HMPE Synthetic Ropes

HMPE ROPES

12 Strand HMPE ropes are the strongest commercial ropes available. HMPE rope is made from High Modulus Polyethylene which is a material that is composed of extraordinarily long molecular chains of polyethylene. In the 1950's the cordage industry began using HMPE and gel spinning it into high molecular weight polyethylene fibers and yarns for rope and cord making. HMPE ropes are very tough, stronger than steel, and have the highest impact strength of any thermoplastic presently made.

High performance ropes that are stronger than steel

HMPE rope has an extremely low density and it has a strength-to-weight ratio that is 8 time higher than high strength steel! The molecular alignment and gel spinning process allows the fibers to perform better and is the reason HMPE-based ropes, soft shackles and winch lines float, whereas steel wire sinks.

HMPE Ropes used for different products

HMPE is an amazing material and it is used to make artificial joints, body armor, high pressure hydraulic joints and seals and of course synthetic ropes, cords and lines for a variety of industries.

Shipping Industry

Offshore Working & Lifting Lines

Offshore Working and Lifting Lines, including deep water mooring lines, oceanographic lifting and coring ropes, seismic tow ropes and salvage ropes. HMPE rope can also be custom-manufactured into heavy lift slings. HMPE rope is used in a range of offshore environments and offers the utmost safety and reassurance at sea. Ravenox can custom design-and-build deep water and heavy-lift ropes to suit any application.

Tug Boat & Salvage Ship Lines

Tug lines are one of the most demanding applications in the commercial marine industry due to the high loads and abrasion these ropes experience on each job. Ravenox has supplied HMPE rope products to tugs all over the world for ship assist, towing, and escort jobs, for many years. Technologically advanced products such as HMPE 12x12 offer our customers the following benefits:

• Lighter and easier to handle
• Requires fewer crew members
• Faster tie ups and stand downs
• Safer - reduces strain and back injuries
• No fish hooks
• Reduced costs
• No maintenance
• Proven track record in the industry for over 20 years
• Works well on winches
• Easy to splice

Pendants

Ravenox provides and recommends the use of pendants which are a very popular method for extending the life of tug assist and working lines. Pendants are a shorter length of rope attached to the mainline by either reeving or cow-hitching the lines together. The pendant is on the working end of the main tug hawser and gets most of the abrasion and damage. Thus, the shorter pendant (usually 50-ft to 100-ft in length) can then be replaced, if and when necessary, at a less expensive cost than replacing the 450-ft mainline.

Inland River Boat Lines

Replace “wing” and “face” wire ropes with HMPE synthetic ropes. Wing wires and face wires are the manner in which river push boats attach themselves to and maneuver the barges they’re pushing up or down the river systems in the US. Wing and face wires tend to be anywhere from ½” to 1 ½” in diameter depending on the horsepower of the push boat. The benefits of high performance HMPE ropes over wire rope wing and face lines are:

• Strong as wire rope size for size
• 1/7th weight of wire rope
• Floats
• Reduced making up and knocking down times
• Less crew members required to handle lines
• Safer – less worker related injuries and claims
• No maintenance or re-lubing
• Easy splicing – DVD instructions available free of charge
• With proper care – longer wear life than wire rope

Ship & Barge Mooring Lines

Ravenox offers a wide range of mooring line solutions depending upon your application needs. We can produce mooring lines to order, based upon your strength requirements, the length of line required and the expected loads. High Modulus Polyethylene HMPE rope is ideal for U.S. Navy Ships, Coast Guard Ships, Container ships and all other seafaring vessels.

Helicopter Longlines

Ravenox Helicopter Longlines are a lightweight workhorse for light, medium and heavy-lift helicopter underslung and utility operations. Ravenox longlines are certified to meet manufactured specifications and each system includes a certificate of conformance and test in accordance with readings as specified by ASTM E-4 standard practices for force calibrations and verification.

Ravenox uses 12 strand HMPE fiber to create an ultra-high strength, lightweight helicopter underslung cargo long line. HMPE is widely used to replace wire-rope where extremely low-stretch and high strengths are required. Its resistance to abrasion and chemicals is unsurpassed by any other synthetic fiber.

Mining Tow Lines

Mining is one of the most punishing environments. Traditional steel wire ropes or chains used to pull, hoist, or lift in mining applications are heavy, inflexible, difficult to rig and can recoil dangerously when they break. Synthetics provide all the strength of steel, but are 86% lighter for a much safer solution.

Lightweight, flexible, and soft on the hands, high strength synthetic fiber rope solutions significantly reduce rigging time, manpower and injury risk. Unlike steel wire rope, they will not rust, corrode, or produce broken/protruding wires, and don’t dangerously recoil if broken.

Utility Pulling Lines & Cable Grips

HMPE Utility Pulling Lines are ropes used by electrical utility companies or often utility contractor companies for pulling utility transmission wires through blocks and into place on transmission towers. The ropes are fed through the blocks on the towers and attached to the end of the wires which are then pulled into place by large winches. Pulling lines are often sold in multiples of 4 or 6 units at a time depending on the number of wires being pulled. The ropes are ordered coated with different colors so they can be easily identified. The best choice for this application are or Spectra® ropes. Benefits of these high-performance fiber constructions are:

• High strength
• Abrasion resistance
• Low stretch
• Ease of splicing in the field
• Stays round and firm around blocks and sheaves
• Available with urethane coatings in a variety of colors
• Torque free

Utility & RV Winch Lines

Ravenox offers a wide range of high performance synthetic fiber Winch Lines, including vehicle recovery winch lines, ATV winch lines and tow ropes. We also offer utility winch lines for pulling overhead power lines and setting poles and transformers. Lighter than steel and easier on the hands, Ravenox's HMPE rope and high modulus synthetic fiber lines spool up flat and pull off the drum easier than steel. Safer, lighter, and easier than steel, trust HMPE synthetic fiber winch lines from Ravenox.

Theatrical Rigging Lines

Ravenox's range of theatrical rigging lines offer artists the utmost safety and reassurance on stage. We offers a complete line of HMPE rope for all applications; low density HMPE for winch lines, fine braids for reliable human flight and everything in between. Made from high-performance fibers that are strong yet soft on the hands, Ravenox's rigging lines can be custom-built to suit any performance.

Commercial Fishing Lines

Ravenox offers a wide range of Commercial Fishing Lines including trawl ropes, gilsons, purse lines and aquaculture. HMPE fibers are know to stand up to the harsh aquatic environment and perform in the most extreme conditions.

High Modulus Polyethylene Rope Construction Process

HMPE ropes are manufactured from strands of HMPE that have been enhanced by a patented recrystallization process. The process draws the precisely twisted strand through a heated fluid filled pressurized vessel, creating a constant heat profile throughout the strand’s cross-section. This process ensures that all filaments are drawn under the same controlled conditions, thereby enhancing the base HMPE fiber by further aligning its molecules and effectively increasing fiber strength efficiency throughout the strand.

Benefits and Features of HMPE ROPE

• HMPE has the lowest stretch of any rope available
• Low creep
• Soft hand
• Torque free
• Easy splicing
• Neutrally buoyant in water
• Select sizes of 12 strand HMPE ropes are ABS & DNV type approved

High Modulus Polyethylene Elasticity

HMPE fibers are very inelastic, they do not stretch much at all. After a rope is braided and spliced, there is typically a "constructional stretch" as the rope is loaded past 40% MTS for the first time, which can lead to up to 5% elongation. Once this constructional stretch has been removed, there will be virtually no stretch in an HMPE rope.  

Ultra High Molecular Weight Durability

HMPE ropes are extraordinarily durable. HMPE also has a low coefficient of friction, which means it has excellent wear properties and can have a slippery feel. As with all rope, HMPE line can be susceptible to cutting if put under tension while on a sharp edge. 

Molecular Weight Polyethylene UHMWPE Water Absorption

HMPE rope does not absorb water and it's strength is unaffected by exposure to water. Whereas steel wire will sink, 12 strand HMPE ropes will float.

HMPE 12 strand ropes and Heat Resistance

HMPE ropes will start to experience a loss of strength at temperatures exceeding of 140 degrees F. 

12 strand HMPE is delivered standard with a polyurethane finish and is easily spliced using a simple lockstitch type splice, 4-3-2 or 5-4-3 tuck splice. It's soft, torque free braided construction provides easy handling. 

HMPE12 strand is the highest strength synthetic rope available. SHOP HMPE  ropes at Ravenox.