Shearing is a metal fabrication process that produces straight cuts on flat materials. The cutting tools employed generally consist of a movable upper blade and stationary lower blade, which are arranged in a slightly offset configuration to allow the two components to move completely past each other during operations. The process accommodates a wide range of materials (e.g., aluminum, brass, bronze, steel, and stainless steel) in sheet, strip, plate, bar, and angle form. While bars and angles can only be cut to length, sheets, strips, and plates can be into a variety of shapes.
At Lawrence Sintered Metals (LSM), we provide wire mesh, wire cloth, and sintered wire products to customers in a diverse set of industries. In addition to serving as a material supplier, we offer a variety of wire mesh fabrication services—including shearing—to ensure the material we deliver meets the exact specifications of our customers. Below we provide an overview of the advantages of using the shearing process to cut wire mesh to size and our cutting capabilities.
Advantages of Shearing Wire Mesh
Compared to other cutting methods, shearing offers a variety of advantages, including:
- Broader material versatility: The shearing process accommodates a wide range of materials in a variety of sizes.
- Higher precision cuts: Shearing creates precise, straight cuts with smooth and clean edges in wire mesh (and other materials).
- Smaller material waste: Shearing operations generally do not result in the formation of chips.
- Greater cost-effectiveness: For high-volumes manufacturing applications, shearing is a highly cost-effective option.
- Lower risk of thermal distortion: Shearing generally occurs at cold or room temperature conditions, so there is little to no risk of the material experiencing distortion resulting from exposure to heat.
Wire Mesh Shearing Services at Lawrence Sintered Metals
The team at LSM has extensive experience handling wire mesh materials. We use shearing to cut both woven and welded wire mesh into a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the specifications outlined by the customer.
Wire Mesh Cutting Services at Lawrence Sintered Metals
In addition to our shearing capabilities, we also offer cutting services for our wire mesh products. They allow us to cut wire mesh to customer-specified sizes that would be difficult—if not impossible—for regular scissors or shears. We can accommodate requests for the following types of cut edges:
- Balanced edges
- Close trim edges
- Dimensionally cut edges
- Hemmed edges
- Open/untrimmed edges
- Raw edges
- Selvage edges
Methods of Cutting Wire Mesh
There are many methods of cutting wire mesh to size, and the one chosen will determine the cutting tolerance achievable. Shearing and hand cutting achieve cutting tolerances between ±1/16 to 1/8 inches, which is suitable for regular wire mesh materials. Laser cutting and wire EDM cutting achieve cutting tolerances of ±0.002 inches and ±0.005 inches, respectively. These latter processes are appropriate for cutting finer wire mesh or those with tighter tolerance requirements. We can offer laser cutting and wire EDM cutting on our sintered wire mesh products.
How to Cut Wire Mesh of Different Sizes
There are different sizes of wire mesh available, and each requires different cutting methods.
- Thin wire mesh is ≤0.0075” wire diameter. It can easily be cut with standard wire cutters or a sharp pair of office scissors.
- Medium wire mesh is between 0.008” to 0.047” wire diameter. It can be cut using tin snips or wire cutters.
- Thick wire mesh is over 0.054” wire diameter. These would be very difficult to cut by hand, and cutting these generally requires the use of a cutting machine or dremel tool.
Contact Lawrence Sintered Metals for Your Wire Mesh Needs
Lawrence Sintered Metals is a full-service manufacturer and distributor of wire mesh and wire mesh products. Equipped with over 20 years of experience in the business, customers know they can trust us to shear and cut their materials to the right shape and size with both precision and accuracy. Delivery times for sheared or cut materials depend on the quantity ordered.
For additional information about our shearing and other wire mesh fabrication services, contact us today.