THIS is the age of scientific development in all
branches of industry. It demands efficiency in both methods of
production, and the handling and use of finished products. Maximum
production with a minimum of cost is the aim of both producer
and consumer.
John A. Roebling's Sons Company believe that all users of Wire Rope are interested in the factors governing the design and use of this product, and the elimination of the causes which shorten its service.
For this reason, WIRE ENGINEERING has planned a group
of articles which will treat of Wire Rope in many phases of its
manufacture and use.
This series of articles will include a detailed explanation
of the various rope constructions; the many conditions of operation;
the data covering each installation, which is necessary for the
determination of the proper rope to furnish; the correct method
of ordering rope, through to the factors covering the correct
time for removing a wire rope from service.
Machinery may be defined as "a combination of
parts or means which, working together, produce a specific end."
Wire rope is therefore a machine in which the parts are made up
of the center or core individual wires and strands. This machine,
although rugged in character, may be considered a delicate mechanism
in many respects. Its ultimate service will depend entirely upon
its treatment during installation and throughout its period of
service.
Demands of modern industry have called for increased production in all branches of manufacture and operation, and at the same time the maintenance of an exacting quality. To keep pace with this progress, the size of machinery is being constantly increased. To fully visualize this condition, compare the giant steam and electric locomotives of today with that of Stevenson's "Rocket" of 1829, which weighed only 4.25 tons. Compare Robert Fulton's "Clermont" of 1807 with the mighty "Queen Mary" and "Normandie".
In nearly all cases, increased power and strength
meant increased weight. Not so with wire rope. To increase the
size and weight of wire rope in proportion to strength would mean
costly and impractical sizes of sheave and drum equipment, which
would prohibit expansion in size to secure such strength. Wire
Rope manufacturers have been confronted with the problem of producing
desired physical properties in their products with strict limitations
in size, and this has been accomplished by refinements in steel
manufacture, wire drawing and rope fabrication.
Previous to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge,
high strength ropes were fabricated with iron wires. Next came
cast steel wire, for increased strength and service. The next
improvement in rope quality and strength was represented in the
extra strong cast steel grade. Following this, plow steel grade
was introduced, which even today has many uses in service where
highest strength and durability are not required. Mighty bridges
spanning our waterways; high speed mine hoists thousands of feet
in depth, man's quest for oil in deep fields a mile underground,
and the many modern giants of the excavating equipment field,
all call for the utmost in strength, quality and durability.
To meet these exacting requirements, "Blue Center" Steel
was developed by Roebling. This steel, produced in our own furnaces,
is drawn into wire and fabricated into rope under strict specifications
and rigid inspection, from the Steel Mill to the Shipping Department,
with the result that in the highly competitive field of today
"Blue Center" Steel Wire Ropes are producing maximum
service at minimum cost.
Wire ropes are made in many constructions and several
grades, each particular type designed for specific service. By
varying the rope construction, the manufacturer may distribute
the metal and proportion the flexibility of this wire rope ''machine''
to best withstand the service it is to perform. In the final analysis
it is not so much the construction that performs the service,
but the quality of the steel wire with which each rope is made.
As a manufacturer of a high grade product, we believe
that the various articles to be published in future numbers of
WIRE ENGINEERING will be both instructive and interesting to all
persons who are either directly or indirectly concerned with the
use of wire rope. We will endeavor to cover all of the many factors
which are involved in this subject. We will appreciate having
our readers submit any individual problems or they may have concerning
the use of wire rope, which will be submitted to our Wire Rope
Engineering Department for analysis and study.