Tangle Resistant Rope

[Sam West]

Hi guys, I am a student at Rangitoto College in New Zealand and am developing a tangle resistant rope (spearfishing float line) as a school project. I am just sending out a general query to see if any of you guys have any potential ideas or ways in which I can make this happen.

constraints within the design -
-needs to float
-anti tangle
-have a thin profile of around 5mm diameter.

 

[dik]

Something like a floating fly fishing line?

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So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[3DDave]

Have you identified what causes tangles?

The main problem is when there is a twist retained from coming off a spool in a way that it wasn't put onto the reel in the first place. Take a spool of thread and get the thread end loose and then roll it across the floor in a way that causes the thread to unroll (tangential.) It will mainly lie in place, with some curl from having been formed around the spool.

Take another spool of thread and pull the thread off from one end (axial) - this will cause a 360 degree twist in the thread for every turn off the spool. Unwind a lot of thread this way while holding the thread from untwisting and then slowly let tension off the thread. It will likely twist up on itself from the twist retained from pulling it loose.

The commonly seen inverse of the second case is on spin-casting fishing reels causing the line createn a "birds nest" due to the twist that is put onto the line while it is being wound in or from the spinnner

https://youtu.be/AYpqsHmgZ6k?t=170

.

Essentially - the rope cannot be tangle resistant - the method of pulling it and returning it to the spool or reel is key to avoiding tangles.

 

[Sam West]

Thanks for your response 3DDave, I will definitely research further in depth the root cause of tangles and how I can decrease this twist phenomenon acting on the rope.
Cheers,
Sam

 

[dik]

That could be the difference between line comming off a spin-casting real and one coming off a fly fishing reel.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik