Boasting unmatched strength, resilience, and versatility, stainless steel wire mesh is a critical material for countless industrial applications. The metal itself has myriad specifications and grades, the most common being types 304 (T-304) and 316 (T-316).
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What's the difference between the two, and how do you know which is best for your needs? Read on for insight.
T-304 vs. T-316 Stainless Steel Alloys
Before diving deeper into the differences in these materials, it&#;s important to understand what an alloy is. An alloy is a metal combined with other elements to create a material not found in nature. For instance, when pure silver is combined with a small amount of copper, the result is sterling silver.
Steel is created by adding chromium to iron, and the stainless variety typically contains a small amount of nickel. The exact percentages of each element determine the grade of the metal.
Stainless steel wire mesh products are used in everything from aerospace and agriculture to mining and machinery. While there's a multitude of variations, T-304 and T-316 are the most widely used.
T-304 is essentially the standard version, and T-316 is premium. Though these alloys look nearly identical to the untrained eye, they're notably different in terms of their durability and resistance to heat and corrosion.
What Is T-304 Stainless Steel?
Type 304 stainless steel is an alloy containing 18% chromium and 8% nickel. In addition to being affordable and supremely versatile, there are many advantages to using the material.
T-304 wire mesh products are:
Heat-resistant in temperatures as high as °F
Non-magnetic
Operational in sub-zero temperatures
Resistant to corrosion
Unlikely to oxidize
This type of wire mesh is widely available and comes in a broad range of sizes, wire diameters, and weaves.
T-304 Stainless Steel Metal Mesh Applications & Industries
Many industries rely on T-304 steel hardware cloth, including mining, food production, water filtration, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, construction, and refinery.
Industrial applications for T-304 include:
Creation of moldings and trim
Equipment tubing and piping
Electrical enclosures
Laboratory use
Particle separation
Screening abrasives and liquids
Sieving
Sorting powders and solid materials
Storage tanks
T-304 is a go-to for various applications, so bear in mind this is by no means an exhaustive list.
What Is T-316 Stainless Steel?
Type 316 stainless steel is an alloy containing 16% chromium and 10% nickel, along with 2% of the chemical element molybdenum. While it's priced slightly higher than T-304, it's just as versatile with many notable benefits.
T-316 wire mesh products are:
More resistant to corrosion than T-304
Non-magnetic
Resilient in extreme temperatures
Resilient in harsh environmental conditions
Resistant to spot welding
Suitable in marine environments
Unlikely to oxidize
Thanks to the small amount of molybdenum, this type of stainless steel is typically recommended for highly corrosive marine environments where T-304 isn't as stable.
T-316 Stainless Steel Mesh Applications and Industries
Like T-304, several commercial sectors rely on T-316 stainless steel hardware cloth. This includes marine technology, food processing, manufacturing, automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, and the pharmaceutical and medical industries.
Industrial applications for T-316 include:
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Boat fittings
Chemical processing and storage
Cisterns and piping
Containing pressurized gasses or liquids
Heavy welding
Infrastructure
Laboratory use
Machinery
Marine components
Outdoor furnishings
Particle separation
For more information into this material, check out our Stainless Steel Mesh Guide.
Where to Buy the Best Stainless Steel Industrial Mesh
Founded in Berkeley, California, in , TWP Inc. has been a premier industrial wire mesh supplier for more than 60 years. Our woman-owned company carries woven and welded stainless steel sheets, panels, rolls, and laser-cut mesh discs, including a robust selection of T-304 and T-316 grades.
Expert services from TWP Inc. include laser cutting, roll slitting, disc sizing, measuring, and cleaning. We always have a wide variety of products in stock, but if you don't see exactly what you need, we're happy to accommodate custom sizes and quantities. Request a free quote to get started!
Want to discover more about what's trending in your industry? Connect with TWP Inc. on LinkedIn for the latest on wire mesh materials and applications.
Stainless Steel Architectural wire mesh is a series of high-tensile, grade 316 stainless-steel wires interlocked together and is commonly produced from 70% recycled material. The individual wires are woven on large weaving looms at Haver & Boecker, our German-based parent company, using a similar technique used to make clothes.
While it appears rigid and unyielding, stainless steel architectural mesh proves to be fairly flexible when a certain length is reached. Because of this characteristic, architectural mesh panels can be applied to countless applications.
The term weave type refers to the way in which the warp and weft wires cross each other. It encompasses four different mesh categories: Woven wire, Cable, Fine, and Specialty.
Wire mesh is best defined as an assortment of rigid wires that have been woven together to form a sheet of mesh that is interlaced.
Cable mesh is a mesh type that is woven on a specialized weaving loom, much like woven wire. The key difference between the two is that cable mesh uses cables rather than stainless steel wires in the warp (vertical) direction.
Mesh profiles that are constructed out of wires that have a very small wire diameter. Fine mesh is particularly sensitive when introduced to mechanical stresses. That said, the application of the mesh is a key factor when classifying fine mesh.
Specialty mesh is a mesh that features a unique pattern and carries the characteristic of employing several different wire types.
A weaving loom that is specifically designed to properly weave stainless steel wires is employed to weave architectural mesh. These looms consist of a warp beam, heddle frames (predetermined amount), a reed, a rapier band, and a front take-up mechanism.
The warp wires are the wires that run lengthwise and are fed directly from the warp beam.
The weft (or shute) wires are the wires that run across the width of the cloth during the weaving process.
The warp beam is a cylindrical drum that is wound with a specific number and length of warp wires depending on the mesh profile and size of the mesh panel. These specifications are calculated prior to winding the wires.
Heddle frames are holders used to separate the warp wires. Each loom contains at least two heddle frames. In a loom that uses two heddle frames, heddle frame 1 initially lifts half of the warp wires while heddle frame 2 pulls the other half down. The heddle frames switch positions after the weft wire is driven between the two sets of warp wires.
A rapier band is the mechanism that drives the weft wire between the two sets of warp wires after each heddle frame cycle.
A reed is the instrument that holds the warp wires in the desired spacing while also driving the weft wire into position.
Lastly, the finished roll of woven wire cloth is wound onto a front take-up mechanism and is removed in increments needed by the framing system of the project.
Once the beam is wound, and the heddle frames and reed are threaded, the whole assembly is transported to a weaving loom. The setup of the loom is then completed by a dedicated technician.
Once assembled, the weaving process is virtually automatic and seamless.
As the loom starts up, the warp beam begins to unwind in very small increments. The front take-up mechanism simultaneously winds the woven cloth at the same small increment in the same direction.
This movement allows the loom to maintain specific tensioning, which is critical when producing high-quality mesh panels.
As the two beams rotate, heddle frame 1 pulls half of the warp wires up while heddle frame 2 drives the other half down. It's at this point that the rapier, whether a two-part or one-part rapier, drives a weft wire between the two sets of warp wires.
Each weft wire is delivered from a separate spool of wire located at the side of the loom. As the rapier returns to its resting position to gather another weft wire, the reed pushes the latest weft wire into its final position.
This process is what creates the precise cross-sections needed to create the perfect aesthetic.
Once the weft wire is in place, the reed returns to its original position. The warp beam and front take-up mechanism then rotate at the same small increment, the heddle frames change position and the loom begins a new cycle.
These simultaneous movements are repeated over and over until the entire mesh cloth is woven.
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