Unlike drum hoists that spool wire rope around a cylinder, a Koepe system passes a continuous loop of rope over a motorized friction pulley. The rope connects the cage on one side to a counterweight or second cage on the other, relying entirely on the friction between the rope and the pulley tread to lift the load. It is widely used in deep vertical shafts because it requires less motor torque and eliminates massive storage drums.
The engineers are replacing the tread liners on the Koepe wheel to stop the hoist rope from slipping.
Always capitalized because it is named after its German inventor, Carl Friedrich Koepe.
Also heard as
- friction hoist
Related terms
Headframe
The structural frame above an underground mine shaft that supports the hoisting mechanism.
Winder
A heavy-duty winch or engine used to raise and lower cages and skips in a mine shaft.
Cage
The primary elevator car used in vertical mine shafts.
Skip
A guided hoist container used to lift ore or waste rock out of a mine shaft.