Woven wire mesh is woven to size in the same way cloth is woven on a loom. The most common materials used to create woven wire mesh are carbon steel, galvanized steel and stainless steel, and aluminum.
Stainless wire mesh is especially useful because it is extremely chemical resistant, works with hot or cold liquids, and is easily cleaned. Aluminum mesh is lightweight, strong, has a high electrical conductivity, and a low melting point. Aluminum mesh also significantly resists atmospheric corrosion. Carbon steel and galvanized wire mesh are strong, economical, and readily available. Other exotic materials such as copper and nickel can also be woven into wire mesh.
Since our woven wire mesh is extremely versatile and easy to install, they can be used in a variety of applications. From fencing to machine guarding, Direct Metals has the woven wire mesh for your application. Examples of common applications include:
Heavier woven wires must be pre-crimped. The material remains stable and rigid after the crimping process. Pre-crimped woven wire mesh is ideal for both industrial & architectural applications.
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Complete Wire Mesh Section of our Product Catalog (PDF)
Wire Mesh Catalog (PDF)
Wire Mesh Catalog (Interactive)
Square Opening Space Cloth (PDF)
Square Mesh Wire Cloth (PDF)
Fine Mesh Wire Cloth (PDF)
Bolting Cloth (PDF)
Filter Cloth (PDF)
Diameter of Wire by Gauge (PDF)
Weight Conversion Factors (PDF)
Temperature Conversion Chart (PDF)
Stainless Steel Composition & Properties (PDF)
Austenitic Stainless Steel Table (PDF)
Specialty Alloys for Woven Wire Cloth (PDF)
This is the most common type of woven wire. It is used where the opening is relatively small in comparison to the wire diameter.
This woven wire type is used only in coarse specifications to maintain the accuracy of weave throughout screen life, where the opening is large with respect to wire diameter.
This type of wire is used in coarse weaves of lighter gauge woven wire to provide greater stability, tightness of weave and maximum rigidity. It is very common in wire mesh openings larger than 1/2" (12.7mm).
Usually starts at 5/8” (15.875 mm) opening or larger. This type of wire provides long abrasive resistant life since there are no projections on top to wear. Flat top woven wire offers the least resistance to flow and is very popular in certain architectural and structural applications where a smooth surface on one side is desirable.
The most common wire weave, with the same diameter warp and shute wires, woven in a simple over and under pattern. This style produces screens with the same mesh count in both directions.
Each shute wire typically passes over two warp wires and under two producing square openings. Twill weave can be made from larger-diameter wires than would be possible in plain square weave, to obtain greater strength, density, or corrosion resistance.
This weave style is woven in a plain, over and under pattern. The plain dutch woven wire style is a very tight weave because a thinner, smaller diameter shute wire is used. Dutch weaves do not have a straight-through, clear opening like most plain weave styles. Instead, the weave style creates a tortuous path through which very fine filtration and particle retention can be achieved. Dutch weaves may be specified by a “mesh count” or an “absolute filter rating.”
This weave style is similar to Plain Dutch, except it is woven in Twill style. Each wire passes over two wires then under two wires, still utilizing a smaller-diameter shute wire, allowing an even tighter weave and even finer filtration than the Plain Dutch weave.
This weave style is the same weave as Plain Dutch, except the warp and shute wires are reversed. The larger shute wires are woven closer together than would usually be seen in a Plain Dutch weave.
This is a Plain weave wire cloth, woven in an over and under pattern with a different number of wires in the warp and shute direction, which yields a rectangular opening wire cloth. Rectangular openings are often used in sifting and sizing operations to increase product “through” capacity, with minor sacrifices in accuracy. To reduce material costs, off-count wire mesh may be substituted for square wire mesh in some applications that do not require a high level of accuracy. Some wire cloth vendors will substitute off-count wire cloth when certifications are not specified by the manufacturer. For example, a 90 x 100 mesh may be substituted for 100 x 100.
Usually woven in the Plain Square style, each warp and shute “wire” is composed of a “bunch” or “group” of small-diameter wires, which are woven into a finished product.