Rope drive tensioned by an idler pulley, but this system was not used in the UK and each loop was tensioned between its two pulleys by one of them being movable. Rope drives were also cheaper than belts, around a quarter of the price. The rope drives were placed in a large diagonal shaft at the side of the building, usually windowless and distinctively visible from outside the building. Rope drives required a larger such shaft than comparable belt or shaft drives. As the open shaft represented a channel for transmitting fires, unlike the narrow holes of a shaft drive, it needed
Wire rope spooling technology the grooving on the drum. Alternatively, a sheave can be integrated and installed within the housing frame. In this case, the system can be set up anywhere around the drum. Oceanographic installations that spool rope up to 46 layers have demonstrated that level winders give synchronized and controlled spooling in the harshest, most testing conditions. Grooving systems for multilayer spooling can be carved onto steel shells that are mounted onto old drums, by either bolting or welding, as an outer sleeve. Called split sleeves, they can be retrofitted onto old drums or mounted on new drums to allow a future