Bend fatigue resistant blended rope

A process for producing a rope having a blended strength member, the process having at least steps of:

• providing a core (3) formed of thermoplastic;
• forming a flow-shield sheath (5) around the thermoplastic core (3);
• forming several main rope strands (17) where each main rope strand (17) comprises ARAMID fibers and a material comprising HMPE;
• loading a braiding machine capable of forming hollow braided sheaths with each of the main rope strands (17), and using the loaded braiding machine to form a braided strength member (7) around the combination of at least the thermoplastic core (3) and the flow-shield sheath (5);
• next:
• subjecting the braided strength member (7) enclosing the thermoplastic core (3) that is ensheathed within the flow-shield sheath (5) to tension and to heat, by first subjecting the strength member (7) to tension and, secondly, by subjecting the strength member (7) to a heat suitable to change the phase of the thermoplastic core (3) to a semi-liquid phase, while choosing tension that at least at some point during application of tension is sufficient to permanently elongate and permanently compact the strength member (7);
• and
• next:
• while maintaining tension sufficiently to preserve a desired amount of elongation and compaction of the strength member, cooling the strength member and all it contains until the thermoplastic core achieves a solid phase,
• wherein the step of forming the several main rope strands (17) where each strand comprises ARAMID fibers and a material comprising HMPE further comprises a step of selecting a non-homogenous distribution of the ARAMID fibers and the material comprising HMPE.