ANNEALING & SINTERING
OF WIRE MESH

MKI's extensive experience in the thermal processing of wire mesh extends beyond the production of Dynapore® sintered wire mesh laminates. We also offer contract annealing and sintering services to the wire mesh industry. Customers can send us their wire mesh in full rolls or slit coils for bright annealing or coil sintering. We generally do not anneal cut pieces or stamped parts of wire cloth, but please inquire for specific cases.

Wire Mesh Annealing:

The fundamental purpose of annealing wire cloth is to soften it for improved fabricating. This is useful for subsequent stamping, forming, pleating, winding, and other operations. Our standard batch annealing process removes the cold work and spring tension caused by drawing, weaving and coiling.

Most materials are rendered clean, bright, and soft in our specially designed annealing furnace.

Stainless Steel Annealing:

For AISI 300 Series stainless steels, maximum corrosion resistance is obtained by rapid cooling to control carbide precipitation. Our process is designed to produce a true metallurgical solution anneal in most cases. Properly treated stainless steel wire cloth will be capable of passing an accelerated corrosion test such as the Strauss Test (ASTM A262, Practice "E"). MKI can help you meet your process requirements, and can perform Strauss testing on annealed mesh.

Coil Sintering:

In some instances a modified coil annealing process may be used to achieve a limited degree of bonding between the wires in certain weaves of mesh. This "super-annealing" or "coil sintering" process may be useful for fabrication, or to achieve relative freedom from wire migration in non-critical applications. However, this should not be confused with true sintering, which is performed under isostatic pressure in flat sheets, and which completely eliminates fraying of loose wires. Please consult us for the applicability of this process to particular weaves of mesh. Where practicable, coil sintering is a low-cost alternative to the flat-sheet true sintering (diffusion-bonding) process.

Wire Mesh Annealing Requirments:

Here are a few tips to help you work with our annealing and coil sintering processes:

• It is best to slit your mesh to size before annealing. Annealed mesh is more difficult to slit properly. MKI can handle both slit "coils" (up to 24" wide), and "rolls" (over 24" up to 48" wide) of wire mesh.
• Most meshes will be cleansed of lubricant in our process, without incurring any carburization from the oils. However, for best results, heavier weaves or meshes which contain inordinate amounts of lubricant should be degreased prior to annealing.
• Please send your mesh to MKI in "furnace ready condition" - no cardboard cores, paper or tape. Finer meshes should be wound on perforated stainless steel cores for best results.

MKI can conform to your process specification, including times, temperatures and atmospheres, and certify accordingly. We can offer pure dry hydrogen, argon and vacuum furnace heat treatments. Alternatively, we will anneal or sinter your mesh in accordance with our own proprietary procedures.