Screen Cloth
Filter cloth, or screen cloth, is a type of wire mesh used for filtration and straining. A wide range of weave styles are possible, and these are used depending on their suitability to different applications. The most commonly found are plain woven, twill woven or Dutch woven wire mesh. Most basic filtering applications will use a simple square mesh such as plain woven; this is the most commonly manufactured type of screen cloth.
Quick links to Screen Cloth Information
Advantages of Screen Cloth
Twilled Dutch weaves are a common choice for filter/screen cloths as they offer greater strength and can filter extremely fine materials due to the complexity of the weave and its ability to create small openings. Material choice is another factor that will be determined based on the usage of the screen. Metals are chosen based on their resistance to corrosion, abrasion, and heat. For applications such as food processing or pharmaceutical, stainless steel will be used to construct the wires as it is corrosion resistant and easily cleaned, allowing for sterile processing. Aluminum will be used in lightweight filtering applications while brass, copper, bronze and steel can all be used for more robust purposes. Metal filter cloths do not typically deteriorate during filtering and so are a long lasting process component.
Design of Screen Cloth
Also known as wire cloth, screen cloth can be manufactured with different diameters of wire and with weave openings determined by the specifications of the intended application and can be used for filtering very fine substances as well as heavy duty screens able to bear large loads. Metal filter screens are typically used for separating solids from each other according to particle size and for clear filtration of liquids and slurries. Industries such as chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, water purification, refrigeration, metalworking, gas separation, the automotive and aerospace make wide use of hardware cloth, as do many other industrial sectors.
Different types of screens constructed using screen cloth include shaker or vibrating screens for sifting and sizing, baskets, liners and separator rings. There are a number of variables to decide upon in the manufacturing of wire cloth such as mesh count, wire diameter of both warp and weft wires and weave style. Mesh count refers to the size of the openings in the weave, the higher the mesh count of a certain cloth, the smaller the opening, allowing the mesh to be used to filter fine materials. Wire diameter and weave style will also affect the straining quality of a wire screen.