A

ABRASION

Removal of material from a surface by a rubbing action; also referred to as surface wear.

ACCELERATION STRESS

Additional stress due to a change in velocity (speed and/or direction) of a moving booming, a load.

ALTERNATE LAY

A type of wire rope construction in which the strands are alternately regular lay or lang lay.

B

BASKET HITCH

A sling configuration in which the sling is looped under a load in some manner and lifting is done from both ends of the sling on two sides of the load.

BASKET HITCH

A sling configuration in which the sling is looped under a load in some manner and lifting is done from both ends of the sling on two sides of the load.

BENDING STRESS

Stress created in a load supporting member due to a bending action of that member, as opposed to tensile or compressive action. Bending stress occurs in a wire rope, in addition to normal tensile load stress, when it is wrapped around a drum or sheave. If the drum or sheave is not properly sized, the useful life of the rope will be reduced.

BIRD CAGING

The twisting of fiber or wire rope in an isolated area in the opposite direction of the rope lay, thereby causing it to take on the appearance of a bird cage.

BIRD NESTING

The mis-spoolingor backlashing of wire rope on a drum.

BIRDCAGE

A colloquialism descriptive of the appearance of wire rope forced into compression. The outer strands form a ‘cage’ and, at times, displace the core.

BLOCK

(1) A frame into which sheaves or grooved pulleys are mounted and which incorporates a hook, eye, or strap for attachment to a load or anchorage. (2) A piece of material inserted at the base of a wheel to prevent movement.

BRAIDED WIRE ROPE

A wire rope formed by plaiting component wire ropes.

BRIDLE WIRE ROPE SLING

A sling composed of multiple wire rope legs with the top ends gathered in a fitting that goes over the lifting hook.

C

CABLE LAID ENDLESS SLING – MECHANICAL SPLICE

A wire rope sling made endless by splicing the ends of cable laid rope with metallic fittings.

CABLE LAID GROMMET – HAND TUCKED

An endless wire rope sling made from one length of rope wrapped six times around a core formed by hand tucking the ends of the rope inside the six wraps.

CABLE LAID ROPE

A wire rope composed of six wire ropes wrapped around a fiber or wire rope core.

CABLE LAID ROPE SLING – MECHANICAL JOINT

A wire rope sling made from a cable laid rope with eyes fabricated by pressing or swaging one or more metal sleeves over the rope junction.

COATING

An elastomeric or other suitable material applied to a sling or to a sling component to impart desirable properties.

CRITICAL LIFT

A crane lifting operation judged to involve an exceptional level of risk due to factors such as load weight, lifting height, procedural complications, or proximity to situational hazards. Critical lifts may be identified by conditions exceeding a specified percentage of the crane’s rated capacity; however, many more complex issues may be involved.

D

DEAD END

The point of fastening of one point in a running rope system, the other (live) end being fastened at the rope drum.

DEADMAN

An object or structure, either existing or built for the purpose, used as an anchorage for a guy rope.

DRAG ROPE

A wire rope attached to one crane drum and used to pull a bucket towards the crane base during dragline operation.

DRAGLINE

A type of material handling crane service in which a bucket is suspended from a boom tip and pulled over the ground towards the crane to fill the bucket. The full bucket is then lifted clear of the ground, swung to the side, and dumped at a new location.

DYNAMIC LOADS

Those loads introduced in a crane or lifting system as a result of acceleration motion as opposed to simply static weight.

F

FERRULE

(1) A metal sleeve attached to a wire rope sling with capacity and identification data stamped into the metal.
(2) A tapered metal sleeve which acts as a seal connection in metal fluid lines.

G

GUY ROPE

A rope attached to some form of anchorage which holds a vertical structure in position.

H

HOIST

A mechanical device for lifting and lowering heavy loads usually by winding rope onto or off a drum.

HOIST ROPE

A rope on a crane either as a single part or in multiple parts reeving to fit loads. Typically, the hoist line runs from a hoist drum, over the boom tip sleeves(s), and down to the overhaul ball or into a reeving with the hook block.

HOISTING

The act of raising or lowering a load in a vertical direction through the use of some type of rope and sheave system.

L

LOADING

(1) The act of applying a load to a structure or mechanism.
(2) Forces applied to a structure or mechanism, e.g. wind loading on a boom

O

OUTRIGGER

A beam which extends from the lower works of a crane to increase the crane’s stability. The beams may be either extendible/retractable or fixed length and typically utilize some type of pad to distribute loads to the ground surface.

P

PENDANT

A fixed length of rope with mechanical fittings at both ends for pinning segments of rope together. Pendants are typically used in a latticed boom crane system to easily change the length of the boom suspension system without completely changing the rope on the drum when the boom length is increased or decreased.

PROOF LOAD

A load applied to a system of components to demonstrate its fitness for service.

PROOF TEST

A non-destructive test which applies a proof load to a system or component.

S

SHACKLE

A component of rigging hardware consisting of a U-shaped steel clevis with a pin passing through the open ends of the U. A shackle is used to temporarily attach other rigging components such as wire rope or chain slings to fixed lugs, etc.

SHEAVE

A wheel or pulley with a circumferential groove incorporated to support a wire rope as it passes around the rin. Used to change the direction of a running line.

SLING

A preassembled rope, chain, or synthetic component for attaching a load to a lifting device and supporting that load in tension.

SPREADER BAR

A strut type structural member used in compression to separate two static ropes.

STRAND

A group of wires helically wound together forming all or part of a wire rope.

STRAND LAID ENDLESS SLING – MECHANICAL JOINT

An endless wire rope sling made from one length of rope with the ends joined by one or more mechanical fittings.

STRAND LAID GROMMET – HAND TUCKED

And endless wire rope sling made from one length of strand wrapped six times around a core formed by hand tucking the ends of the strand inside the six wraps.

STRAND LAID ROPE

A type of wire rope construction made from strands (usually six eight) wrapped around a core of fiber, wire strand, or independent wire rope.

STRENGTH FACTOR

The ratio between the failure load for a component and the working load limit. The strength factor is usually expressed as a whole number, e.g. the strength factor for static wire ropes of standard construction is 3.0.

T

THIMBLE

Metal loop set inside the eye of a wire rope sling.

THREAD DIAMETER

The diameter of a sheave or grooved rope drum measured at the base of the groove; the diameter of a smooth barrel on a rope drum.

W

WINCH

(1) A device utilizing a drum to wind in wire rope during pulling operations as contrasted to a hoist which winds rope on a drum for lifting work. (2) The act of winding rope on a drum.

WINCH ROPE

The running rope wound into and off of a winch drum during pulling operations.

WIRE ROPE

A flexible rope constructed by laying steel wires into various patterns of multi-wired strands around a core system.

Guides And White Papers

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