please kindly contact us to get the latest Wire Rope price.

Wire Rope Supplier

Sino Mechanical, as a Wire Rope manufacturer, has more than 20 years extensive experiences in the performance, application and cost-effective manufacturing of Wire Rope. We are global Wire Rope supplier. We offer a wide range of drilling equipment and have Wire Rope for sale. We also provide OEM services. We design, manufacture, and sell Wire Rope for your drilling applications. If you want to know latest Wire Rope price , don’t hesitate to contact us anytime. We will get back to you within 24 hours.