Wire Mesh Screen – Woven and Welded Metal Mesh

Wire mesh screen is woven or welded by metal wires, and is the general term for woven mesh and welded mesh. There are many materials available for woven mesh, including plain steel, galvanized wire, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, bronze, silver, nickel, tungsten, etc. There are few materials available for welded wire mesh, usually plain carbon steel, galvanised wire and stainless steel.

Woven Wire Mesh

Woven wire mesh screen is made by interweaving metal warp and weft through a loom machine, usually with square openings. Its basic specifications include material, wire diameter, mesh number/count, opening size, weaving type, overall length and width, etc.

• Available materials include plain steel, galvanized wire, stainless steel 304, 304L, 316, 316L, 321, 904L, 302, etc., aluminum, copper, brass, bronze, silver, nickel, tungsten, etc.
• Weaving styles, plain weave, twill weave and Dutch weave are the most common weaving styles.
• Wire diameter range is 0.002-3.0mm (0.0008-0.118 in.);
• Opening size refers to the hole/aperture size, the distance between two parallel wires (not including the wire diameter)
• Mesh number/count refers to the number of holes/openings per linear inch, e.g. 200 mesh means 1 linear inch has 200 openings. The mesh count can generally indicate the degree of density between the wires of the mesh screen. The higher the mesh count, the denser the screen and the smaller the opening. Conversely, the lower the mesh count, the sparser the wire mesh, and the larger the opening.

Welded Wire Mesh

Welded wire mesh is a metal grid welded by a series of parallel horizontal and vertical steel wires. The basic specifications include material, wire diameter, opening size, surface treatment, total length and width, etc. Because the opening size of welded mesh is usually much larger than that of woven mesh (usually greater than 1 inch), the mesh count is usually not applicable in welded mesh specifications.

• Available materials are plain steel, galvanized wire, stainless steel.
• Wire diameter range is generally 0.4-5.0 mm
• Opening size range is usually 3-50mm (1/8-2 in.), the opening size with 3-25mm (1/8-1 in.) openings is also called hardware cloth.

Applications of Metal Wire Mesh Screen

Metal wire mesh screen has a wide range of uses in various industries. The typical uses of woven mesh and weld mesh are listed below.

Woven wire mesh: aluminum or stainless steel window screens, wire mesh filters such as plastic extruder screens, pleated filter cartridge element, candle filter, metal coffee filter and strainer, wire mesh basket, stainless steel loose leaf tea infuser, mining screens, oil and oil refining, copper mesh EMI and RFI shielding, etc.

Welded metal mesh: wire mesh fence, concrete reinforcement, chicken battery cages, animal cages, machine panel guards, aviary mesh, etc.

Decorative metal mesh: Decorative metal mesh is a versatile material used in various architectural, interior and exterior designs, such as cabinet door inserts, exterior cladding, sun screens, balcony and railing infill panels, room dividers, ceiling panels, etc.

Architectural metal mesh applications range from functional to aesthetic, offering solutions for both exterior and interior spaces, such as building facades and cladding, sun shading, wall coverings, staircase railings, safety barriers, exhibition stands, etc.