20.10.2022

Fibre rope game changer

German tower crane company Wolffkran will launch an all new completely interchangeable fibre rope for its tower cranes at Bauma. The ‘ChaRope’ which can replace steel wire rope without any modifications to the crane.

The company has developed the new high performance rope – ChaRope stands for ‘Change’ rope - in cooperation with rope specialist Trowis. The rope can be installed on any crane, old or new that uses 12 or 16mm wire rope without the need for any modifications – according to the company it is 100 percent compatible.
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The new ChaRope

Wolff chief technical officer Thomas Heidrich said: "Thanks to the unique design, the ChaRope fibre rope has the same diameter as a steel rope and is thus significantly thinner than comparable products from our competitors. The new ropes are fully compatible with the crane series, and no adjustments to the rope sheaves, hoisting gear, or load capacities have to be made. In our current portfolio, this applies to all models in the Wolff Clear series, the new Wolff 21 FX cranes and the Wolff 8033.16 Cross."

Thorsten Heinze of Trowis added: “The rope design consists of a multi-layered, twisted rope core made of high-tensile high-tech fibres and an abrasion-resistant, thin-walled fibre composite cover. Thanks to this structure, we can offer 12mm and 16mm diameter crane ropes at market entry.”

His co-director Peter Streubel said: “The cover makes the difference Aside from its small diameter, the unique fibre composite design of the rope cover has further advantages over conventional, braided covers: It is monolithic, i.e., seamlessly impermeable. As a result, moisture can't penetrate through to the inside of the rope, nor can lubricants or fibre abrasions leak through to the outside. The rope does not run dry, even after many years, and the environment is not polluted with microscopic plastic.”
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The plastic cover makes the difference

“Furthermore, the rope cover offers 100 percent UV protection for the interior core and serves as an indicator of when the rope needs to be discarded. The rope must be replaced if it shows damage, such as material degradation, cracks, or twists. The fibres of the rope core are made of extremely dimensionally stable material. As a result, the core hardly plasticises, preserving the rope's round cross-section shape. Because of this, chaRope can be used in the most challenging environments, keeping its shape on icy mountain peaks or hot desert regions, regardless of the temperature.”
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One of the spooling test benches

The ChaRope is said to be roughly 80 percent lighter than a steel rope. Saving weight, potentially enabling greater lifting capacities but is also significantly easier and safer to handle during transport, assembly, and rope changes. The company also claims a life span that is at least four times greater than a conventional steel wire rope.
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The rope on another test bed

Field tests on Wolffkran rental fleet
The new rope has, says Wolff, been undergoing extensive testing on a spooling test bench and is now going out for comprehensive field testing in Wolffkran’s UK rental fleet. With the field test phase due to be completed in June next year, assuming all goes well it will be available for deliveries from August 2023.

“From August 2023 we will supply all Wolff models with 12mm or 16mm rope, optionally with the steel or fibre versions. We will also successively fit cranes in our rental fleet with the new rope. In the medium term, we plan to develop further fibre ropes with other typical diameters together with Trowis, to offer the entire Wolff crane range with the innovative fibre rope,” adds Heidrich.