COMPONENTS: Wire rope consists of three basic components.

1. Wires.

2. Strands, formed by wires, laid helically around a core.

3. Core, or center.

MATERIAL: Steel grades in wide use today are IPS (improved plow steel), EIPS (extra improved plow steel), sometimes also referred to as XIPS, XIP, or EIP, as well as EEIPS (extra, extra improved plow steel).

CORE: Its function is to provide proper support for the strands under normal conditions. Three types of core (or center) are commonly used.

1. Fiber Core (F.C.), usually polypropylene (P.C.), sometimes hemp (H.C.) and sisal.

2. Independent Wire Rope Core (IWRC)

3. Wire Strand Core (WSC)

IWRC and WSC are sometimes referred to as steel wire core or steel center.

CONSTRUCTION: Expressed in numbers of strands x number of wires. 6 x 25 indicates that the wire rope consists of 6 strands, which in turn have 25 individual wires. Constructions are grouped into classes:

6 x 7 Class: Containing 6 strands that are made up of 3 through 14 wires, of which no more than 9 are outside wires.

6 x 19 Class: Containing 6 strands that are made up of 15 through 26 wires, of which no more than 12 are outside wires.

6 x 36 Class: Containing 6 strands that are made up of 27 through 49 wires, of which no more than 18 are outside wires.

8 x 19 Class: Containing 8 strands that are made up of 15 through 26 wires, of which no more than 12 are outside wires.

19 x 7 Class: Containing 19 strands, each of which is made up of 7 wires.

8 x 19 and 19 x 7 class wire ropes have rotation-resistant properties, excluding elevator ropes.

The constructions listed above are just some of the more popular constructions.