Hey guys, I have a 5 ton Maeda mini crane with 10mm non rotational line with a single sheave block on it and I'm constantly fighting to keep the lines straight, any suggestions?
All you can really do is keep taking it loose and untwist it until it hangs straight.
Take the load line loose and let it "Relax" . With that small of a machine you can set the block on the ground and still reach the boom . take the line loose at the boom and see if it tries to turn when you pull it loose . From there if it still winds up you may have to twist the the line one direction or the other then pin it back . It's not uncommon on new load line to have to do that several times .
Just what Tiny said... put a few "backturns" in the wire oppositet the direction the block wants to spin up. Another way out if you have enough wire and a tailhold on the block is to make it a 3 part.
Ok, thanks, that's kinda what I was thinking.
Not able to do a 3 part because the block is too big for the becket and there isn't a setting on the lmi for a 3 part, but I'll give the line a couple of turns and see if that helps.
You know gents, I’ve had to put the becket twists in the ‘same direction’, as the block's ropes were twisting, to get it to run correctly. Of course the number of turns depended on how badly it twisted. So if going in the opposite direction doesn’t get ‘er done, then try that. Count the twists from a relaxed unpinned becket too, to keep track of the starting point. Also run it all the way up and back down a lot of times before giving up and trying something new. The rope needs the chance to render itself all along its full length. If it seems to be getting better then slowly begin to put some weight on for each additional dry run. My best advice tho is a precautionary technique. First, when putting a new rope on a drum, position the spool out as far as you can get it, away from the drum. The improved alignment without the fleeting effect will be a positive step in going on in the correct manner. Second, but even more important and more work, the rope from a new spool should be 'unspooled completely' so the anchor point of the rope, on the spool, is also the 'same end' that will be the anchor point on the drum. The bottom layer on the spool ends up as the bottom layer on the drum, and top layer ends up as a top layer. That way the rope will spool on as naturally as possible. To do this it takes 2 spools. One empty farther out than the full new rope spool. Transfer the new rope to the second empty spool, off the top of the new reel and onto the top of the temporary storage reel, rolling it on going away from the crane. That will leave the rope’s factory anchor point at the top now when it has been transferred completly. That factory anchor point end is 'thee end' that now can be anchored to the drum and naturally wound onto the hoist drum as it was wound on the reel from the factory. Visualize the drum now having the same relationship with the rope as the new factory spool did when it was made and wound for the first time. Its original bottom layer and anchor point is still its bottom layer and anchor point! That’s your best case scenario and will give you the best handling. Just consider all this extra work an ‘investment' in your high dollar wire rope, which you want to keep for much longer and use with out all the headaches and problems. Just my 2 cents worth for my fellow brothers of the hook.