Elevator Rope Calculator

Rope count, diameter, and safety factor.

Car weight (kg)

Rated load (kg)

Travel height (m)

Rope diameter (mm)

Rope grade (1=IPS, 2=EIPS, 3=EEIPS)

Required safety factor

Tab to move between fields

Number of ropes required

Actual safety factor8.63

Breaking strength/rope (kN)58.1

Total rope length (m)255

Total rope weight (kg)146.9

Weight per meter (kg/m)0.58

Min sheave diameter (mm)480

Total suspended load (kg)4,115

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Car weight (kg), Rated load (kg), and Travel height (m).
Set Rope diameter (mm), Rope grade (1=IPS, 2=EIPS, 3=EEIPS), and Required safety factor.
Review the Number of ropes required result.
Use Actual safety factor and Breaking strength/rope (kN) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Rope diameter (mm)

Car weight (kg): Weight of the empty elevator car including platform and sling.
Rated load (kg): Maximum passenger/freight load. 1 person ≈ 75 kg.
Travel height (m): Total vertical travel distance from lowest to highest landing.
Rope diameter (mm): Wire rope diameter. Common sizes: 8, 10, 12, 16 mm.
Rope grade (1=IPS, 2=EIPS, 3=EEIPS): Wire rope grade: 1 = Improved Plow Steel, 2 = Extra Improved, 3 = Extra Extra Improved.
Required safety factor: Minimum safety factor per ASME A17.1 (≥ 8.0 for traction elevators).

Number of ropes required: Minimum number of wire ropes needed (ASME minimum: 3).
Actual safety factor: Achieved safety factor with the selected number of ropes.
Breaking strength/rope (kN): Minimum breaking strength of each rope based on diameter and grade.
Total rope length (m): Total length of all ropes including overhead and pit allowances.
Total rope weight (kg): Combined weight of all suspension ropes.
Weight per meter (kg/m): Linear weight of one rope.
Min sheave diameter (mm): Minimum traction sheave diameter based on D/d ≥ 40 ratio.
Total suspended load (kg): Combined car weight, rated load, and compensation.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Car weight (kg) = 2500, Rated load (kg) = 1600, Travel height (m) = 30, Rope diameter (mm) = 12 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Number of ropes required
Number of ropes required = max(3, ceil(numRopesExact))
6 = 6
Calculate Actual safety factor
Actual safety factor = (numRopes * breakingStrengthKN) / totalLoadKN
8.63 = 8.63
Calculate Breaking strength/rope
Breaking strength/rope = 0.36 * d * d * gradeFactor / 10
58.1 = 58.1