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 One is a fleet angle compensator, which is driven automatically by the rope tension. The other is a level winder that is mechanically driven. Both offer a solution to guide the cable along the drum between flanges, but each has its advantages and disadvantages. The fleet angle compensator (FAC) is driven by the movement of the wire rope as it goes through the crossover sections of the drum. As the rope winds or unwinds, the FAC shaft automatically oscillates slowly, allowing its sheave to slide back and forth across the shaft to maintain an optimum fleet angle and guide the