Wire Mesh

Woven wire meshes like diamond mesh are the most common type of wire mesh however welded wire mesh, or hardware cloth, is also commonly used to produce filter screens and strainers for applications requiring strong wire cloth. Finer wire cloth can be used for screen cloth or other barrier purposes. Available in an almost limitless combination of weaves, mesh gauges and materials, wire cloth is a highly versatile product. Steel mesh, stainless steel mesh and galvanized wire mesh are common types of wire mesh used in wire screens and strainers requiring corrosion resistance. Other materials used in the fabrication of wire mesh include bronze, usually for decorative purposes, copper for conductive or electromagnetic shielding applications or brass, titanium and nickel alloys for other general uses. Industries such as food and beverage processing, petro-chemical processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, screen printing all use various forms of wire mesh as it can be manufactured to meet specific needs and offers a diverse number of fine filtering, structural and support capabilities.

Welded wire mesh, such as consumer hardware cloth, is typically of a much larger gauge than most woven meshes, and welding is applied at each wire intersection in order to strengthen the mesh and to keep it from unraveling when cut. Woven mesh is typically transported and stored in large rolls which are then cut to the desired size when the application for a piece has been determined. Welded mesh, or crimped wire mesh is able to resist unraveling as the ends are connected to each other. Most wire cloth and screens are fabricated for applications which require corrosion resistance and so are often galvanized for purposes of further strengthening and to protect metals such as brass and iron which are not naturally corrosion resistant. Wire cloth made from finer weaves for screens or screen cloths may also require extra finishing such as galvanizing to prevent the woven wires coming undone. Metal screening is often used in consumer industries as window screens, flour sifters and cooking strainers used in both residential and commercial kitchens, while industrial manufacturers use fine-gauge wire mesh as wire strainers, sieves and screens in food and beverage, pharmaceutical, petro-chemical processing and screen printing.

While mesh often refers to a woven material, it also refers to the number of clear openings between adjacent parallel wires per linear inch. Mesh count is used by wire mesh manufacturers to communicate how fine of a weave a wire mesh or wire screen has based on the size of the openings between the woven parallel wires. Screens with high mesh counts are finer, and are used for fine filtration, while screens with low mesh counts are not considered wire mesh at all, but wire mesh suitable for fabricating breathable cages and other barriers, such as in police vehicles or aviaries. Often referred to as hardware cloth, wire mesh with a lower mesh count is commonly used for animal cages, fences, traps, barriers and more. It is typically sturdy and durable and is able to be welded into the desired shapes or objects. Large gauge wire mesh with large openings is also often welded together to increase overall material integrity, but wire screens and filtering meshes may be sintered. Sintered wire mesh, although more costly than welded or woven wire mesh, has high structural stability and is excellent for the transportation of bulk goods and powders.

The type of wire cloth and wire mesh weave is also important for precision applications as some uses will require a particularly fine weave, or a specific shape of mesh opening. The most common weave patterns are plain square mesh weave, twilled square mesh weave, plain dutch weave, reverse plain weave and twill dutch weave. Plain square meshes are made from shute wires, or lateral wires, and warp wires, or longitudinal wires, of equal gauge, and each mesh opening is square. This is used for many generic operations which require a basic mesh. In plain dutch weaves, warp wires are slightly larger than shute wires, which are closely spaced to provide a dense weave. In twilled weaves, each wire passes over two wires at a time rather than one; reverse weaves contain lateral shute wires which are larger than warp wires, and dutch twill weaves combine twill weaving with larger warp wires, as with plain dutch weaves. Wire mesh mesh with larger gauges and openings are sometimes crimped to add structural stability and strength and to provide load bearing strength. Specialty weaves, such as dutch and twill, also add structural strength and support for applications such as fences and wire mesh conveyors. Dutch and twill weaves can provide extra filtration for precision screening applications such as precision filtering in automotive parts, paint applications and liquid filtration.

---

Wire Mesh Types

• Backing cloth is wire cloth or mesh that supports the surface of a screen.
  
• Bolting cloth is a stainless steel mesh with a plain weave construction and a small wire diameter, resulting in a high percentage of open area.
  
• Cloth baskets are baskets formed from wire cloth and may have a round or rectangular frame and be constructed from rod, flat or angle stock. Cloth baskets used for small parts may have a heavy screen outer lining for protection and strength.
  
• Copper screens may be used for Faraday cages, electromagnetic shielding, papermaking and insect screens. Copper mesh is quite ductile and has very little springback after being bent or formed.
  
• Filter cloth is cloth with differing wire diameters designed for the express purpose of filtering or straining. Filter cloth is woven in both plain and twill patterns with a higher number of wires in one direction. 
• Galvanized wire mesh is a wire product made of interlocking metal that is coated with zinc.
• Hardware cloth is a type of wire mesh that is welded and galvanized.
• Metal screening is a mesh material.
• Screen cloth is a type of wire cloth used for filtration and straining
• Sieves are implements with mesh baskets that are used for straining.
  
• Square mesh cloth is woven with uniform mesh count and wire diameter in either direction.
  
• Stainless steel screens are used for sifting, especially in food service and plumbing applications where its corrosion-resistant quality is needed.
  
• Stainless steel screen cloth is the most common material and has high strength and corrosion resistant properties. The mesh pattern consists of square openings. 
• Strainers are products made from woven wire cloth that are used for clog prevention, filtering, draining, straining and sifting of liquid materials.
• Test sieves come in a wide variety of styles, including half-height, microplate, wet washing, extra depth, air jet and grain sieves. Test sieves are totally sealed and have precision frames, structured rims and evenly tensioned mesh. 
• Welded wire mesh is a product made from perpendicular metal wires that have been welded at their 90 degree angle cross points and are used in the construction, fencing and engineering industries.
• Wire mesh is a material made of parallel and perpendicular interlocking metal wires which create some amount of space between where the interlocked wires cross. Wire cloth includes wires arranged in all types of weaves, including mesh weave, but mesh is characteristically not as tight as other types of non-mesh weaves (such as dutch twill), and mesh weaves with large openings (such as in wire fencing) are not considered wire cloth, but wire mesh.
• Wire screens are are thin, finely woven metal wire mesh with a square weave that provides open yet protected barriers.
• Woven wire mesh is the main alternative to welding and is composed of perpendicular wires that are interlaced with each other.

---

Wire Mesh Terms

Aperture - The space between contiguous parallel wires, expressed in millimeters.
 
Bands - Steel, galvanized steel or stainless steel material that is used to reinforce the screen edge.
 
Bend Test - A test in which wire is bent over a specified diameter through a certain angle and for a preset number of cycles, in order to determine its relative ductility, soundness and toughness.
 
Blinding - The blocking of apertures of wire mesh caused by particle entrapment of the process material.
 
Bubble Point Test - A method used to test the average aperture size. The pressure needed for air bubbles to pass through the mesh, which is covered by a test liquid, is measured, and surface tension, liquid density, temperature and immersion depth are taken into account in the calculations.
 
Calender - Also known as "rolled," it is the process of passing wire cloth between two rollers to reduce the thickness or flatten intersections of wires and to supply a smooth surface.
 
Coin - To stamp wire cloth in order to prevent unraveling and to shape or compact the wire mesh.
 
Count - A term used only in reference to mesh wire cloth, referring to the amount of openings per linear inch as measured from the center of the wire.
 
Crimp - Corrugations in the wires for the purpose of securing the wire in place when perpendicular to each other.
 
Double Crimp - Crimping of wires prior to weaving. The shute and warp are in each crimp.
 
Feather Edges - Non-crimped, straight wire edges sticking out all around a section of screen cloth on the same plane.
 
Gauge - The diameter of the wire prior to weaving.
 
Heated Deck - A screen surface that is heated by a screen cloth, which is used as a heating element and is typically made of stainless steel material.
 
Intermediate Crimp - Shute and warp wires occurring in every other crimp.
 
Market Grades - The most commonly utilized sizes of industrial wire cloth specifications chosen for general-purpose work and typically ready for shipment upon order from companies.
 
Mesh Count - The number of openings between interlocked wires per linear inch. Mesh count indicates the size of the weave, therefore indicating filtering capabilities.
 
Offal - Excess wire screen material that, in the slitting or fabricating process, is cut from a standard roll.
 
Open Area - The proportion of open space to the total area of a wire screen, expressed as a percentage.
 
Selvage - The finishing of edges along the length of a roll of wire mesh to prevent unraveling.
 
Shute Wires - Also called "weft," "shot," "shoot" or "fill" wires, they are the wires going across the width of the woven cloth. Shute wires are moved back and forth by the shuttle.
 
Warp Wires - Wires going lengthwise across the wire cloth. In the weaving process called "warping the loom," the warp wires are placed first at the preferred spacing.

---