Everything You Need to Know About Stainless Steel Wire Mesh

Do you have a project that calls for stainless steel wire mesh?  There are lots of options on the market – more than many people realize.  We produce a wide variety of wire meshes, each tailored to specific needs.

When you reach out to us, we’ll do our best to help you find the best product to meet your goals.  These are some of the most important aspects that we will discuss.

Common Terminology Surrounding Stainless Steel Wire Mesh

When you’re browsing catalogs, it’s useful to know the terminology and the standards by which various stainless steel meshes are gauged.  These are some of the most common terms that come up.

Aperture:  How large the mesh openings are, measured by the distance between two adjacent wires.

Diameter:  The thickness of the actual wires being woven.

Mesh:  Beyond referring to the overall mesh, “mesh” can also specifically refer to the number of openings per inch.

Open Area:  A percentage measurement expressing the ratio of the aperture to the overall area of the mesh.

Pitch:  The distance between a wire and the center point of the adjacent aperture; the equivalent measurement to the radius of a circle.

SWG:  The abbreviation for Standard Wire Gauge.

Warp and Weft:  Textile terms adopted for woven wire mesh.  The warp is the lengthwise stationary wires, and the weft is the wires woven back and forth through them.

Knowing these terms, you should be able to understand the catalog listings for any wire meshes quickly.

Types of Weaves

Stainless steel wire meshes can also come in a variety of weaves, most of which have been adapted from the textile industry.  These are some of the most common types:

Plain weave.  As the name suggests, this is just a basic over/under/over/under weave.  It’s inexpensive to produce and suitable for a variety of essential applications.

Twill weave.  The wires are woven two over/two under to create a tighter overall mesh, with a distinctive pattern.  These generally have tiny apertures.

Intercrimp.  Like a plain weave, except there is an extra crimp in the wires at the midpoint of each intersection.  Often thinner wires are inter crimped to give them better-locking capabilities.

Lockcrimp weave.  The wire has been pre-crimped, creating a wavy look and lock together exceptionally well for extra stability.

Cal-Wire is one of the nation’s leaders in high-quality steel wire products.  Contact us to learn more about our product range!