The stranding machines, called formers or bunchers, vary in size and form depending on ability to accommodate continuous strand lengths as well as on production rates and flyer speeds. Strands, also known as readies, are formed by twisting yarns, or small cords, together.
The fibres are combed or carded, then slivered and spun into yarn by the processes used in the textile industry. (4) Three or more strands are twisted into rope (laying). (3) A number of yarns are twisted into strands ( forming). (2) The fibres or filaments are spun or bunched into yarns and yarns into cords for the manufacture of man-made filament ropes. Rope making is divided into four phases: (1) The fibres or filaments are prepared for spinning (twisting) into yarns. Man-made filament ropes are stronger than natural-fibre ropes but are generally stretchier. Compared with organic-fibre ropes, wire ropes are stronger, stiffer, heavier, and less extensible. Cables are torsionally balanced structures formed by twisting several ropes together. Smaller ropes are designated cords similar assemblages in which torsional balance is of no consequence are called twine or yarn. Natural-fibre, man-made filament, and wire ropes ordinarily range upward from a diameter of 3/ 16 in. The braided or plaited rope structure provides torsional balance by crossing and recrossing rope components in maypole fashion. When the rope twist is seen to spiral in direction upward to the right as the rope is held vertically, it is designated as right-laid or Z-twist if upward to the left, as left-laid (S-twist). In the basic twisted rope structure, alternate stages are twisted in opposite directions to give torsional stability. A thick filament or wire is stiffer than a fine one of the same material its use results in a stiffer rope for a given size. Ropes made of filaments drawn from ductile metals or synthetic polymers differ from natural-fibre ropes in that any particular filament contributing to the rope form runs throughout the entire length of the rope. Since even short fibres can be spun into long flexible yarns, practically any fibre can be made into a rope. Manila ropes are stronger, for a given size, than hemp or jute ropes. Cotton ropes, for example, are softer, weaker, and stretchier than manila or sisal ropes. The texture and the nature of a rope is determined by the colour, fineness, stiffness, strength, and stretchability of the fibres or filaments used in its construction. The prime property of a rope is its tensile strength. The basic requirement for service is that the rope remain firmly compacted and structurally stable, even while the rope is bent, twisted, and pulled. Wire rope is often referred to as cable ( q.v.). Rope, assemblage of fibres, filaments, or wires compacted by twisting or braiding (plaiting) into a long, flexible line. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.
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