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Concept of Swaging. What is swaging?

The swaging of duplex copper oval sleeves is a method of securing wire rope or aircraft cable with a permanently applied fitting or sleeve. The swaged connection will exceed the rated breaking strength of the wire rope or cable when properly applied. Proper application involves:

  • Using the correct swaging tool.
  • Selecting the proper sleeve size for the corresponding cable size.
  • Swaging the duplex copper oval sleeve in the proper cavity of the swaging tool with the required number of sleeve compressions.
  • Gauging the compressed sleeve to measure the after swage diameter of the compressed sleeve.

All aspects of the swaging process of duplex copper oval sleeves are addressed in the following details:

ILLUSTRATION OF A COMPLETED SWAGE

Here is a photo of a cross section of and actual copper oval sleeve that has been swaged to galvanized wire rope. Wire rope size is 1/4” galvanized 7 X 19 construction. Copper sleeve is a Locoloc plain copper duplex sleeve # SL2-8 for 1/4” wire rope.

Notice how the copper in the sleeve is actually compressed among the individual wire strands that make up the cable. When compressed, copper easily flows into the open spaces created by the stranded wires in the wire rope.

This swaged connection when properly applied will exceed the rated breaking strength of the cable. The elements of proper swaging practices are:

  • Use a swaging tool that is specifically designed by the manufacturer to swage compression sleeves to wire rope or cable
  • Follow the manufacturers swaging instructions making sure to swage the compression sleeve in the proper swaging cavity of the tool. Additionally, follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for the number of compressions required for the sleeve when using the tool.

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