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Rope

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Background

A rope is a bundle of flexible fibers twisted or braided together to increase its overall
length and tensile strength. The use of ropes for hunting, carrying, lifting, and climbing
dates back to prehistoric times. Ropes were originally made by hand using natural
fibers. Modern ropes are made by machines and utilize many newer synthetic materials
to give them improved strength, lighter weight, and better resistance to rotting. More
than half of the rope manufactured today is used in the fishing and maritime industries.

Although the origin of rope is unknown, the Egyptians were the first people to develop
special tools to make rope. Egyptian rope dates back to 4000 to 3500 B.C. and was
generally made of water reed fibers. Other Egyptian rope was made from the fibers of
date palms, flax, grass, papyrus, leather, or camel hair. The use of such ropes pulled by
thousands of slaves allowed the Egyptians to move the heavy stones required to build
the pyramids. By about 2800 B.C. , rope made of hemp fibers was in use in China. Rope
and the craft of rope making spread throughout Asia, India, and Europe over the next
several thousand years. By the fourth century, rope making in India had become so
specialized that some makers produced rope intended only for use with elephants.
 Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) drew sketches of a concept
for a ropemaking machine, and by the late 1700s several
working machines had been built and patented. Rope
continued to be made from natural fibers until the 1950s
when synthetic materials such as nylon became popular.
Despite the changes in materials and technology, rope
making today remains little changed since the time of the
ancient Egyptians.

Rope is sometimes generally referred to as cordage and can

be divided into four categories based on its diameter.
Cordage under 0.1875 inches (0.5 cm) in diameter includes
twine, clothesline, sash cord, and a tar-covered hemp line
called marline. These are not considered to be true rope.
Cordage with a diameter of 0.1875 to 0.5 inches (0.5-1.3
cm) is a light-duty rope and is some-times referred to as
"small stuff." Cordage with a diameter of 0.5 to about 1.5
inches (1.3-3.8 cm) is considered to be true rope. Cordage
over about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter is generally
called a hawser and is used for mooring large ships.

Rope construction involves twisting fibers together to form

yarn. For twisted rope, the yarn is then twisted into
strands, and the strands twisted into rope. Three-strand
twisted rope is the most common construction. For braided
rope, the yarn is braided rather than being twisted into strands. Double-braided rope
has a braided core with a braided cover. Plaited rope is made by braiding twisted
strands. Other rope construction includes combinations of these three techniques such
as a three-strand twisted core with a braided cover. The concept of forming fibers or
filaments into yarn and yarn into strands or braids is fundamental to the rope-making
process.

Raw Materials
Rope may be made either from natural fibers, which have been processed to allow them
to be easily formed into yarn, or from synthetic materials, which have been spun into
fibers or extruded into long filaments.
Natural fibers include hemp, sisal, cotton, flax, and jute. Another natural material is
called manila hemp, but it is actually the fibers from a banana plant. Sisal was used
extensively to make twine, but synthetic materials are replacing it. Manila rope is still
used by traditionalists, but it can rot from the inside, thus losing its strength without
giving any outward indication.

Synthetic fibers include nylon, polyester, polypropylene and aramid. Polypropylene

costs the least, floats on water, and does not stretch appreciably. For these reasons it
makes a good water ski tow rope. Nylon is moderately expensive, fairly strong, and has
quite a bit of stretch. It makes a good mooring and docking line for boats because of its
ability to give slightly, yet hold. Aramid is the strongest, but is also very expensive.
Nylon and polyester may be spun into fibers about 4-10 inches (10-25 cm) long. Ropes
made from spun synthetic fibers feel fuzzy and are not as strong as ropes made from
long, continuous filaments. Some ropes use two different synthetic materials to achieve
a combination of high strength and low cost or high strength and smooth surface finish.

Wire rope may be made from iron or steel wires. This is commonly referred to as cable
and is used in bridges, elevators, and cranes. It is made by a different process than
fiber or filament ropes.

The Manufacturing
 Process

Fibers and filaments are first formed into yarn. The yarn is then twisted, braided, or
plaited according to the type of rope being made. The diameter of the rope is
determined by the diameter of the yarn, the number

of yarns per strand, and the number of strands or braids in the finished rope.

Processing the fibers and filaments

1 If the rope is to be made from raw natural fibers, the fibers are first lubricated
with a natural oil. They are then fed into a series of machines that remove any
dirt, straighten the fibers, spread them apart, and comb them with several sets of
steel-toothed combs. Each set of combs has the teeth set closer together as the
fibers proceed through the process. This produces a loose, continuous ribbon of
fibers called a sliver. The fibers in the sliver have been aligned along the long axis
of the ribbon. Synthetic fibers follow a similar process, but tend to align more
easily.

If the rope is to be made from long filaments of synthetic material, several

filaments are grouped together in a process called doubling or throwing. This
produces a sliver of multiple plies of filaments.

2 The sliver is run through the rollers of a drawing machine to compress it before
it is twisted into yarn. Yarn that has a right-hand twist (to the right and up) when
 viewed from the end is said to have a "Z" twist, and yarn that has a left-handed
twist (to the left and up) is said to have an "S" twist. Sometimes this is referred to
as right-hand laid yarn and left-hand laid yarn. The finished yarn is wound on
spools called bobbins. At this point, the yarn may be dyed various colors to
produce a strand, or an entire rope, of a particular color. This is especially helpful
in finding a specific line in a maze of rigging on a sailboat.

Forming twisted rope

3 The bobbins of yarn are set on a frame known as a creel. For three-strand,
right-hand twist rope, Z-twist yarns would be used to make each strand. The
ends of the yarns are fed through a hole in a register plate which keeps the yarns
in the proper relation to each other. The ends of the yarns are then fed into a
compression tube. As the yarn is pulled through the compression tube, the tube
twists it in the S-twist direction, opposite of the yarn twist, to produce a tight
strand.
4 The strands are either transferred to strand bobbins or fed directly into the
closing machine. For common three-strand rope, three S-twist strands would be
used. The closing machine holds the strands firmly with a tube-like clamp called a
laying top. The end of each strand is then passed through a rotating die which
twists the strands in the Z-twist direction, locking them together. This process is
called closing the rope.
5 The finished rope is wound onto a reel. When the end of the strands has been
reached, the finished coil of rope is removed from the reel and tied together with
bands of smaller rope. The ends are either taped or, if the rope is a synthetic
material, melted with heat to prevent them from unraveling.

Forming braided rope

6 Braided ropes are commonly made from synthetic materials. The bobbins of
yarn are set up on several moving pendants on a braiding machine. Each pendant
travels in an oscillating pattern, weaving the yarn into a tight braid. A set of
rollers pulls the braid through a guide to lock, or set, the braid and keep tension
on the rope. In some machines the braiding process is accomplished by feeding
the yarns through separate counter-rotating register plates. One yarn is woven in
one direction followed by another in the opposite direction, and so on, to form an
 interlocked braid.
7 If a double-braided rope is being formed, the first braid becomes the core, and
the second braid is immediately woven on top of it to form the outer covering,
called the coat.
8 As the rope emerges from the rollers, it is taken up on a reel. The finished coil is
then removed and banded, and the ends are taped or melted.

Forming plated rope

9 Eight-plaited rope consists of four S-twist strands and four Z-twist strands. The
strands are paired together with one S-twist and one Z-twist in each pair. These
pairs are then held together and braided with the other pairs. The manufacturing
process first follows the twisted rope process to make the strands, then the
braided rope process to form the final rope.

Quality Control

The level of quality control depends on the intended use of the rope. Ropes intended for
general purpose use are sold by diameter and tensile strength. Tensile strength is
determined by breaking a sample piece under load. Basic raw material specification and
a visual inspection are the only quality control measures used for these ropes. Ropes
intended for high-risk applicationssuch as rappelling, rescue work, and lifting objects
over peopleare more closely inspected and tested. These ropes have a finite service
life and may also have a color code or other coding to indicate the date of manufacture.
Some ropes incorporate some type of wear tracer formed into the rope. These tracers
are usually a single yarn of contrasting color placed just under the outer wrap of yarn.
Should any abrasion or overextension of the rope occur, this filament would be exposed,
indicating an unsafe condition and requiring that the rope be replaced.

The Future

The future of rope making is directly linked to improvements in materials. Over the
years, almost every conceivable type of rope configuration has been attempted. In the
past, new materials have allowed rope makers to reduce the diameter of the rope while
maintaining the tensile strength and improving the resistance to weathering and
abrasion. It is expected that a new generation of very strong, very light fibers and
forming techniques will produce even further improvements in ropes.
 Where To Learn More

Book

Merry, Barbara. The Splicing Handbook. International Marine, 1987.

Periodical

Foster, G.P. "New Fiber Rope Technologies Drive Increased Applications." Sea
Technology, July 1989, pp. 15-16.

Douglas E. Betts

Chris Cavette

User Contributions:
1
praneet tripathi Jul 24, 2007 @ 11:23 pm

article is very helpful and good, can you please send an article on Nylon coruugated
tubing , its raw material and source at my Mail-ID

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