Cable car operators also have needs: they want high availability of their system and no surprises; the operation and costs need to be predictable.

The rope is a critical component here: it must be safe and at the same time require little maintenance. Low costs of ownership are the aim. To this end, rope manufacturer FATZER has put together a comprehensive lifetime package for cable cars.

A cable car rope is durable only for a period and not permanently: it wears out. Operators must plan the service time of this key component and regularly check the rope to verify its condition.

The rope service life can be calculated, and there are criteria to define the discard time, i.e. when the rope must be changed.

Solutions for All Phases

Across all stages in the life of the cable car rope, Swiss manufacturer FATZER has developed solutions that increase the service life of the rope, guarantee safety and reduce costs.

“Our lifetime package turns operators into carefree cable car companies,” CTO Michael Hanimann summarises.

Phase 1: Planning

This begins even before production of the rope. FATZER uses its FAROtune software to calculate the service life of the future rope and devises an operating strategy together with the operator.

“Right from the outset we create a digital twin of the rope in the myFATZER.com cockpit, to plan its use, monitoring and operation. The focus here is on predictive maintenance, data exchange and product selection,” Sales Project Manager Philippe Bieri says.

Phase 2: Production

For cable cars, FATZER produces the PERFORMA-DT special rope with synthetic profiles between the strands. The rope strands therefore do not touch one another, which significantly increases the service life both of the rope and of the sheave liners.

“As a guideline here, we are talking about doubling the service life of the rope in comparison with a standard rope,” Hanimann affirms.

In general, significantly less energy goes into the infrastructure, and this yields advantages in the areas of noise emissions, service life of the supports, and ride comfort. “The faster the line runs, the greater the customer benefit,” Bieri says.

Moreover, the PERFORMA-DT runs very smoothly: the rope barely vibrates, the elongation behaviour is minimal and the diameter remains constant. The rope elongation is therefore calculable and predictable; shortening is required only in the middle of the service life.

Phase 3: Installation

For the PERFORMA-DT to play to its strengths, rope specialists are needed for installation. The splicers from FATZER have many years of experience with their TRUsplice method. With this, the rope is put together on site in the highest quality hand craftsmanship.

The results are: reduced operating costs, longer splice durability and greater availability of the cable car. Thanks to the careful splicing, the line runs more smoothly and the coupling processes in the area of the splice are gentler.

“If they use the TRUscan monitoring system, operators can also save on spliced-in pieces and on travel to an external rope inspector,” Bieri reports.

Phase 4: Monitoring

As soon as the rope is running, it must be monitored. Operators can hand over this complex and time-consuming task to FATZER. Automatic and constant monitoring is performed by the TRUscan system and certified specialists.

“TRUscan includes complete handling of the inspection reports required for operation of the system, forecasting of the rope discard time, and monitoring of the rope condition,” Hanimann says. Safe operation with predictive maintenance is therefore possible with no compromises and no surprises.

Phase 5: Service

If maintenance work appears necessary, the experts from FATZER are quickly on site anywhere in the world. Bespoke maintenance and service contracts have numerous advantages, above all including calculable costs, guaranteed response and intervention times, and a regional presence.

Moreover, customers can be sure of compliance with all safety standards and regulations.

This all improves the reliability and availability of the cable car and minimises the risks to operation – both critical factors for the cable car as a mode of transport. Customers therefore benefit from minimised downtimes and optimised performance of the systems, Bieri guarantees: “they become carefree cable car companies”