Sterling Rope Guide to Rope Engineering, Design, and Use Volume 1 Tech Manual Our goal at Sterling Rope is to make the highest quality, most technically advanced rope and cord for the rescue, climbing, life safety, and OEM markets. The purpose of this book is to help demystify the rope making process, explain how and why we make rope the way we do and hopefully answer any questions you may have. Table of Contents 1. History of Rope Page 2 2. Types of Rope Construction Page 2 3. Yarn Types Page 3 4. Rope Design and Construction Page 5 4a. Twisting Page 5 4b. Braiding Page 6 4c. ThermoDynamic Balancing Page 7 4d. Final Hand Inspection Page 8 4e. Quality Control Page 8 4f. “Third” Party Certification Page 8 5. Dynamic Ropes Page 8 5a. Testing / Standards For Dynamic Ropes Page 9 6. Static Ropes Page 9 6a. Testing/Standards For Static Rope Page 9 7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) Page 10 Copyright: Sterling Rope Company, Inc 31 Washington Avenue Scarborough, ME 04074. Phone: 207-885-0330Email
[email protected]: www.sterlingrope.com 2 1. History of Rope Evidence of early hand made ropes date back as far as 17,000 BC. Most of the early ropes were relatively short and hand twisted or braided. The expansion of shipping and the increase in ship size drove the necessity for longer ropes. Construction of ropes was done in a “rope walk”, a long alley with fixed spinning wheels at the upper end and a wheel and a capstan at the lower end.