Understand
what the “lays”
of
wire rope mean
“Lay” of a wire rope is
simply a description of the way wires and strands are
placed during construction. Right lay and left lay
refer to the direction of strands. Right lay means
that the strands pass from left to right across the
rope. Left lay means just the opposite; strands pass
from right to left.
Regular lay and lang lay describe the way
wires are placed within each strand. Regular lay means that wires
in the strands are laid opposite in direction to
the lay of the strands. Lang lay means that wires
are laid in the same direction as the lay of the
strands.
Most of the wire rope used is right lay,
regular lay. This specification has the widest range
of applications and meets the requirements of most equipment. In fact,
other
lay specifications are considered exceptions and
must be requested when ordering.
Here are some exceptions
Lang lay is recommended for many excavating, construction,
and mining applications, including draglines, hoist
lines, dredgelines and other similar lines. Here’s
why. Lang lay ropes are more flexible than regular
lay ropes.They also have greater wearing surface
per wire than regular lay ropes.
Where properly recommended,
installed and used, lang lay ropes can be used
to greater advantage than regular lay ropes. However,
lang lay ropes are more susceptible to the abuses
of bending over small diameter sheaves, pinching
in undersize sheave grooves, crushing when winding
on drums, and failing due to excessive rotation.
Left lay rope has greatest usage in oil fields on
rod and tubing lines, blast hole rigs, and spudders
where rotation of right lay rope would loosen couplings.
The rotation of a left lay rope tightens a standard
coupling.
