What they are:
Plaited wire rope is made from strands of high tensile wire. The configuration of the plait is known as four by three sinnet. In this rope four groups each three strands are closed in a special machine, known as Orbital Square Plaiter. Consisting of six right laid, and six left laid strands, this material exhibits a state of torsional balance under load. This makes a true non-rotating rope, which has no torque-bias at any stage of its working life. The strands are usually 1x19construction (12 over 6 over1) which provides good flexibility and abrasion resistance. The wires comprising these strands are usually of high tensile 2070 MPa grade. This high grade provides high strength per unit of weight, with suitable fatigue-resistance for the application.

What they do:
The plaited rope is used as a Pulling-In rope in power line construction. In this role it is used to draw the conductors into place. Since very long assemblies are used (up to 6000 metres at times are shackled together), the non-spin property of this material is of paramount importance.

Why are they used:
It is a non-spin wire rope, which is easily handled and tolerant of the rough usage which can occur in the difficult conditions in which it is often used. When slack lines occur, plaited wire rope does not kink like ordinary rope. It easily runs over capstans and sheaves. Its flexibility means easy handling especially for rigging the turns round the capstans, down the conduits and round the bends when pulling underground cables.