A great article from Lou Honary, President, Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing, Inc. (USA) and John Sander, Vice President of Technology Lubrications Engineers, Inc. (USA)
Wire ropes are employed in industrial fields including mining, forestry, and shipping; and on applications such as building elevators (lifts), construction cranes, and suspension bridges.
They offer flexible energy transmission with surprisingly high weight to power ratio. They also handle a wide array of load types including high stress loads, high speed loads, shock, jerky, and rapid accelerating or decelerating loads.
They are used in hot, cold, dry, humid or submerged in water. Yet, many users choose to ignore them. The lifespan of a wire rope can be dramatically increased when it is coated with a lubricant. The variability in their use dictates the desired lubricant properties.
Today, new legislative environmental guidelines are driving users to give consideration not only the wire rope typical lubricants that lubricate and protect, but that are also considerate to the environment.