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The fleet angle compensator is a floating sheave arrangement on an eccentric oscillating shaft. It is supported by two pillow blocks and has no direct contact to the drum except for the cable itself. This device does not spool the cable - it only compensates for a bad fleet angle (hence the name). The actual spooling is done by the special LeBus groove pattern that is on the drum core.

In order for this spooling system to function properly, certain conditions must be met. First, tension must be present at all times. The sleeve requires enough tension to hold the cable in its groove and the F.A.C. requires enough tension to maintain the sheave location and keep the shaft in the proper alignment. The tension to do this is usually significantly less than the actual load. The F.A.C. is usually designed to the breaking strength of the wire unless it is a special design. If tension is lost, then simply raising and lowering the load beyond the point of question should clear up this problem. Loose cable tends to work its way back to the cable clamp. Therefore, the cable should be un-spooled to the clamp and re-spooled on occasion.

Third, the sheave needs a minimum of 60° contact in order to move the sheave up and down the length of the shaft. This angle of contact should take into account the cable spooling on and off the drum (i.e. capacity of cable relative to the drum flange).

If these conditions are met, then the fleet angle compensator should perform as expected, if not, then the F.A.C. may need adjusting. There is a manual for this or you may call our service department for advice on this matter.

Poorly spooled cable is unsafe,unpredictable, and simply looks bad on the drum, while perfectly spooled cable looks better as well as performs and acts in a predictable manner.