Steel Welded and Woven Wire Mesh Glossary
A comprehensive glossary of terms for steel welded wire mesh, woven wire mesh, and the wire used to make them, including manufacturing, coatings, quality, and specification language.
A
Abrasion Resistance: A material’s ability to resist wear from rubbing, scraping, or contact with abrasive material.
Acid Pickling: A chemical cleaning process used to remove oxides and scale from steel wire rod prior to drawing.
Adhesion (Coating Adhesion): How well a coating (zinc, PVC, etc.) bonds to the steel substrate.
AISI: American Iron and Steel Institute. Often used to describe steel grades (example: 1018).
Aluminized Coating: A metallic coating that includes aluminum for improved corrosion performance in certain environments.
Anneal / Annealing: Heat treatment used to soften wire, increase ductility, and reduce residual stress.
Annealed Wire: Soft wire used for weaving, tying, and forming.
ASTM: A standards organization that publishes many relevant specifications for wire, coatings, and mesh.
ASTM D6866: A standard test method for determining biobased content (not a mesh specification, but relevant to coated products).
B
Bend Test: A test that checks ductility and coating integrity by bending wire or mesh.
Base Metal: The steel itself, excluding zinc or polymer coatings.
Base Wire: The wire prior to any coating.
Batch Galvanizing: Hot dip galvanizing performed in batches, commonly used for fabricated items.
Black Annealed Wire: Annealed wire with a dark oxide surface, often used for tying.
Black Wire: Uncoated steel wire, usually cold drawn.
Break Strength: The force required to break a wire or a welded joint.
Brittleness: A tendency to fracture without significant deformation.
Bright Basic Wire: Clean, uncoated wire with a bright surface finish.
C
Camber: Curvature of wire or mesh along its length. Excess camber can cause installation problems.
Capstan: A rotating drum used to pull wire through dies in a wire drawing machine.
Carbon Content: The amount of carbon in steel, which strongly affects strength, ductility, and weldability.
Center-to-Center Spacing: The distance from the center of one wire to the center of the next.
Chemical Composition: The percentages of carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, etc. in steel.
Coating: A protective layer applied to wire or mesh (zinc, Zn-Al alloy, PVC, etc.).
Coating Delamination: Separation of a coating from the steel substrate.
Coating Thickness: Thickness of zinc, polymer, or other coatings.
Coating Weight: Amount of zinc applied, typically expressed in oz/ft² or g/m².
Cold Drawn: Wire reduced in diameter through dies at room temperature.
Cold Reduction: The percent reduction in diameter during drawing.
Corrosion Resistance: Ability to resist rusting and degradation in a given environment.
Crimp (Woven Mesh): The formed wave that allows woven wire to interlock and maintain openings.
Cross Wire (Welded Mesh): Wire running across the width of the mesh.
Cut Edge: Mesh edge where wires are cut, leaving exposed ends.
Cut Length: A specified length for sheeted mesh or cut-to-length product.
D
Dead Soft Wire: Very soft wire, typically annealed, used for tying and forming.
Deoxidation (Steelmaking): Steel treatment to reduce oxygen content; affects cleanliness and ductility.
Die (Wire Drawing Die): A hardened tool with a precisely sized hole used to reduce wire diameter.
Die Wear: Wear in drawing dies that can cause diameter variation or surface defects.
Diameter: Wire thickness, typically specified in inches or millimeters.
Dimensional Tolerance: Allowable variation in size (wire diameter, opening, roll width, etc.).
Ductility: Ability to deform without breaking.
E
Edge Condition: How the edge is finished (cut, knuckled, selvage, welded, flush cut, with tabs, etc.).
Electro-Galvanized: Zinc coating applied by electroplating, typically thinner than hot dip.
Elongation: Percent stretch before break. A ductility indicator.
Embrittlement: Loss of ductility, sometimes caused by hydrogen pickup during processing.
End Count (Woven Cloth): Number of warp wires per inch.
Environmental Stress Cracking (PVC): Cracking of polymer coatings under stress and chemical exposure.
F
Fabric (Mesh Fabric): A common industry term for mesh product.
Fatigue: Failure under repeated cyclic loading.
Ferrite: A phase in steel; common in low carbon steels.
Finish: Final surface condition: bright, galvanized, PVC coated, stainless, etc.
Fish Mouth (Coil Defect): A coil defect that can cause payoff problems.
Flatness: How well mesh lays flat. Especially important in panels.
Flux (Galvanizing): Chemical used prior to galvanizing to improve zinc wetting.
Formability: Ability to bend, crimp, or shape wire without cracking.
G
GAW (Galvanized After Welding): Mesh welded first, then hot dip galvanized for superior weld corrosion protection.
GBW (Galvanized Before Welding): Wire galvanized first, then welded. Economical, but reduced protection at weld points.
Galfan (Zn-Al Alloy Coating): A zinc-aluminum alloy metallic coating (commonly ~95% Zn / ~5% Al). Often used for improved corrosion performance in harsh outdoor and marine environments.
Galvanic Corrosion: Corrosion accelerated when dissimilar metals contact in an electrolyte.
Galvanized: Steel coated with zinc.
Galvanizing: Process of applying zinc to steel.
Gauge: Legacy wire sizing system. Less precise than diameter.
Grade (Steel Grade): Defined chemical and mechanical properties for steel.
H
Hard Drawn Wire: Cold drawn wire with increased tensile strength.
Heat Number: Traceable ID assigned to a melt of steel.
Heat Treatment: Controlled heating/cooling to change mechanical properties.
Helix (Wire): Twist tendency in wire that can affect welding or weaving.
High Carbon Steel: Steel with higher carbon content. Used in some woven mesh and spring wire applications.
Hot Dip Galvanized (HDG): Zinc coating applied by immersion in molten zinc.
Hydrogen Embrittlement: Loss of ductility due to hydrogen absorption, especially after pickling or plating.
I
ID (Inside Diameter): Inside diameter of a wire coil.
Inclusion (Steel Cleanliness): Non-metallic particles in steel that can cause breaks and defects.
Interlock (Woven Mesh): The mechanical engagement of woven wires.
J
Joint Strength: Strength of the welded intersection.
Jig / Fixture (Welding Line): Tooling that holds wire spacing and alignment.
K
Kink: A sharp bend in wire that can cause breaks or defects.
Knuckled Edge: A woven edge where the wire loops back, safer than cut edges.
L
Lay (Coil Lay): The winding pattern of wire in a coil.
Line Wire: Wire running in the machine direction of welded mesh.
Loom (Woven Mesh Loom): Machine used to weave wire mesh.
Low Carbon Steel: Most common steel type for welded mesh wire.
M
Mandrel: Shaft used to support a coil or roll.
Mechanical Properties: Tensile, yield, elongation, etc.
Mesh: The grid or fabric created by wires.
Mesh Count: Openings per inch, used for woven wire cloth.
Mesh Opening: The clear space between wires.
Mill Scale: Oxide layer on hot-rolled steel.
Mill Test Report (MTR): Certificate showing chemistry and mechanical properties.
N
Necking: Localized reduction in wire diameter prior to fracture.
Nugget (Weld Nugget): The fused metal zone created in resistance welding.
O
OD (Outside Diameter): Outside diameter of a coil or roll.
Opening Size: Clear distance between wires.
Ovality: Out-of-round wire. Can cause welding/weaving problems.
P
Panel: Rigid mesh sheet.
Payoff: Equipment that unreels wire into a production line.
Peel Test (Coating): Test used to evaluate coating adhesion.
Pickling: Acid cleaning to remove scale.
Pitch: Wire spacing, often center-to-center.
Plain Weave: Common woven pattern (over one, under one).
Plasticized PVC: PVC formulation containing plasticizers. Less preferred in environmentally driven specifications.
Polymer Coating: A coating such as PVC, PE, or nylon applied over metal-coated wire.
Powder Coating: Dry powder coating applied electrostatically, then baked. Less common for wire mesh.
Q
Quality Gate: A defined inspection point to prevent defective product from moving downstream.
Quench: Rapid cooling after heat treatment. Usually not part of low carbon mesh wire production.
R
Residual Stress: Internal stress remaining in wire after drawing or forming.
Resistance Welding: Welding method used for welded wire mesh.
Roll: Mesh packaged in roll form.
Roll Set: A set of rollers used for straightening wire.
Rust Bloom: Early surface rust, often cosmetic.
S
Scale (Mill Scale): Oxide layer from hot rolling.
Selvage: Finished woven mesh edge.
Shear Strength (Weld): Resistance of weld to shearing force.
Shrink Wrap: Packaging material used for rolls.
Spangle: Visible zinc crystal pattern on galvanized surfaces.
Spacing: Distance between wires, typically center-to-center.
Spot Welding: General term for resistance welding.
Stainless Steel Wire: Wire made from stainless grades such as 304 or 316.
Straightness: How straight wire is during payoff and processing.
Stress Relief: Low-temperature heat treatment to reduce residual stress.
Surface Defect: Any defect such as scratches, laps, seams, pits, or scale that can cause breaks.
T
Tensile Strength: Maximum stress wire can withstand before breaking.
Tension (Weaving): Force applied to warp wires during weaving.
Thermoplastic Coating: A polymer coating that can soften with heat.
Thickness (Coating): Measured thickness of zinc or polymer coating.
Tie Wire: Soft wire used to tie mesh to frames or structures.
Tolerance: Allowed variation in size or properties.
Traceability: Ability to link product back to heat, rod, and processing.
U
Uniformity (Coating Uniformity): Consistency of coating thickness around the wire and along its length.
Unraveling (Woven Mesh): Loss of woven structure due to edge failure or insufficient crimp.
V
Vacuum Degassing (Steelmaking): Process used to reduce hydrogen and improve cleanliness.
Visual Inspection: Inspection for weld defects, coating defects, broken wires, and dimensional issues.
W
Warp Wire: Lengthwise wire in woven mesh.
Weft Wire (Fill / Shute): Crosswise wire in woven mesh.
Weld Defect: A weld that is weak, missing, cracked, or inconsistent.
Weld Nugget: Fused zone at the intersection.
Welded Wire Mesh (WWM): Mesh made by resistance welding wires at intersections.
Wire Drawing: Process of reducing wire diameter through dies.
Wire Rod: Starting material for wire drawing.
Woven Wire Mesh: Mesh produced by weaving wires.
X
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF): A method used to identify alloy composition (useful for stainless verification).
Y
Yield Strength: Stress at which steel begins permanent deformation. Less commonly specified for mesh wire than tensile.
Z
Zinc: The metal used for galvanizing.
Zinc-Aluminum Coating: A metallic coating alloyed with aluminum for improved corrosion resistance in some environments.
Zinc Coating Weight: Amount of zinc applied, typically oz/ft² or g/m².