Cooperation for Innovation: Improving the Union between Steel Wire Rope and Synthetic Wire Rope (MUCAS)

Grup Boix is a partner beneficiary of the MUCAS Operational Group. The project focuses on the study of the hybrid link between steel wire rope and synthetic wire rope to improve the dragging of trees in the unlogging phase. In addition, the project also aims to promote the use of synthetic wire in forestry operations in Catalan forests. The project is funded through Operation 16.01.01 (Cooperation for innovation) through the Rural Development Programme of Catalonia 2014-2022.

Synthetic wire in Catalonia has a very low use by companies dedicated to the forestry sector. The main causes of the decline are due to the heavy abrasion of the wire during timber harvesting operations, and also due to the high cost of the wire. Specifically, the price of synthetic rope is up to 2 or 3 times higher than the cost of steel rope.

From the forestry sector, it has been noted that the synthetic wire rope suffers greater abrasion in the last few metres of the total length and, as a consequence, the strong abrasion causes the rope to break. In this sense, the hypothesis is formulated of reducing the abrasion of the last few metres of cable in order to increase the useful life and maintain the advantages (low weight, ergonomics and safety).

In collaboration with the Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC) and with the cooperation of Grup Boix, a pilot programme is being carried out to improve the union between the synthetic and steel cable, in order to create a method suitable for all harvesting systems and easy to use in forestry workshops.