For many projects involving woven wire mesh, fabrication services are needed. Fabrication is a value-adding process that transforms the metal mesh to fit a certain purpose or look. Fabricating stainless steel welded wire mesh can include soldering, shearing, and punching the mesh into the desired form. Lawrence Sintered Metals offers all of the services and more! Read this article to find out more about metal mesh fabrication and how it can assist with your next project.
Metal Mesh Welding and Soldering
Welded wire mesh has become a staple in wire cloth fabrication. Available in stainless steel, galvanized, and carbon steel alloys, welded wire mesh is a top choice in a variety of industrial applications. The welding and soldering processes both rely on similar elements—high heat and filler materials—to connect components. The main difference between the two boils down to melting. In soldering, the metal is heated to be bonded but never melted whereas, in welding, metal fabricators melt the base metal. Oftentimes, welded wire mesh is preferred as a soldered bond is not as strong as a welded one. Wire mesh comes in a variety of metals, all of which can be welded and soldered to form various components and assemblies.
Carbon Steel Welded Wire Mesh
Carbon steel is the most inexpensive wire mesh option available. This type of woven wire mesh is an iron alloy that holds levels of carbon, molybdenum, and other metals to enhance particular features. Due to its high iron content, carbon steel will rust, corrode, and pit, when exposed to humidity and oxygen. It is suggested that carbon steel is only used for indoor applications where little to no moisture is present.
Stainless Steel Welded Wire Mesh
Stainless steel is an iron ore with chromium, nickel and sometimes molybdenum. The high percentage of chromium content creates a corrosion-resistant oxidized surface layer. This advantage makes stainless steel a more expensive material but also makes it more reliable for outdoor environments where humidity will play a factor.
Galvanized Steel Welded Wire Mesh
Corrosion-resistant galvanized steel is also an excellent choice for a variety of applications, available at a cheaper premium than stainless steel. Galvanized steel is treated with a protective layer of zinc, adding additional protection from the outdoor elements.
Wire Metal Mesh Shearing and Cutting
It’s not uncommon to need to fit your welded or woven wire mesh to the certain application you’re using it for. Oftentimes, you may need to shear or cut down your material to the proper size. Shearing is a wire cloth fabrication process that produces straight cuts on flat materials. In order to cut wire metal mesh successfully, a movable upper blade and stationary lower blade are used in combination. Shearing and cutting services can be used on a range of materials, including aluminum, bronze, steel, stainless steel, and more. All of these materials and more can be cut in sheet, strip, plate, bar, and angle form.
Shearing wire mesh carries many advantages. The shearing process accommodates a wide range of materials, while creating precise, straight cuts with smooth and clean edges. Additionally, the shearing process generally produces smaller material waste, is a highly cost-effective solution for high-volume manufacturing applications, and carries a lower risk of thermal distortion.
Wire Metal Mesh Punching Services
Punching wire mesh is an extremely common wire cloth fabrication service due to its cost-effectiveness and adaptiveness to fit any size and pattern specification. Punching is the manufacturing process of operating a punch press to cut holes into a variety of flat materials. Flat materials that can be punched include paper, plastic filament, sheet metal, and more. A punch press is a large hydraulic-powered or mechanical-power machine, often operated through an automated computer numeric control system. Automated punching systems are usually the best option for producing accurate, delicate screens. This is because the systems provide exceptionally fine tolerances on materials that are thick or hard to cut.
Many industrial and consumer-focused products use components of punched wire mesh, including construction infill panels, safety guards, fireplace screens, enclosures, planters, flooring, galvanized hardware cloth, soffit and gutter guards, oil refinery manway covers, cookware, and more.
Wire Cloth Fabrication Offered by Lawrence Sintered Metals
Lawrence Sintered Metals is here to help with all wire cloth fabrication needs for your next project. Contact one of our woven metal mesh professionals to find out the right services needed to fulfill your particular project. Our experience and expertise are suitable to handle any size metal fabrication project, and we’ve worked with everyone from local shop owners to Fortune 500 magnates.
Lawrence Sintered Metals is pleased to offer an extensive range of welded and soldered wire mesh products and services, shearing services for both woven and welded materials, and punching services for flat materials.
