Expanded Metal - Terminology

Terminology

STYLE DESIGNATION

Expanded metal products are designated by a series of numbers which identify a given style

The first number designates nominal diamond pitch Short Way of Diamond (SWD)
The second number used in conjunction with the first may specify the gauge of metal.
Grating products are designated by weight per square foot of the finished product.

STRANDS

The individual slit metal strips, or sides of an expanded metal pattern.

Strand Thickness in raised expanded metal is the gauge or thickness of the sheet or coil from which the expanded metal was produced In flattened expanded metal it is the overall thickness of the finished sheet.
Strand Width in raised expanded metal is the amount of metal fed in to the expanding machine , which is slit and stretched with each stoke of the upper die. In flattened expanded metal, it is as the name implies, the width of the strand.

PERCENT OPEN AREA

The open area necessary in determining the light or air passage. The number is an approximate figure

SWD

The distance from a point on a bond to a corresponding point on the following bond measured across the Short Way of Design. This is also sometimes referred to as "pitch SWD"

LWD

The distance from a point on a bond to a corresponding point on the following bond measured across the Long Way of Design. This distance is also sometimes referred to as "pitch LWD"

SWO

Short Way of Opening, the distance measured from the inside of the bond across to inside of the bond

LWO

Long Way of Opening, the distance measured from the inside of the bond across to inside of the bond

BOND

The intersection of two strands and is always the width of two strands

OVERALL THICKNESS

The actual measurement of the thickness of the mesh measured at the bond