Rope drive Rope drive A rope drive is a form of belt drive, used for mechanical power transmission. Rope drives use a number of circular section ropes, rather than a single flat or vee belt. The first multiple rope drive was a 9 rope drive of 200 bhp produced by Combe Barbour for their Falls Foundry, Belfast, in 1863. James Combe experimented first with circular ropes laid from leather strips, then from manila hemp. The idea of using rope drives had arisen from his earlier, 1856, experiments in using a rope drive together with an expanding vee pulley, as part of a
Wire rope spooling technology pattern is engineered to suit the rope's length, diameter and construction type. In any multi-layer spooling application it is important that when the rope is first installed on the drum, it is done so under tension to avoid any slack on inner layers that can be crushed or nicked against the groove walls by outer layers. The fleet angle is defined as the largest angle of the rope between the first sheave and the drum flange, relative to the centre line of the drum. With all type of drums, the rope is subject to a fleet angle which impacts on