Perforated Metal Screen

Perforated Metal Screen

Perforation is a common and important industrial process, especially in the context of metalworking. It is used to change the physical properties of a metal in order to change its function or to improve its appearance. The process of perforation can only be applied to metals that are thin enough to be easily punched or stamped; the closest analogue to perforation in the context of thick metals is drilling. While drilling can be labor and resource intensive, perforation is popular because of the relative simplicity of the process and its low cost. Very thin metal sheets in particular are among the easiest materials to perforate, and once perforated they can be very valuable industrial utilities and architectural embellishments. Perforated metal screens can be used in balcony enclosures, partitions, elevator cabinets, backgrounds, walls, baskets and furniture for interior and exterior architecture. They can also be used for air or liquid filtering, as window screens, for ventilation and in acoustic wall and ceiling panels.

The metal screen perforation process begins with a very thin sheet of metal that is loaded into a punching or pressing machine. A roller or retractable punch with specially-shaped spikes or other shapes presses into the metal sheet, creating holes and other shapes in close proximity to each other. The hole patterns can be round, square, slotted, embossed or a complex and decorative pattern. Copper, stainless steel, brass, aluminum and many other metals are capable of becoming perforated metal screens. The metal screens are sometimes galvanized (hot dipped in zinc), tempered, quenched or age-hardened for high-strength applications. Today, the machinery involved in screen perforation is often CNC controlled as opposed to manually operated. The implications of this are high product quality and repeatability as well as minimal labor costs. Many companies that offer metal perforation services complement their service with other metalworking processes like shearing, degreasing, drilling, deburring, bending, welding, rolling and cutting. The result of these processes is an elegant, highly functional metal screen.