RHEYFIRM® (RS) vs. RHEYFIRM® (RTS): When to Choose the “Reduced Diameter” Version for Space-Constrained Reels
RHEYFIRM® is Nexans’ premium line of flexible medium-voltage reeling cables specifically engineered for the extreme mechanical and environmental stresses of port machinery (STS cranes, automated stacker-reclaimers) and mining equipment (continuous dragline cables, mobile crusher power systems). Unlike fixed installation cables that remain stationary throughout their service life, reeling cables experience constant dynamic stress—deploying and retracting hundreds to thousands of times over their operational life. This continuous reeling duty subjects the cable to millions of bending cycles, sustained tensile loads, electromagnetic stress, salt spray corrosion, intense ultraviolet radiation, and temperature extremes far exceeding what conventional industrial cables are designed to tolerate.
The physical diameter of a reeling cable is not simply a matter of aesthetics or standardization—it directly affects how much cable can fit on a physical drum of fixed dimensions. Consider a stacker-reclaimer with an existing cable drum that has a fixed flange width (say, 1,200 millimeters) and a fixed core diameter (say, 400 millimeters). The amount of cable that can be wound onto this drum depends on how tightly the cable packs around the core. A cable with a 59-millimeter outer diameter will create a larger spiral as it is wound layer by layer, limiting the total cable length to perhaps 600 meters. That same physical drum, if fitted with a 55.8-millimeter diameter cable, creates a tighter spiral and accommodates perhaps 750 meters of cable—a 25 percent increase in usable length with zero change to the physical equipment. For equipment where travel distance requirements have increased due to terminal expansion or operational upgrades, this diameter optimization can mean the difference between being able to extend operations and being forced into an expensive drum replacement project costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

