Wire rope or cable is made of flexible, high grade steel which has been twisted into strands just like a normal rope. These strands are then twisted together to form a cable. There are three numbers that identify wire rope. The first is of course, the diameter. The smallest wire ropes I have worked with a 1/16 inch diameter, the largest cranes and heavy construction equipment have cables exceeding a 10 inch diameter. The second and third numbers are usually listed as a pair, such as 6x7, 6x16, or 6x19. The first number is the number of strands, while the second is the number of wires per strand.