How are expanded metal sheets made? And what makes them such a widely used material?
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Expanded metal sheet fabrication is a highly efficient process that includes stretching, slitting, and rolling sheet metal. A machine stretches and then cuts the metal with an upper and lower blade to produce diamond-shaped openings. These openings provide structural bonding value without need for additional strengthening processes and give expanded metal a unique mesh-like appearance. Once the expanded metal sheet has been die-cut it is flattened with a rolling mill.
This fabrication process produces zero metal waste and fashions a strong, highly versatile, metal product that can be sheared into custom-sized sheets or wound into coils for various uses across industries.
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Expanded metal sheet provides strength and versatility across industries. Since the die-cutting process is adjustable, expanded metal sheet is ripe with decorative possibilities, whether for sculptural artworks, architectural screening, or other commercial designs.
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of expanded metal sheet applications:
There are three common types of expanded metal sheets:
Standard expanded metal is considered the most flexible and high value type of expanded metal sheet. It is widely available in a range of gauges and sizes and is characterized by a raised, slip-resistant, base. All strands and bonds are set at the exact same angle, made from sheet metal that has been pressed and die-cut. Raised expanded metal is commonly seen in stair treads, trailer ramps, shelving, and other applications where slip-resistance is beneficial.
Flattened expanded metal grating requires passing standard expanded metal through a cold rolled reducing mill. This process flattens the signature raised bonds of standard expanded metal and reduces thickness and weight to create a smooth, flat surface. This is a suitable material for many applications in the agricultural, commercial, and automotive industries.
Expanded metal grating is a low-maintenance product produced from a single metal sheet. Without joints or welds, this metal product is a heavy-duty, open-air solution ideal for fire protection, and to prevent dirt, snow, grease and other unwanted debris accumulation.
Expanded metal mesh is made of a single sheet of compressed and stretched material. It can be used to replace metal or wire mesh since doing so produces a material that is stronger than fine metal mesh. It also allows for improved airflow and drainage capabilities. It is often the go-to choice for wire baskets.
When expanded metal is used for mesh baskets it can go into several high-impact industrial applications. From shot peening parts to shot blasting parts, expanded metal mesh baskets will provide the impact resistance needed to endure constant exposure to high stress conditions.
Expanded metal mesh baskets are also selected for storage, stacking, packaging, and delivery processes. They also provide good surface quality which aids in overall durability and withstands exposure to outdoor settings. Expanded metal mesh also provides protection from fire and can be seen as a protective shield on fire pits, grills, heating devices, and other products requiring high heat tolerances and airflow.
There are various benefits of using expanded metals:
Expanded metal sheets are unique and include specific terms that will aid in understanding expanded metal sizes and expanded steel products in general. The above image shows standard expanded metal, with the gray areas indicating the raised, skid-resistant edge quality.
Bond: This is the intersecting point where adjacent strands meet. The bond is always twice the width of the strand.
Strand: This is the single metal strip which forms the border of the opening.
Strand width: The amount of material advanced for expanding.
Strand thickness: The thickness of the metal from which the expanded metal is produced.
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Opening / Aperture Size: Typically the open area formed by bonds and strands is diamond shaped. Different die-cutting settings can alter the final material output characteristic, however.
SWO or SWA: Short way of opening, or short way of aperture is the dimension measured across the sheet in a direction parallel to the smallest side of the diamond, accounting only for the size of the opening.
LWO or LWA: Long way of opening, or long way of aperture is the dimension measured across the sheet, parallel to the largest side of the diamond, accounting only within the opening’s size and not the material edges.
Mesh: Expressed in inches, this is the nominal distance from the mid-point of one bond to the mid-point of the next bond measured across the SWA.
Percent of Open Area: Designers and engineers calculate the degree to which light, air, or other objects can pass through a piece of expanded metal.
Pitch: This is the measurement from a point on one diamond to the same point on an adjacent diamond. In certain decorative designs this number may not be consistent throughout the expanded metal sheet.
Style: Expanded metal style is expressed as the gauge number for the thickness of the original metal prior to expansion. For metal grating, style is expressed in pounds per square foot.
4 x 8 is a standard size for expanded metal sheet. It provides weight and metal savings while conveniently fitting a wide range of common and specialty applications. Check out the 4 x 8 sizing chart below as a reference.
Looking for expanded metal sheets in a different size? Kloeckner Metals supplies expanded metal sheet to customer specifications and will work with you to meet your unique needs.
When it comes to advantages of this material, adaptability comes first as it provides a mix of many merits such as robustness, versatility and properties of lightweight, by possessing all these advantages flattened expanded metal is easily cut and installed in any spaces, Moreover, it is greatly resistant to corrosion especially when the material is made from strong kind of materials or coated with particular specifications, so we can say that it has a high level of durability over time and can survive a lot of outer conditions, if we come to compare the flattened ones with the standard ones we can notice that the former is smoother in surface and can elevate the visual appeal of the building or area at the same time enjoying integrity of structure leaving no margins for breakability and fragility.
Flattened expanded metal vs standard expanded metal let's find out more:
The term" standard expanded metal" refers to the metal coming out of the expanding machine. The specific dimensions of the Expanded Metal will vary depending on the expander and the expanded metal sheet thickness, but the thickness of the metal strips and the open space between them will be consistent and regular. The surface of this expanded metal (depending on the expanding equipment) may have a slightly rounded appearance, and this helps to reduce the risk of washing process flow collection within the expanded metal basket.
Flattened expanded metal is the result of putting the standard expanded metal into a cold rolling steel mill for flattening the expanded metal mesh. This makes the expanded metal mesh thinner, flatter and wider / longer. Since it is sometimes difficult to predict how much expansion will occur in the network during the flattening process, the sizes of flattened expanded metals may differ slightly from the original estimates.
In addition, flattened expanded metal sizes will vary depending on whether the cylinder is passed along the design's short path (SWD, narrow direction of diamond pattern) or long design path (LWD, wider, longer direction). Diamond pattern).
Since flattened expanded metal possesses versatility this put it forward to be used in architectural and industrial contexts. For instance, designers and architects find it the best option to be used for façades, partitions, sunshades and panels as it creates a really striking visuals that amazingly contributes to the control of light and shadow, in industrial sectors, this metal is highly celebrated for its capacity to bear heavy-load work specifically when utilized in safety barriers, systems of filtration and walkways, Flattened expanded metal mesh is a valuable solution when robustness, safety, and durability are wanted without compromising any esthetics In conclusion flattened expanded metal can offer a special mixture of solidity and style, and with its wide range of uses it can be a versatile and practical material for many environments.
Expanded metal manufacturing process are straight and organized, The process of making expanded metal is relatively simple and hasn't changed much since it was first invented. To form expanded metal, sheet metal is passed through a device called an "expansion machine", similar to a plate rolling machine, but equipped with cutting edges that drill holes into the metal plate as it passes through the machine.
The sizes of holes in the Expanded Metal will vary depending on the size and shape of the cutting edges of the expanding machine. However, most of the diamond cut pattern they're common.
After passing through the expansion machine, the expanded metal mesh can either be used as is or cold to form the flattened expanded metal mesh it can be passed through the rolling process. The flattening process makes the wires and bonds of the expanded sheet metal wider and thinner the flattened metal sheet; their exact dimensions can vary in ways that are difficult to predict accurately before flattening occurs.
Rolling below the recrystallization temperature of the material is called cold rolling. Cold rolling, better diameter than hot rolled strips it is used for manufacturing strips with tolerance and a smooth surface.
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