Overview
ISO 2408:2017 - "Steel wire ropes - Requirements" specifies engineering and quality requirements for the manufacture, testing, acceptance, packing, marking and issuing of a certificate of quality for steel wire ropes. The standard applies to round-strand and compacted-strand steel wire ropes made from wires that are uncoated (bright), zinc-coated or Zn–Al coated. It is intended for general-purpose ropes and explicitly excludes ropes for mining, aircraft control, aerial ropeways/funiculars and lifts.
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO 2408:2017 defines practical, testable requirements across the rope lifecycle:
- Materials: wire, core and lubricant requirements and wire torsion/finish characteristics (see Annex A for wire properties).
- Rope manufacture: rules for wire joints, lubrication, pre- and post-formation, construction, grade and lay (direction and type).
- Designation and classification: standardized naming and rope grade designations for consistent specification and procurement.
- Dimensions: nominal rope diameter, lay length and rope length tolerances and measurement methods.
- Breaking force: minimum breaking force concepts and multiple test/verification methods (measured and calculated approaches are included).
- Verification and tests: procedures for material checks, diameter measurement and defined test methods for breaking force (Methods 1–4).
- Information for use: required certificate of quality content, packaging and marking details to support traceability and acceptance.
- Annexes: include dimensional/mechanical wire data, sampling and acceptance criteria for series production, calculation methods and tables of minimum breaking forces, metric–imperial comparisons, and guidance on large-diameter ropes.
Practical applications and users
ISO 2408:2017 is used by:
- Wire rope manufacturers to design, produce and certify ropes that meet recognized quality and test criteria.
- Procurement teams and specifiers to write unambiguous contract requirements and ensure supplier compliance.
- Quality inspectors and testing laboratories for acceptance testing, breaking-force verification and issuing certificates of quality.
- Design and lifting engineers who need standardized rope data (diameter, lay, breaking force, coatings) for selection and safety assessment.
Benefits:
- Ensures consistent performance, interchangeability and traceability.
- Reduces procurement disputes by defining required test methods and certificate contents.
- Supports safety and reliability for general-purpose industrial, marine and lifting applications (excluding the specific excluded uses).
Related standards
ISO 2408 references and complements other ISO documents such as ISO 2232, ISO 3108, ISO 4345, ISO 4346, ISO 6892‑1 and ISO 17893 - consult these for wire specifications, breaking load determination, core/fibre requirements, lubricant basics and terminology.
Keywords: ISO 2408:2017, steel wire ropes, wire rope requirements, breaking force, wire rope testing, rope manufacture, certificate of quality, round strand, compacted strand, zinc-coated, Zn‑Al coated.
