Here at the Hotwire, we receive numerous questions concerning these terms among others. Seeing as we are going to be exhibiting at the World of Concrete show next week, we figured it was time for a refresher course!

Domestic Melt: This means that all of the raw materials for the wire or cable were melted into rod in the USA.

Manufactured in the USA/Domestic Cable: In cable or wire rope, this means that the product was stranded and closed in the USA (Could be drawn as well). This can be of foreign rod. Loos products using the DFARS tag always fall under this category.

DFARS Compliant: DFARS (Denfense Acquistion Regulations System) is a program designed by the United States Department of Defense. Encompassing nearly all parts of military acquisition programs, the DFARS manual dictates country of origin standards. In the specialty metal section (252.225-7014), the regulation states that a variety of alloys (including stainless steels) must be melted in a qualifying country. As of 4/24/2012, these countries include:

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland as well as the United States.

Simply stated, as long as your wire, cable, or wire rope uses rod from one of these countries, and is either drawn, or drawn and stranded in the USA, you have a DFARS compliant product. Most Military Specifications and government projects will call for DFARS or Domestic Compliance.

Mil-Spec: Military Specifications are a set of product specifications established by the DoD. These specifications dictate the requirements that wire, cable, or wire rope must meet by manufacturers who are qualified to produce the product. A manufacturer interested in making a product to these specifications must be qualified by the DoD to be able to produce said product. Loos is on the QPL (Qualified Producers List) for many products, including MIL-DTL-83420 Specification Aircraft Cable. Mil-Specs may or may not call out a requirement for Country of Origin for the rod used to make the cable. In the case of MIL-DTL-83420, the specification calls out for DFARS Compliant Rod on Stainless Steel Products, and makes no country of origin call out for galvanized rod.

RR-W-410: This is a specification that the US Government uses for most commercial grade cables and wire ropes. Think of it like the standard the EPA has for Fuel Economy, or a Safety Requirement by the NTSB. When manufactured to this spec, maufacturers must conform to these specs. These tell about constructions used, breaking strenght, and much more. Read more about RR-W-410.

So there you have it. Hopefully that cleared up any questions you may have, and in case it didn't, feel free to contact us or stop by and visit us at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas and we will answer whatever questions you may have.

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