Infinity Ropes have been designed to feature a number of exciting new developments to ensure that whichever rope you choose and whatever it is put through that you will be using the most tailored and responsive designs on the market today. However, the making of a top class product is really not a simple process and is not even that easy to explain and therefore, to give a little bit more of an insight – and without getting too confusing - Martin Atkinson, Managing Director of Infinity Ropes and the chief designer, takes up the story of the whys and wherefores of rope design. Before any new rope range comes together there is much to consider and this initially design philosophy can determine your success; because designing a rope is a subtle of art as well as science. The science is in the definition of the many processes that go into the manufacture of the rope, the artistry is in designating and combining these processes to get the best results from the ropes. However, the problem that is always encountered, is that altering one element positively can be seen to have a negative effect on another e.g. more core yarns may positively result in a higher fall rating and negatively result in a heavier rope. Or reducing the maximum impact force, good, may lead to a stretchier rope under bodyweight, bad. Although this may seem remarkably obvious it highlights the basic dilemma of rope design and however hard we try these basic physical laws cannot be circumvented. Designing for Climbing... Once again the title of the paragraph may seem obvious but there is a distinct difference in putting down a specification on paper and making sure that the specifications fulfils the differing criteria of a wide range of climbers. Each climber requires a blend of characteristics from their rope: strength, weight, flexibility, durability; presented in a way that suits their activity best. So bearing the “design dilemma” in mind, it is no good presenting the strongest ropes in the world to a lightweight Alpinist, as the ropes will necessarily be thick and heavy. Neither will the dedicated Sports-Climber welcome a superlight rope if it is too thin to belay with and wears out after a few days “dogging”. Initially I counted upon my 28 years experience of ‘top-end’ climbing throughout the world to recognise what individual climbers need from their rope. Then I drew on my many years experience in the climbing rope business to achieve these aims in the factory. Starting to manufacture a rope…. Once these design aims have been agreed upon there are three main recognised hurdles to overcome before the manufacturing process can begin: [1] Materials selection
this was relatively simple; high tenacity Nylon 6 is utilised by all rope companies as the basic filament and is always a very similar product across most ropes companies as it is generally purchased from one of a very few places on the planet. These ‘filaments’ are the basic rope ‘building blocks’ and are combined as explained below to form a rope. [2] Materials Treatment
there are two major processes: a) Yarn
The filaments are twisted into ‘yarns’. The ‘yarns’ are of a specified construction, which is expressed in terms of ‘Decitex’, this is the weight in grams of 10,000 m. of the yarn. The decitex of the yarn and the amount of twist is chosen with respect to the eventual construction and usage of the rope e.g. a higher decitex is a heavier and generally tougher yarn. b) Heat Treatment
The yarns are exposed to a defined temperature and pressure cycle, this heat treatment process shrinks the yarn in a controlled manner. The twist and heat treatment of the yarns is key in the determination of the energy absorbtion and elongation characteristics of the yarns. [3] Construction
Putting it all together becomes the ‘clever’ part, or if you will, the artisitry; from the machines chosen to the way the materials are defined in the two key stages - core and sheath design. a) Core Construction
The core construction has a great effect on the elongation and fall holding capability of the rope. Given that we have already heat treated and twisted the yarn the trick is to specify the correct amount of material in the core. To achieve our fall and elongation performance goals we need to configure the materials to make sure an Infinity Rope has a balanced, flexible construction and forms a ‘round’ platform for the sheath. The core is constructed by combining a specified number of Nylon 6 Filaments to make a Yarn – Several Yarns are twisted to make a Ply – Plys to make a Bundle - Bundles to make a Core. An example of core building can be seen in figures as below:
Yarn = 1400 dtex
1 Ply = (1400 x 6) or (1400 x 10)
1 Core Bundle = [(1400 x 6) x 3]
The core is made of 7 bundles = [(1400x6) x 3] x 7 | 
