Rope Anchor: Wedge Socket Cone Socket Types, Tension Equalisation 5% EN 81-20, Adjustable Bolts and Fatigue Crack Inspection

Rope anchors (also called rope hitches, rope terminations, rope sockets, or dead ends) are the structural connection between the hoist rope and the elevator structure. Types: (1) Wedge-type socket — a tapered wedge is driven into a socket as the rope bends around it; the rope wedges tighter under load; simple, fast to install, no epoxy needed; most common for modern installations; (2) Cone-type (poured) socket — the rope end is unbraided (wires fanned out) inside a conical socket and filled with molten Babbitt metal or epoxy resin; extremely strong but irreversible; (3) Ferrule or thimble with clip — used for lower-speed applications. Tension equalisation: in a multi-rope installation (e.g. 4–8 ropes), it is critical that all ropes carry equal tension. If one rope is slack, it will be under-tensioned and the remaining ropes will be overloaded. Equalisation is achieved by: adjustable anchor bolts (turnbuckles) on the dead-end side; spring-equalised hitch plates. EN 81-20 requires that individual rope tensions must be within 5% of the mean tension. Rope anchor inspection: at periodic inspection, rope tensions must be checked and equalised; anchor bolts checked for bottoming out; visual check for rope damage at anchor entry point (most common location for rope fatigue cracking). Rope anchors at the car top are the most accessible; counterweight anchors require car top access.

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