Ultimate Guide to Expanded Metals

Expanded material can be produced thinner than any other open area materials in the industry, making it the best solution for lightweight applications. The unique “slit & stretch” expansion process produces zero scrap and can achieve open areas up to 95% with very small, accurate, openings.  In addition, the expansion process yields more material output than input, thus making it a very cost effective process.

Perforated material is better suited for applications requiring less than 40% open area.  The process yields far more scrap than expanding because scrap is directly related to the amount of open area. The tooling is also more complex and costly to produce with higher rebuild costs making this process far more expensive.

Wire mesh and other woven products tend to be stronger than expanded materials but are limited on how thin they can be produced because of the over under aspect of the weaving process.  Openings are inconsistent due to moving strands making it a poor choice for applications that require controlled openings. Woven material also has a tendency to fray or unravel during secondary processing making it difficult to cut patterns or shapes.

Expanded materials has helped numerous engineers maximize the performance of their end products.

Ten years ago, materials could be made as thin as 50 microns and as wide as 12 inches. Now, metals can be expanded down to 30 micron at 48 inches wide. Dexmet has even produced expanded materials down to thicknesses between 18 and 25 microns thin.

We shear and stretch foil and film gauge materials into consistent diamond shaped patterns, forming open area material with apertures down to 100 microns that can be made to be lighter-weight and thinner than the competition. The ability to control the tool geometry, feed rate, and depth of penetration into the material provides the ability for materials to be fine-tuned through infinite variables.

From aircraft and battery manufacturers to automotive and microelectronics manufacturers, engineers have ditched the use of woven wire for superior expanded materials.

Long way of the diamond (LWD) – Measured from the center of one node to the center of the adjacent node, the LWD is always parallel to the width of the coil and corresponds with the diamond dimension.

Short way of the diamond (SWD) – Measured from the center of the node to the center of the node, the SWD is perpendicular to the width of the coil. For each fixed LWD dimension there is a SWD range.

Strand width – The amount of metal slit from the parent metal in forming the mesh. The strand thickness is directly proportional to the machine feed rate.

What is my budget? 

This will help inform us which solutions are the best starting point for your application. 

What is my timeline? 

This will let us know how to staff your project and prioritize it accordingly. 

Are there specific tests (environmental needs) that I need to ensure my solution passes before moving forward?  

This not only informs the type of material needed but enables us to alot time for appropriate testing.

We work with you and your engineering/manufacturing team to determine the best expanded material solution for your application to ensure the best end result every time. We aim to exceed expectations.

Next we identify which tool should be used for this project, or create one according to the parameters. The shape, form, and number of openings are dictated by the particular tool die geometry used.

Next the material is processed through a set of calendaring rollers which adjusts and qualifies the final material thickness.

“There are a lot of expanding companies out there. We’re unique because we concentrate on thinner gauge material that anyone else in the industry is not even capable of producing.”

-Ken Burtt, VP of Sales & Marketing
 Dexmet Corporation

The first rule in testing expanded metal and expanded plastic is the need for new rules.

The standards of Ultimate Tensile, Yield Strength and Elongation do not necessarily apply. Simply establishing the area to be considered becomes a point of discussion. The solution is to eliminate the questionable areas and concentrate on what we know to be true.

The tests are simple and do not generally require expensive equipment, so quality may be verified by our customers. The highest quality is at the forefront of our process so we test to determine adherence to the performance specification in every application. 

Sample materials are generated based on the criteria provide.  Once tested, we’ll follow up to make sure it exceeds your expectations. If not, we’ll continue to work with you and provide more samples until you are completely satisfied with the results.