Wire Mesh & Wire Cloth Terms & Tools
When choosing your preferred wire mesh or wire cloth, please refer to Dorstener Wire Tech's full wire mesh and wire cloth glossary of terms for your reference. Contact us for more information or assistance.
- Absolute filtration rating
The diameter of the largest hard spherical particle that will pass through a filter under specified test conditions. This is an indication of the largest opening in the filter cloth.
- Air flow/air permeability
Measure of the amount of air that flows through a filter–a variable of the degree of contamination, differential pressure, total porosity, and filter area. Expressed in either cubic feet/minute/square foot or liters/minute/square centimeter at a given pressure.
See Mesh Opening.
- Binding (plugged)
A filter element that has collected a sufficient quantity of insoluble contaminants such that it can no longer pass rated flow without excessive differential pressure.
- Bolting Grade
Used in sifting and sizing applications and general filtration applications. Higher percent of open area compared to market and mill grade. Usually woven in a square weave.
- Bubble point test
A test to determine the maximum pore size opening of a filter.
A process by which fabric or wire is passed through a pair of heavy rollers to reduce thickness, to flatten the intersections of the threads/wires and to control air permeability. Rollers are heated when calendaring synthetic materials.
- Clear Openings
Space between adjacent parallel wires. (also Space)
Corrugations in wire to permit locking them in place when perpendicular to each other.
- Differential pressure
The difference in pressure between two points of a system, such as between two sides of an orifice
The side of a product stream that has already passed through a given filter system; portion located after the filtration unit.
- Dutch Weave
Warp and weft wire diameters are different in size and the weft wires are closer together to provide excellent strength and high density.
- Effective area
The total area of the porous medium exposed to flow in a filter element.
The ability, expressed as a percent, of a filter to remove specified artificial contaminant at a given contaminant concentration under specified test conditions.
- Filter life
Measure of the duration of a filter’s useful service. This is based on the amount of standard contaminant required to cause differential pressure to increase to an unacceptable level-typically 2-4 times the initial differential pressure, a 50-80% drop in initial flow, or an unacceptable downstream measure of particulate.
- Filter media
A porous material for separating suspended particulate matter from fluid.
A process of separating particulate matter from a fluid by passing it through a permeable material.
- Flow rate
Measure of the amount of fluid passing through the filter. This is always a variable of filter area, porosity, contamination and differential pressure.
- Market Grade
Most commonly used sizes of industrial wire cloth specifications selected for general purpose work.
- Micronic Filter Cloth
Very durable and strong cloth. Also referred to as "Dutch Weave". Usually supplied in a twilled Durch or plain Dutch weave depending on the mesh count. Normally used in filtration applications such as pressure filters, fuel filters, and many more.
- Mill Grade
Used mostly in sifting and sizing applications. Higher percent of open area compared to market grade. Usually woven in a square weave.
- Mean filtration rating
Derived from Bubble Point test method. Data should be used as a guide only to compare overall retention capabilities between fabrics and should not be considered a guarantee of the particle size that the fabric will retain.
Number of openings in a linear inch measured from the center of one wire to a point 1" distant.
- Mesh count
The number of threads in a linear centimeter or inch of fabric/wire cloth.
- Mesh opening
Mesh opening is the difference between wires measured in the warp and weft direction in the projected plane of the wire mesh.
- Open area
The proportion of total screen area that is open space. Expressed as a percentage.
- Pore size
Filters are rated according to the size of particles they can remove. Particles which are bigger than indicated pore size, are removed. Smaller particles pass through the fabric The size of particles is measured in micro-meters or "microns" one micron being equal to one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter, the size of coal dust or baking flour. The smallest bacteria are about ½.
- Pre-crimp Mesh
The wire is crimped prior to weaving. Mostly limited to coarse mesh with larger wire diameters.
- Selvage Edges
A loom finished edge that prevents cloth unraveling.
This process divides or separates a mixture of particles or liquids into separate components.
- Square weave
See Plain Weave.
- Space Cloth
This mesh has a clear opening size. 1" X 1" Space Cloth has a 1" clear opening. 1 X 1 mesh has lass than a 1" opening.
- Strainer Grade
Wire cloth with a rectangular opening. Also referred to as an oblong mesh and off-count mesh. Used in filtration and straining applications.
- Twill weave
Formed by passing the warp or weft fiber over two or more fibers in the opposite direction.
- Warp Wires
Wire running the length of the cloth as woven.
- Weft or Shute Wires
Fibers or wires running across the width of the cloth as woven.
- Wire diameter
See Thread diameter.
Click here to submit a Request for Quote from Dorstener Wire
or call us toll-free today at 1.888.931.9473.