Compacted strand wire rope is manufactured from strands that have been compacted or reduced in diameter, by passing through a die or rollers, prior to laying the strands into a finished wire rope. The compacting process flattens the surface of the outer wires and re-forms the internal wires of the strand to increase the metallic cross-section area of the strand. (Conceptually speaking, you can think of the compacting process as squeezing the air out from between the wires that make up a strand.) This results in both a smoother surface at the strand crowns and an increase in strength compared to round strand rope of the same diameter and classification.
