Mining Rope Brochure.pdf - OneSteel

PLASTIC-INFUSED WIRE ROPES
Plastic infusion is a process that was pioneered specifically for
mining rope due to the extreme conditions experienced by mining
equipment around the world. Plastic-infused ropes have been proven to
give greater service life and cleaner operation than conventional wire
ropes.
Plastic-infusion involves injecting specially engineered polymers under
high temperature and pressure into the wire rope. Both the polymer and
the wire rope are heated and then the polymer is infused as the wire
rope is drawn through specially designed dies. Passing the rope through
a series of cooling troughs then solidifies the plastic. This plastic will not
melt or soften from the heat of normal operating temperatures when in
service and is also virtually unaffected by sunlight or cold weather.
The polymer cushions each wire and strand, minimizing interstrand and
interlayer nicking. The polymer also acts as a barrier to prevent the
penetration of any adverse material, such as moisture, dust, dirt and
debris, leaving a smooth surface to make it easy to pass over sheaves
and onto drums.
The polymer also retains the rope’s natural balance by locking the
strands in place to minimise the movement of the rope’s components
during operation. This helps distribute stresses and fatigue to all wire
and strands evenly, reducing wear.
Plastic-infused wire ropes have been designed for extreme, heavy-duty
rope shovel applications and provide benefits to the end users, such as:
» Increased fatigue life over non-plastic-infused wire
rope
» Extended sheave and drum life
» Increased resistance to wear and corrosion
» Extended rope life
» Reduced vibration and noise
» Clean handling
» Retained rope lubrication
» Keeping out dirt and debris
SHOVEL ROPE
OneSteel combines our superior quality TUFF6 and TUFF8 mining rope technology with specially engineered polymers, to
create a well-balanced plastic-infused rope ensuring extended service life.
OneSteel offers REDBAK ® as its premium plastic-infused shovel rope ensuring greater performance over standard black 6 and 8
strand rope.
®
Enhanced fatigue and abrasion resistance is achieved through the cushioning effect of the plastic treatment. The plastic infusion
forms a moulded cushioned layer for the outer rope strands as well as the wire core. This in turn distributes and reduces contact
stresses between the rope and sheave, reducing the wear normally associated with uncoated wire rope.
REDBAK also preserves the wire ropes natural shape and balance by locking the individual wires and strands in place. With the
rope holding it’s intended shape during operation, working stresses such as vibration and wear are more evenly distributed to
all wires and strands. This therefore reduces fatigue breaks and increases service life.
reliability