EHS Cabling - use of swage terminations

[ciberpine]

I understand that swage terminations are acceptable in the A300 Part 3 standards now. However, the actual swage is not defined as to type or material. Tom Smiley had an excellent article on strength tests of termination type in the AUF March 2011 issue. In that article, he demonstrated that a cable terminated with two aluminum swags and a fender washer is just as strong as a dead end grip with wire thimble on a eye bolt.

A swage terminated cable seems like the easiest system from an installation labor standpoint.

There are aluminum, copper, zinc coated copper, and stainless steel swages. Does anybody have any experience with these and can comment on their use?

 

[imagineero]

I've not done any cabling of trees, but I've cabled standing rigging in yachts and cabled high ropes adventure courses in trees. I've used swages and rope claps. The standard we used for life support was generally 3 wire rope clamps facing opposite directions spaced 3 diameters of the material apart. Swages are just as strong, and produce a neater result for sure. The tools can be kind of expensive, but the individual swages aren't that dear. You obviously can't undo/adjust them which is a bummer, but they look tidy. I don't find them to be especially any faster than using wire rope grips. I've mainly used the zinc coated copper swages but have also used copper. I don't know the difference between them, but I do know that you need to use whatever swages are reccomended with your tool, and that keeping the tool calibrated is critical.

Shaun

 

[treeseer]

I didn't know swages were mentioned in the new Part 3. I did not see that in the review draft.

I paid $80 for the tool.