How to Choose Stainless Steel Material Grade for Your Metal Wire Mesh Products?

Stainless steel material is widely for perforated metal, weaving wire mesh, mesh filters, expanded mesh, welded square hole mesh, mining crimped mesh, decorative netting.

Firstly, you shall learn about the difference of the different stainless steel grade material. Here, we are pleased to introduce the characteristics and advantages of the different stainless steel grade

• 302 Stainless Steel: Low grade stainless steel alloy, very economical cost and produced as a standard stainless grade.
• 304 Stainless Steel: Most common stainless alloy used in wire weaving. Excellent corrosion properties and can withstand temperatures of 1100 Degrees F.
• 304L Stainless Steel: Similar properties as 304ss but lower carbon content to permit better welding.
• 310 Stainless Steel: A high temperature nickel alloy that has excellent corrosion properties. Can withstand high operating temperatures up to 1800 degrees F for extended time periods.
• 316ss Stainless Steel: Similar properties to 304ss but is stabilized by the addition of Molybdenum for increased resistance to chemical corrosion.
• 316L Stainless Steel: Similar properties as 316ss but lower carbon content to permit better welding.
• 317L Stainless Steel: Increased corrosion resistance compared to 316ss. L grade allows better welding.
• 321 Stainless Steel: Similar to 347ss and can handle high operating temperatures. Has the addition of titanium.
• 330 Stainless Steel: This alloy can handle operating temperatures up to 1650 Degrees F. Common applications include heat treating fixtures & baskets.
• 347 Stainless Steel: Has similar properties of 304ss but has the additions of Columbium for stability in high operation temperatures.
• 410 Stainless Steel: Has very good resistance to corrosion & oxidation.
• 430 Stainless Steel: Has magnetic properties similar to carbon steel but with much higher corrosion resistance. Commonly used in the food processing industry.

Except of learn the stainless steel characteristics and advantages, most decisions about which stainless steel material grade to use are based on a combination of the following factor.

• What is the corrosive environment? – Atmospheric, water, concentration of particular chemicals, chloride content, presence of acid.
• What is the temperature of operation? – High temperatures usually accelerate corrosion rates and therefore indicate a higher grade. Low temperatures will require a tough austenitic steel.
• What strength is required? – Higher strength can be obtained from the austenitic, duplex, martensitic and PH steels. Other processes such as welding and forming often influence which of these is most suitable. For example, high strength austenitic steels produced by work hardening would not be suitable where welding was necessary as the process would soften the steel.
• What welding will be carried out? - Austenitic steels are generally more weldable than the other types. Ferritic steels are weldable in thin sections. Duplex steels require more care than austenitic steels but are now regarded as fully weldable. Martensitic and PH grades are less weldable.
• What degree of forming is required to make the component? – Austenitic steels are the most formable of all the types being able to undergo a high degree of deep drawing or stretch forming. Generally, ferritic steels are not as formable but can still be capable of producing quite intricate shapes. Duplex, martensitic and PH grades are not particularly formable.
• What product form is required? – Not all grades are available in all product forms and sizes, for example sheet, bar, tube. In general, the austenitic steels are available in all product forms over a wide range of dimensions.
• What are the customer’s expectations of the performance of the material? – This is an important consideration often missed in the selection process.
• Particularly, what are the aesthetic requirements as compared to the structural requirements? Design life is sometimes specified but is very difficult to guarantee.
• There may also be special requirements such as non-magnetic properties to take into account.
• Surface finish. It must also be borne in mind that steel type alone is not the only factor in material selection. Surface finish is at least as important in many applications, particularly where there is a strong aesthetic component. See Importance of Surface Finish.
• Availability. There may be a perfectly correct technical choice of material which cannot be implemented because it is not available in the time required.
• Cost. Sometimes the correct technical option is not finally chosen on cost grounds alone. However, it is important to assess cost on the correct basis. Many stainless steel applications are shown to be advantageous on a life cycle cost basis rather than initial cost. See Life Cycle Costing.

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