Wire rope hoists : Ideal for lifting medium to heavy loads

It can be stated that wire rope hoists are one of the most commonly used machines in the construction sector and also across other industries.. The distinguishing feature of wire rope hoists is that these are generally attached to a drum or lift wheel, which in itself is attached by a wire rope. The hoists also have a lifting hook, enabling them to lift the heaviest loads. These hoists have been used since many decades, with their design greatly evolving from being simple in the earlier days to now being built as a unit in a single housing. These are ideal to lift and place a load of medium to heavy materials such as logs of wood, metals, bricks and many more.


Wire rope hoists are manufactured and are made available in different working mechanisms, sizes, dimensions etc. Some notable wire rope hoists are portable hoist, powered wire rope hoist, chain hoist, hoist drums and many more. Moreover, the firms engaged in manufacturing and supplying of wire rope hoists are constantly undertaking R & D to further improve on the existing design of these machines. Owing to these, attributes such as power efficiency, load lifting capacity of these machines are only expected to improve further.

Mode of operation of wire rope hoists:

Wire rope hoists can be,

• Electrically operated

• Manually operated

• Pneumatically operated

Salient features of wire rope hoists:

• These are easy to operate and have the requisite safety features for the operator

• These are resistant to weathering i.e – work equally well even in adverse weather conditions

• Wire rope hoists are resistant to corrosion, abrasion, chips and winding

• These have a long service life and require minimal maintenance

• Wire rope hoists require very less floor space, thus increasing the overall efficiency at any industrial or commercial facility

• These generally have a smooth acceleration without any load swing

Operation and maintenance instructions for wire rope hoists:

• All processes such as assembly, installation, commissioning and the requisite tests during the erection of wire rope hoists should only be carried out by qualified personnel

• All the electrical components on the hoists should only be tested by a trained electrician
   
• Requisite safety measures such as wearing of protective gears, not standing under suspended loads should be followed during the operation of these
   
• Exceeding the safe working load, transporting persons, pulling loads at an angle, pulling loads loose etc. should never be done

• All parts of a wire rope hoist should be extensively tested periodically to ensure a defect free performance