In 1973 Sta-Lok launched the swageless terminal system for
wire rope
Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay)
Wire rope is several strands of metal wire twisted into a helix forming a composite
''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a ...
at the
London Boat Show
The London Boat Show was an event held in London from 1955 to 2018, organised by British Marine. First held at Olympia, it was later moved to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and finally the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. The show's cancellation wa ...
.
The swageless terminal can be fitted by using hand tools, unlike a
swage
Swaging () is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using dies into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process, but also may be hot worked.
The term swage may apply to the process (verb) or ...
terminal which requires a special press, roller die or
rotary hammer
A rotary hammer, also called rotary hammer drill is a power tool that can perform heavy-duty tasks such as drilling and chiseling hard materials. It is similar to a hammer drill in that it also pounds the drill bit in and out while it is spinnin ...
machine to crimp it onto a wire. This makes them very useful if the wire assembly must be made-up on site. A swageless terminal will work under constant loading and variable shock loading, making it stronger than the wire rope.
Regardless of manufacturer the basic principle of operation is the same. The
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
has its outer layers wrapped around a metal cone, with the rope's core running through a hole in the middle of the cone. The assembly sits inside a conical outer body. When the cable is in
tension
Tension may refer to:
Science
* Psychological stress
* Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression)
* Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions
* Voltage or el ...
, the action is such that the cone and wire are drawn further into the conical bore of the outer body resulting in a large reaction load. This load grips the wire and prevents further movement.
As with swage terminals, swageless terminals are available with a variety of different attachment methods; fixed
clevis
A clevis fastener is a two-piece fastener system consisting of a ''clevis'' and a ''clevis pin head''. The clevis is a U-shaped piece that has holes at the end of the prongs to accept the clevis pin. The clevis pin is similar to a bolt, but is ...
forks, toggling clevis forks, eyes and threaded studs (for insertion in a
turnbuckle
A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eye bolts, one screwed into each end of a small metal f ...
barrel).
Swageless terminals can be used for terminating cables for applications in the construction, defense and marine industries.
A swageless terminal can be removed and re-used, unlike a swaged terminal. This makes them very popular in the
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
industry as they enable a quick repair to be made to a damaged cable while out at sea. Removing them from the wire end also allows anything which the cable has been threaded through (
headstay furler) to be removed for servicing, re-threaded and the fitting re-attached.
There are several manufacturers of swageless fittings including Sta-Lok (who invented the swageless system), Hi-MOD and Norseman-Gibb.
{{Sail Types
Sailing rigs and rigging