How It's Made - Rock climbing Gear

Rock-climbing is no pastime for the faint-hearted. Scaling natural rock formations or manmade rock walls Requires a certain fearlessness, Along with good physical conditioning, Balance, agility, And you must be well-trained in climbing techniques And use specialized equipment. Climbers usually work in pairs, Using a system of ropes and other devices To catch them if they fall. A key piece of gear is the spring-loaded camming device.
The climber pulls the trigger to contract the cams And position it in a crack Then releases the trigger to expand the cams, Which securely grip the rock on either side, Then attaches a rope through a device called a carabiner. Climbers typically carry several types and sizes of cams, Carabiners, and other devices.

The equipment must be as lightweight as possible, Yet, at the same time, Strong enough to save a falling climber. Which is why this manufacturer uses aircraft-grade aluminum. To make carabiners, Automated saws cut  aluminum bars into pieces the required length. Then a bending machine forces each piece around a form In the basic shape of the carabiner. Carabiners come in various sizes and shapes. Workers simply mount the appropriate form on the machine.  Next, they place the roughly formed carabiner onto a hot die. Another die slams down on it with up to 800 tons of force, Forging the final shape.

Then the most critical part of the manufacturing process -- A multi-phase heat treatment To harden and strengthen the aluminum. Next, they use a clipping press To slice off excess metal along the perimeter. This leaves rough edges, Which they now smooth out using an abrasion process. The carabiners go into a vibrating tub, Where they rub against porcelain chips for the next 20 hours. Next, workers drill holes for the rivets On which the spring- loaded  opening mechanism will hinge. That mechanism, called the gate, Has channels which align with these holes. Assemblers slide a spring and spring-pusher into the gate, Then insert the rivets through the aligned holes and channels. A riveting machine locks each rivet in place By rounding and widening the head.

Then they adjust the carabiner's frame Until the alignment is perfect. After a thorough inspection, A laser etching machine inscribes product information And a unique serial number. Random samples undergo strength and other quality-control tests. Elsewhere in the factory, Camming device production is under way. Computer-guided equipment machines the same aluminum alloy To a preliminary shape, Saws off slices, Then machines each slice to the final shape of a cam. An assembler attaches a wire to each cam... Then takes four cams and joins their wires To the trigger wires with a metal crimp. The cams, by this point, are different colors. That's because they've undergone chemical treatment To make them corrosion-resistant.

This process can, in fact, produce various colors. So, at the same time, The company can color-code the different models. As assembly continues, they thread the cams Onto an axle-like component called the spindle, Positioning a spring in between each cam. The springs provide the resistance required To expand and retract the device. A cone-shaped washer on each end of the spindle Holds everything together. This time, the riveting machine locks in the components By flattening and widening the end of the spindle To fill the hole in the washer. With that, the camming device is finished. This is how camming devices, carabiners, And other climbing gear all work together To catch climbers who lose their foothold. Not only do they keep the climber safe, They also protect nature, Because they attach to the rock face Without damaging it in any way.