Traditional indoor hoists using steel chains or steel wire can introduce steel particles and oil pollutions to delicate operations – but hoist ropes made with Dyneema® DM20 fiber offer an all-round solution. Thanks to Dyneema®’s soft touch, flexibility, low weight, and more, these ropes are easy and safe to handle, for increased indoor productivity and improved load handling.
The next generation of indoor overhead cranes
Steel-wire hoists introduce steel particles and oil pollution into cleanrooms, making them unsuitable for these sensitive environments. Adding a protective cover can help – but covers bring safety risks of their own, as theyhinder the proper inspection of the hoists. Seeking a solution for these challenges, Vulcan Cranes knew it was time to turn to Dyneema®.
In 2016, Dyneema® began working with Vulcan in Wuxi, China, to bring to life the future of overhead cranes for clean industries from aerospace to pharmaceuticals. “After several years of exploration, we can clearly seethe advantages of synthetic fiber rope in developing the cleanest hoist lines ever,” explains Li Dasong, Regional Business Manager, Asia Pacific, Dyneema®, Avient.
Dyneema®: An all-round solution
So what exactly are these benefits? To start with, ropes made with Dyneema® DM20 fiber are rust free: “They’re self-lubricating, with a low coefficient of friction (CoF) at just 0.05–0.07,” says Yong-Le Liu, Regional Technical Manager, Dyneema®, Avient. “That’s versus the CoF for unlubricated steel at 0.74 and lubricated steel at 0.16. Synthetic hoist lines also prevent contamination from steel particles and oil pollution, which helps operators reduce production losses and damage costs.”
Importantly, overhead cranes fitted with synthetic hoist ropes are also safer than alternatives. Not only are lightweight, soft, and flexible ropes containing Dyneema® DM20 fiber easy to handle, but they tip the scales at just one-eighth of the weight of steel chains at the same strength. Plus, synthetic ropes offer better ductilitythan steel and reduce the surface vibrations that are a common problem with steel chain hoists.
But there’s more. Dyneema®-based synthetic hoist ropes have a typical elongation at break of only 3%, and an elongation at workload of just 0.3% at a load safety factor of 10. Unlike other ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) grades, Dyneema® DM20 fiber delivers ultra-high creep resistance with zero permanent elongation at designed work conditions.
Enabling a revolution in cleanroom cranes
As a result, these Dyneema®-based hoist ropes ensure continuously safe operations and incur fewer inspection costs. It’s great news for Vulcan, where Dyneema® DM20 fiber’s powerful combination of reduced vibrations, greater flexibility, and lower elongation has increased productivity and improved load handling in cleanroom settings.
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