What is Wire Cloth Used For?

Wire cloth is a versatile material that is used in applications across multiple industries. Also known as woven wire cloth or wire mesh, it’s a flexible and durable product that can be found in products ranging from food and beverage production to optical lenses.

What Is Wire Mesh?

With a wide range of types of wire mesh available, there are thousands of unique applications. Wire mesh is an exceedingly adaptable product that can be produced in multiple specifications.

The most common applications for wire cloth screens and wire cloth filter products are used in industrial and manufacturing work, particularly filtration and separation. Wire cloth is used in wastewater treatment plants, petrochemical facilities and juice manufacturing to reach the desired pulp level.

Among the most common industrial applications for wire mesh are:

• — Agriculture
• — Automotive
• — Chemical and petrochemical
• — Coal
• — Construction and building
• — Food and beverage
• — Mining
• — Plastics
• — Pharmaceuticals
• — Textiles

It can also be used in commercial products such as insect screens or animal fences. Among the other uses are:

• — Security mesh to protect windows or stairwells
• — Fireplace screens
• — Gutter guards
• — Bird screens
• — Ventilations

What Types of Wire Mesh Are Available?

There are many different wire mesh sizes, materials and types available, creating an array of applications. Here’s a closer look at the different kinds of wire mesh available.

Depending on the application, there are different materials best suited for the job. Among the most common in industrial applications is stainless steel, including T-316 and T-304 compositions. T-304 stainless steel is the standard for many industrial applications, due to its affordability and resilient characteristics, including:

• — Corrosion resistance in multiple manufacturing environments
• — Heat resistance
• — Oxidation resistance
• — Applicability for welding using the most common techniques
• — Virtual lack of magnetivity (in an annealed condition)

Other available materials for wire mesh include:

• — Aluminum
• — Brass
• — Bronze
• — Copper
• — Galvanized
• — Monel
• — Steel — Carbon
• — Steel — Plain

The right wire mesh provider can provide you with wire mesh in any metal or alloy needed.

Wire Mesh Size

Typically, wire mesh comes in 100-foot rolls and standard widths are 36″, 40″, 48″ and 60″.

Wire Mesh Weave

Different industrial and commercial applications require different weave types. At Newark Wire, we offer the following weave options:

• — Plain Weave. The majority of manufactured wire mesh cloth uses a plain weave. Warp wires (running the length of the wire roll) and shute wires (running the width) pass over and under each other in both directions. The weave itself locks the wires in place at the desired size
• — Intermediate Crimp Weave. In these mesh products, both the warp and shute wires are crimped prior to the mesh being woven, leaving extra crimps between the intersection points. It’s typically used to coarser meshes using lighter wires and assures proper locking of the wires and additional rigidity.
• — Lock Crimp Weave. Used for more rigid wire mesh applications, the lock crimp applies the crimp over the intersecting wires. The wires between the intersections are straight
• — Twilled Weave. While a plain weave has wires woven over and under each other consecutively (one over, one under), the twilled weave uses a two over, two under approach. This creates a more pliable wire mesh cloth that is commonly found in filtration applications.

In addition to these specifications, customers can choose the opening sizes, edge finishing and grade type (standard or market, bolting or milling), the latter of which refers to the wire diameter, opening size and percentage of open area

To summarize, woven wire mesh:

• — Can be used in a wide range of industrial and commercial uses
• — Can be made of stainless steel or many other metals and alloys
• — Comes in a variety of weave and crimp types

Newark Wire has been providing expert woven wire cloth products for more than a century. Learn more about how our products can meet your industrial needs by contacting us today.