Papermaking 2 of 2

Stainless steel wire cloth for pulp and paper mills

Woven stainless steel wire cloth for cylinder mould covers, pulp washers, vacuum and disc filters, thickeners and screens. Supplied flat and oil-free, with wrapped edges and welded joints where your mill requires them.

304 · 316 · 316LStandard alloys

8 – 100 meshPlain weave range shown

ISO 9044Tolerance reference

Where it is used

Equipment	Notes
Cylinder mould covers	Multi-layer: a fine face cloth over one or more coarser backing layers
Pulp washer drums and vacuum filters	316L standard, 304L optional; usually over a corrugated or wound support layer
Disc filter sectors	Stainless cloth on the sector frame
Thickeners and deckers	Face and backing cloth to the drum size
Vibrating screens and stock strainers	Removes chips, staples and stickies before pulping or refining
Dandy rolls	Twill outer layer 4 – 9 mesh over plain weave inner layer 10 – 24 mesh

Alloy selection

Alloy	When to use
304	General service; the most common woven alloy
304L	Low carbon (≤ 0.03 %) for welded joints and seams
316 / 316L	Molybdenum-bearing for chlorides and bleach liquors; 316L is the usual washer cloth alloy
317L	Higher chromium and molybdenum for more aggressive liquors
Duplex and 6 % Mo grades	Chlorine dioxide bleach stages where 316L / 317L pit

Mixed constructions are available, for example 316 warp with 304 weft. Mill certificates to EN 10204 type 2.1, 2.2 or 3.1; agree type 3.1 at order.

Make-up options

Edges

Wrapped edges, for example five wires wrapped each side, so the cloth does not fray on the drum.

Joints and lengths

Rolls without splices, or electrically welded joints when long lengths are needed. Diagonal seams on request.

Finish

Degreased and oil-free, flat and free of roll set. Every roll checked for alloy before packing.

Weaves

Plain, twill, plain Dutch and twill Dutch. Plain weave shown below.

Plain weave: standard grade

Mesh/inch	Wire mm	Opening mm	Open area %	Weight kg/m²
8	0.711	2.46	60.2	2.04
10	0.635	1.91	56.3	2.04
12	0.584	1.52	51.8	2.07
14	0.508	1.29	51.0	1.82
16	0.457	1.13	50.7	1.69
18	0.432	0.98	48.3	1.69
20	0.406	0.86	46.2	1.67
22	0.381	0.78	43.6	1.61
24	0.381	0.68	41.1	1.76
30	0.343	0.50	35.3	1.78
35	0.279	0.45	37.9	1.38
40	0.254	0.38	36.0	1.30
45	0.241	0.32	32.7	1.32
50	0.229	0.28	30.3	1.32
60	0.203	0.22	27.2	1.25
70	0.178	0.19	26.1	1.12
80	0.140	0.18	31.4	0.79
90	0.127	0.16	30.1	0.73
100	0.114	0.14	30.3	0.66

Plain weave: mill grade (finer wire, higher open area)

Mesh/inch	Wire mm	Opening mm	Open area %	Weight kg/m²
8	0.635	2.54	64.0	1.63
10	0.508	2.03	64.0	1.30
12	0.457	1.65	60.8	1.27
14	0.432	1.37	57.2	1.32
16	0.406	1.18	55.4	1.33
18	0.381	1.03	53.4	1.32
20	0.356	0.91	51.8	1.28
24	0.330	0.73	47.4	1.32
30	0.241	0.61	51.0	0.88
40	0.216	0.42	43.6	0.94
50	0.191	0.32	39.1	0.92
60	0.165	0.26	37.5	0.83

Industry standard reference values. Weight is theoretical for stainless steel. Wire diameters outside these tables are woven to order; final values follow the contract specification.

Quick calculator

Mesh per inch Wire diameter (mm)

Pitch p = 25.4 ÷ mesh; opening w = p − d
Open area = w² ÷ (w + d)² × 100 %
Weight (stainless, plain weave) ≈ mesh × d² ÷ 2 × 1.01 kg/m²
Average aperture tolerance (ISO 9044, austenitic stainless): Y = (w^0.98 ÷ 27 + 1.6) × 1.4 µm, with w in µm. Example: 1 mm opening ± 0.05 mm

What to send us

Equipment and position: mould face cloth or backing layer, washer, disc filter, screen
Drum diameter and face length, or roll width × length; open roll or seamed cover
Mesh or opening, wire diameter, weave, alloy (warp and weft)
Edge, joint and seam requirements; flatness and oil-free requirement
Process stage and liquor (chlorides, temperature, pH); a sample or the old cloth label

Need a construction we have not listed?
Send the aperture, material and width. We reply with a recommendation, price and lead time.

Get A Quote