Low torque, high strength, Can be used with a swivel, Lower cost than 35x7, Can be used at design factor of 3.5 to 1

XLT4 is a revolutionary crane rope design.* “XLT” because it has Extremely Low Torque; “4” because it has the minimum breaking force of a 6-strand XXXXIP (4X) IWRC rope.

What sets XLT4 apart is its unique design which packs more high tensile steel wire into the rope’s diameter, giving XLT4 one of the highest strength to diameter ratios ever achieved—with a minimum breaking force 33% higher than standard 6-strand XIP ropes.

Under load, XLT4 generates near zero torque, matching or surpassing the stability of Category 1 35x7 class rotation-resistant ropes. Yet, thanks to its unique design, XLT4 is not classified as a “rotation-resistant” rope. It can be used with or without a swivel as a mobile crane hoist rope at design factors as low as 3.5 to 1.

And for value, nothing performs like XLT4. Not only does it cost less than a 35x7 classification rope, its compact construction keeps more steel in contact with sheaves and drums for unmatched resistance to crushing and wear—for lower maintenance, less downtime and longer service life.

XLT4’s powerful advantages go beyond high strength, low torque and economical cost. With the rope’s high capacity, lifts may be feasible using fewer parts of line—boosting the speed, efficiency and productivity of crane work.

While XLT4’s unique construction is different in appearance and feel compared to other wire ropes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the way it spools and operates. As with any rope, proper installation is key—particularly for the base layers and all layers that do not come off the drum during normal operation. To maximize performance and avoid “pull-in,” the rope must be spooled on the drum under load, ensuring that the rope is both tight against adjacent wraps and tight around the drum. As with any rope, XLT4 will perform better on a grooved drum. XLT4 is recommended for all grooved drums and smooth drums with a D/d ratio of 25 or greater.

Although differing in appearance and feel, field experience has shown that XLT4 presents no problem in terminations using wedge sockets or wire rope clips. XLT4 requires no special end preparation.

* Patent Pending

Category 1, rotation resistant rope, Maximum strength per diameter, Can be used with a swivel, Crush resistant

The latest high performance rotation-resistant rope designed and manufactured by CASAR Germany, a member of WireCo WorldGroup.

Starlift Xtra™, the new high performance rotation resistant rope, replaces Union's Flex-X 35 product line, and meets the highest Minimum Breaking Forces requested in the crane rope market. Starlift Xtra provides the user unique characteristics as a hoist rope.

The following information outlines the crucial operating characteristics and discusses why Starlift Xtra is the rope of choice in many applications.

Strength
Starlift Xtra is the strongest of all ropes in the high performance rotation-resistant product line. The following chart shows the superior values of Starlift Xtra.

Rotation Resistance (Non-Rotating)
The balanced design of Starlift Xtra results in minimal torque under load, providing superior rotation resistance. Under a normal working load range, Starlift Xtra has virtually no tendency to rotate, making it ideal for both single-part and multi-part hoist systems but also for those involving long falls where rotation resistance is required.

Starlift Xtra meets both the Category 1 requirements according to ASTM A1023 and the general guidance on the use of a swivel given in Annex A ISO 21669. Due to its superior rotation resistant properties, Starlift Xtra may be used with a swivel.

Resistance to Wear
The multi-strand design of Starlift Xtra combined with compacted strands and lang lay construction helps to maximize resistance to wear by greatly increasing wire and strand surface areas that contact sheaves and drums. Internally, the enhanced surfaces of the compacted strands help minimize strand-to-strand nicking between strand layers. This feature results in greater resistance to fatigue.

Resistance to Crushing and Abrasion on Drums
The characteristics of Starlift Xtra enhance its performance in multiple-layer spooling as well. The design of Starlift Xtra provides excellent resistance to both abrasion and scrubbing that occurs at kickover areas and crushing that occurs at the crossover points in multiple-layer drum spooling. The rope construction combined with the compacted strand design of Starlift Xtra results in a rope cross-section of very high density. These features provide increased resistance to drum-related wear.

Flex-X 9 features compacted strands and swaging for extra drum crushing resistance and increased stability. Its high density strands deliver extra strength and resistance to abrasion. Flex-X 9 is manufactured with a dual compaction process to produce a compact cross-section with minimum voids and greater surface area on outer wires that contact drums, sheaves and the rope, itself during operation. The high-density compacted strands minimize nicking at strand-to-strand contact points. Flex-X 9 was specifically designed for boom hoist applications and tubing line applications where drum crushing is a challenge.

Flex-X® vs. standard rope of similar construction:

Flex-X designs reduce drum scrubbing between the lead line and the previous wrap. The smooth contact creates less interference, less metal loss and wire deformation. The increased surface area of Flex-X can be seen in the comparison of the contact points of a standard 6x26WS and Flex-X as shown.|

Superior performance 6-strand rope, Increased service life, Less sheave and drum wearFlex-X 6 users receive superior performance and increased service life in many applications compared to the ropes they had previously employed. When compared to conventional six strand ropes, Flex-X 6 ropes provide greater surface area and more steel per given diameter. This increases rope stability and strength. This results in a longer service life and less sheave and drum wear.

Flex-X® vs. standard rope of similar construction:

Flex-X designs reduce drum scrubbing between the lead line and the previous wrap. The smooth contact creates less interference, less metal loss and wire deformation. The increased surface area of Flex-X can be seen in the comparison of the contact points of a standard 6x26WS and Flex-X as shown.

Category 2, rotation resistant rope, Compacted smooth design, Crush resistant, Fatigue resistant

Union Flex-X 19 PS is a rotation resistant rope produced by laying 6-strands around a core strand in one direction. Then 12 strands are laid around this first operation in the opposite direction. Smaller diameters typically have 7 wires per strand while larger diameters have 19 wires per strand.

Our Flex-X 19 PS wire rope is designed for multi-part hoisting systems. It reduces block twisting and spools well at high line speeds. Because of its tightly compacted smooth design, Flex-X 19 PS offers more crushing resistance than standard 19x7 rope, higher strength-to-diameter, resistance to bending fatigue, exceptional stability, and reduced wear to sheaves and drums.

Flex-X® vs. standard rope of similar construction:

Flex-X designs reduce drum scrubbing between the lead line and the previous wrap. The smooth contact creates less interference, less metal loss and wire deformation. The increased surface area of Flex-X can be seen in the comparison of the contact points of a standard 6x26WS and Flex-X as shown.

Fatigue-resistant, Rotation-resistant

The size relationship between strands and cores gives these ropes increased bendability over six strand ropes of the same diameter. 8x25 has more fatigue resistance than an 8x19 rope.

Crush-resistant, Increased bendability, Category 3 rotation-resistant rope

When you purchase Union’s 8x19 Class of wire ropes, you get more than what meets the eye. Built in an ISO 9001 certified factory and backed by the industry’s largest staff of professional engineers, we do more than produce to spec.

Our quality begins with our raw material qualification process which suppliers must meet standards that are more stringent than industry. We then document rod coils though completion rope manufacturing for full traceably. We don’t stop there; the traceability continues into the field as each schedule is tracked to the customer. Throughout the manufacturing process we break test wires and tie that information to the coil and/or reel of rope. Thus ensuring we know the characteristics of the rope from its infancy and know it meets or exceeds our published strengths.

Standard constructions are regular lay and either 19 Seale or 25 Filler Wire. The size relationship between strands and cores gives these ropes increased bendability over six strand ropes of the same diameter. The 8x19 has more crushing resistance and a higher minimum breaking force than 19x7, but less rotation resistance. An 8x19 class rope can be used in multi-part reeving where limited rotation resistance is required.

You can trust Union wire rope to be produced to a higher standard, consistently. For the rope characteristics, please refer to the chart below.

Reduce wire-contact stress, Keep lubrication inside, Provide greater wear area, Reduce internal abrasion

Combining the advantages of PFV, a high-grade thermoplastic material, extruded into a 7-Flex lubricated wire rope, provides additional advantages over non PFV ropes.

Through our process, the finished rope has the strand valleys between strands and interstices equally filled with plastic, which seals the lubricant and assures a balanced rope when finished. This also has proven in many applications to give you longer service life and cleaner operation than conventional wire ropes.

On the inside, you’ll find our 7-Flex wire rope that withstands the tough pressures of your demanding jobs while the PFV cushions the strands, distributes internal stresses, keeps in wire rope lubricant and keeps out dirt and debris. PFV also helps shed water and dirt, giving you a clean, smooth surface to make it easy to pass over sheaves and onto drums. This smooth surface works to clean and polish as it extends the service life of your sheaves and drums, while also reducing your cleanup requirements and your maintenance costs.

PFV doesn’t melt or soften from the heat of normal operating temperatures. It’s also virtually unaffected by sunlight and cold weather. The result is longer service life from your wire rope. It’s a Union wire rope, Tested, Tough & True.

Improved resistance to bending fatigue over general purpose ropes

Good resistance to wear and fatigue are required for trip ropes on mining shovels. 7-Flex and 7-Flex PFV have the best characteristics to maximize rope service life in this application. The 7-Flex construction offers improved resistance to bending fatigue and the PFV plastic-impregnated feature further enhances service life and make the operation cleaner.

Fatigue resistant, Abrasion resistant

The 6x36 classification of wire ropes includes standard 6 strand, round strand ropes with 27 through 49 wires per strand.

The 6x36 ropes are important for their fatigue resistance. This fatigue resistance is made possible by the greater number of small wires per strand.

Although there are exceptions for special applications, the constructions in 6x36 classification are primarily designed to be the most efficient for each rope diameter. As the rope size increases, for instance, a large number of wires can be used to achieve required fatigue resistance, and still those wires will be large enough to offer adequate resistance to abrasion.

Characteristics of Standard 6 x 36 Class ropes

In most rope sizes, only one 6 x 36 classification rope is made. These constructions were selected to provide fatigue resistance without having wires that are too small.

The greater number of wires in the 6 x 36 classification makes these ropes more susceptible to crushing. This can be minimized, however, by specifying an Independent Wire Rope Core (IWRC) and by using well designed sheaves, grooved drums and proper operating techniques.

Fatigue resistance comparable to a 6x25FW, Recommended in any application where a 6x25FW is used

The 6x26 WS has better resistance to abrasion than a 6x25FW. It features a compact construction with solid support for the wires; therefore it has a high resistance to crushing. Its number and relative size of the inner wires add to the stability of the strand and gives it a fatigue resistance comparable to a 6x25 FW. A standard 6X26 WS construction provides the best rope for a wide range of applications. In general, we recommend the use of the 6x26WS in any application where a 6x25FW is used.

Category 2, rotation resistant rope

In an application where a single-part hoist rope is used to lift a free load – or where rotation-resistant properties are essential for rope performance – the 19x7 can be used. Its rotation-resistant characteristic is achieved by laying six strands around a core strand in one direction, then laying 12 strands around the first operation in the opposite direction. When the rope is in tension, opposing rotational forces are created between the inner and outer layers.

Frequent and regular inspection for broken wires is critical when using rotation resistant rope.