They are idler pulleys. They don't pull. They just change the direction of the cable.Nice work but how does they pull with a bearing in the center?
Very nice work. How much tension is on the cable? For prestressing concrete it could be considerable, is the static load rating of the bearings high enough?
Greg
I met the guy who I did this for on Friday afternoon. He explained to me that there are two sides and they tension rebar between two ends to cast prefab wall panels. The tension is not very high and more to straiten and mount the rebar. It is well within the bearing rating considering that they are putting tension on this by hand.
He already installed the pulleys and said the workers are very happy because it takes less "elbow grease" to get the tension on the rebar. They feel the bearings are a good improvement. All he need to do now is to monitor it over a few months and then maybe improve two more units with the bearing option ;-) Hopefully more beer money on the horizon
Thanx for the feedback. Yes, needle roller bearings would have been a better option as it will spread the load over the width of the pulley. I did actually consider it but the problem I ran into was that I were unable to find needle roller bearings which are sealed. All agents I asked, said sealed roller bearings does not exist locally here in South Africa. I think one of the main reasons for the wear on the old pulleys are the dust and sand in the environment they are used.You might consider needle roller bearings for a better load rating if it ever becomes necessary.
Looks like a great solution, In fact you may get repeat business as they prob has others that need the repair once they see this one. Leave it to people that do not respect others tools and equipment, They will find a way to break it then you will have to do it again.