Wire Mesh Material

Stainless Steel

Stainless Steels are selected for their corrosion resistance characteristics. Many different grades of stainless are used in wire cloth. T304 is the most common, but others are used in specific applications to take advantage of each grade's unique properties.

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Brass

Brass: Low Brass (80% copper and 20% zinc) is the most common brass alloy used in wire cloth. Red Brass (85% copper and 15% zinc) is also widely used. Both have good corrosion resistance. Brass material cold works better than copper.

Bronze: Commercial bronze (10% zinc) and phosphor bronze (1 1/4 to 10% tin) are the two most common grades of bronze wire cloth. Corrosion resistance and formability are excellent. Mechanical properties fall in between copper and low brass.

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Nickel and Nickel Alloys

Nickel: Nickel is widely used in woven wire cloth as a corrosion resistant medium. It protects itself by forming a passive oxide film, thus resisting corrosion in many oxidizing environments. In today's industry, nickel is replaced with stainless steel when possible for cost savings.

Monel: This alloy is essentially non-corrodible. Composed of 67% nickel, 28% copper and 5% others. Monel is more corrosion resistant than copper in oxidizing conditions and more resistant than nickel under reducing conditions. Monel has good strength characteristics and has traditionally been used in food processing. As with nickel, it can be replaced with stainless steel.

Hastelloy B: This alloy is used for corrosion resistance to hydrochloric acid in most concentrations and at most temperatures up to the boiling point. It is not recommended for high temperature service.

Hastelloy C-276: This alloy is well suited to corrosion resistance service against strong oxidizing agents such as ferric chloride and cupric chloride. Good elevated temperature properties in the 1600 to 1800 range.

Carpenter 20 Cb-3: A corrosion resistant alloy especially useful against hot sulfuric acid. Not normally used for high temperature service.

Incoloy Alloy 800: The nickel and chromium content here are similar to Carpenter 20 Cb-3, while the copper and molybdenum content are reduced. Used in high temperature and corrosive environments.

Inconel Alloy 600: 72% nickel and 15% chromium content makes Inconel 600 suitable for high temperature applications where corrosion resistance is important. Frequently used for heat-treating baskets.

Nichrome: A 60% nickel and 15% chromium alloy used in certain chemical conditions at temperatures up to 1700. Contains 1% silicon which helps keep scaling to a minimum. Subject to carbide precipitating characteristics.

Nichrome V: Similar to Nichrome, this alloy has a higher nickel content - 80% nickel and 20% chromium. It is used in severe chemical conditions at elevated temperatures up to 2000.

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Aluminum and Copper Alloys

Aluminum: Aluminum wire cloth offers good corrosion resistance as well as electrical and thermal conductivity. Its benefits include light weight and high strength-to-weight ratio. It is generally easy to fabricate. Aluminum 5056 and 6061 are the most commonly woven grades of this alloy. 6061 is heat treatable, 5056 is not.

Copper: Copper is widely used in woven wire cloth. Corrosion resistance, anti-sparking, non-magnetic, formability and electrical and thermal conductivity are all attributes of this material. Copper does not stand up well to abrasive environments.

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Steel

Screens and wire cloth are most often woven from steel wire due to its relatively low cost, high tensile strength and ductility. Where corrosion or abrasion are not factors in material selection, low carbon steel is often the choice. Depending upon the service, steel may be galvanized, tinned, plated, painted or coated.

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Other Metals

Titanium: Titanium and its alloys are extremely light weight and are widely used in the aircraft and aerospace industry. It has an excellent high strength-to-weight ratio especially in moderate temperature ranges (300 to 700). In natural environments, a protective oxide film forms which enhances its corrosion resistance. Titanium wire cloth is also used in medical applications for implants in artificial joints.

Molybdenum: This alloy offers excellent corrosion resistance properties, and, in a protective environment, it exhibits useful properties at temperatures up to 3200. It has a low coefficient of expansion and excellent high temperature strength.

Tantalum: Of all the refractory metals, this metal behaves much like glass in that it has almost complete immunity to corrosion or chemical attack. Unlike glass it is strong, ductile and malleable. Tantalum is compatible with body tissue, making it ideal for surgical implants. It is easily spot welded but cannot be soldered successfully.

Tungsten: This refractory metal has good strength in a protective atmosphere up to 5000. As is true with other refractory metals, Tungsten exhibits good corrosion resistance qualities.