02/07/2021 0 Comments news
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One of the first essential steps of any industrial project is to consider what material works best for your needs. While sheet metal may be the right choice when building a car or aircraft, you will not want to use it in place of wire mesh when making a screen or cage where airflow is essential. When choosing between wire mesh, expanded metal, and sheet metal, it helps to know what things each of them does best. To learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of common steel construction materials, look at our breakdown below.
What Makes Wire Mesh Special?
Both lightweight and tough enough for many heavy-duty uses, wire mesh is a versatile construction material that is used in everything from lockers and storage cages to window mesh and machine guards. This material’s major benefit is that it allows air and water to flow through easily, making it perfect if you don’t want to halt drainage, block airflow, or disrupt a line of sight. And while it may be the least durable of the three materials on this list, it is still durable enough for various industrial uses. Plus, it’s corrosion-resistant.
Considering the Benefits of Expanded Metal
Expanded metal is an excellent option to consider when you want more structural stability than
wire mesh
but still want to allow some air flow or water drainage. This makes it a right choice for fences, grates, and walkways. Expanded metal medium weight, average durability, and in many respects can be considered a good middle ground between the other two options. One downside is that it may have sharp edges, which need to be sanded, polished, or coated to prevent injury.
The Pros and Cons of Sheet Metal
If toughness or durability is your top priority, sheet metal is the way to go. It doesn’t allow any airflow or drainage, but depending on the application you have in mind, this may be more advantageous. Its extra toughness also means it is also the heaviest of the three.
Sheet metal
is most commonly seen in cars or aircraft bodies, where structural stability is essential.
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Filtration and separation technologies are critical to many applications that cover a broad cross-section of consumer and industrial products. There are literally millions of uses for filtration and separation that touch our day-to-day lives.
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Comparing three forms of metals’ properties and qualities
When it comes to filtration methods that require strength, heat-resistance and durability, three forms of metal make up the vast majority of solutions for these requirements: perforated metal, expanded metal and wire mesh. Each type offers effective filtration. However, there are different properties and qualities of each that should be considered when determining which is optimal for an application.
Perforated metal is metal that has had holes or openings punched through it, either via an all-across press or another method such as CNC punching or laser cutting. The unique qualities of perforated metal for filtration or separation include:
Versatility: Perforated metal offers the greatest overall versatility in pattern, shape, material type and hole gauge among the three materials discussed here. When the amount of open area (the hole that allows the passage of air, light, liquids, etc.) is critical to the efficient operation of the application, perforated metal can provide the greatest control of open area.
Strength: While all three methods offer high structural strength, perforated metal is the only method that can be freestanding. This is because perforated metal can be manufactured with nonperforated borders at its outer edges, providing greater stability. Expanded metal and wire mesh must be attached to stabilizing frames.
Weight: Since material is removed during the manufacturing process, perforated metal will weigh much less than expanded metal when using comparative materials. Further, it has great strength-to-weight ratio properties, meaning the weight is lowered but the strength is not significantly compromised. This is an important distinction for weight-sensitive applications.
Expanded metal is produced by cutting a pattern of slits in metal coil, then stretching (or expanding) it so that the slits become diamond-shaped holes. Expanded metal is typically a thinner material than the other methods described here due to the nature of the process. However, this metal type offers a number of advantages and unique properties.
Configuration options: Although the distinctive diamond-shaped pattern of expanded metal cannot be changed, expanded metal pieces can be configured in different ways. Standard expanded metal retains a 3-D raised, slightly twisted configuration of the piece after the stretching process. The metal can be further processed to flatten any strands of the diamond configuration that may be raised or at an angle.
Strength: The one-piece construction, along with the configuration of the diamond shapes, provides a great deal of structural integrity. Expanded metal is often used for industrial uses such as flooring, steps, walls and gates for this reason.
Wire mesh can be of woven (interlocked) or welded construction. In either case, wire mesh consists of strands of metal wire fastened together to form a mesh sheet. Some unique properties of wire mesh include:
Flexibility: Wire mesh is also sometimes called wire cloth, and it can be woven in such a way that it provides the same flexibility of cloth. For applications where a non-rigid construction is required, with the same filtration properties of metal, wire mesh is often the right choice.
Gauge and construction versatility: Wire mesh can be manufactured with large openings (for applications such as fences) or nearly invisible openings (when higher rates of filtration are required). In addition, wire mesh offers some flexibility in opening shapes, though not as many options as perforated metal.
While each of these metals have unique strengths, it’s important to understand the specific requirements of the application to determine which will work best for you. If you are working on a project and are unsure of what type of metal to use, consider reaching out to a metal manufacturer to consult with during the selection process.
Jake Holeva is business development manager at Hendrick Manufacturing, Carbondale, Pa. To learn more, visit www.hendrickcorp.com or call (570) 267-3814.
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