Choose optimal cable mesh materia

Material is generally considered as a key factor that affects the performance of cable mesh and always be a common concern for most customers. We are used to ask our customers what kind of stainless steel material you desire deeply in the past. But we found that lots of customers, even unprofessional manufacturers of cable mesh, have little idea about the stainless steel material. This may result in reduction in quality and loss of customer resources.

In this article, we will give a bright introduction about differences between common stainless steel materials and we hope it may helpful to those who want to learn more about stainless steel and to choose appropriate cable mesh material.

Introduction of stainless steel material

Normally, American of iron and steel institute marks different types of stainless steel using three-digit numbers as shown below:

• Austenitic stainless steel gets its name for face-centered cubic crystal structure and is marked with 200 and 300 series, such as AISI 201, 304, 316 and 310.
• Ferritic stainless steel is marked with 430 and 446, and considered as an less expensive material with better engineering properties than austenitic grades. But they have less corrosion resistance due to its lower chromium and nickle content.
• Martensitic stainless steel is also marked with 400 series such as 410, 420 and 440C. It combines high strength, toughness and machinability together and allows for heat treatment. But they are not as corrosion resistant as above two types of stainless steel.
• Duplex stainless steel as a mixture of austenite and ferrite, features twice strength of austenite yet improved corrosion resistance.

Usage environment

Normally, 304 and 316 stainless steel is the most common material of our range of cable mesh. AISI 304 is considered as the preferred choice for dry indoor environment, such as balustrade for indoor stairs, curtain wall, lateral wall, ceilings, roof and decoration mesh, etc. But for outdoor applications, especially those in heavily polluted industrial zones and coastal areas, ordinary stainless steel may be easy to get contaminated even corroded and rusted. So it is recommended to choose 316 stainless steel cable mesh as it has a high nickle content, which imparts high corrosion resistance to the material.