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Extruded plastic mesh became commercially successful in the late 1950s with the invention of extruded diamond netting in the UK. The Mercer / Netlon process used counter-rotating die heads to create diamond mesh netting. (Courtesy Ron Larsen - RL Development)
Extruded square mesh netting was an off-shoot of that process. While watching the cleaning of a Mercer extrusion head, French engineer Jaques Hureau observed that a plastic doughnut-ring was formed when the center die ring was lowered for removal.
The Hureau / Rical process (1960) replaced counter-rotating dies with a single stationary die ring to create the longitudinal (or machine direction) strands and an oscillating ring to create the cross-directional strands. The resulting nets were distinguished from diamond mesh by the square configuration of the machine direction and cross direction strands.
Today, extruded plastic mesh is produced in a wide range of configurations. Some variation is inherent in the extrusion process. Tolerances for plastic meshes vary with apertures (hole sizes), weights, thicknesses and widths.
Biaxial Orientation
Oriented Square Nets were introduced in the United States in 1966 by the Wood Conversion Company. The first commercial application in the United States was a 9 pound per thousand square foot oriented polypropylene net that replaced a 23 pound per thousand square foot cotton linoweave to reinforce the back of Tufflex (a paper fiber, nonwoven cushioning product).
Today Industrial Netting offers oriented plastic netting in a wide range of web widths, apertures, and strengths. Some variation is inherent in the extrusion and orientation process. Tolerances for plastic meshes vary with apertures (hole sizes), weights, thicknesses and widths. Please consult an Industrial Netting representative to determine suitability of specific products for your intended use.
For more on the history of extruded plastic netting technology please visit ronaldllarsen.com.
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Woven Mesh
The weaving process itself has been in use for centuries. Today, woven mesh industrial textiles are available in a variety of synthetic fibers or yarns including polypropylene, polyester, and nylon. High-speed looms interlace warp strands (machine direction) with weft fibers (cross direction) to create fabrics with a wide variety of apertures and characteristics.
Warp threads run lengthwise in a fabric. Weft or filling threads run across the width of a fabric at right angles to the warp. When monofilament fabrics are produced with equal yarn diameters and equal thread counts in both the warp and weft directions, the mesh opening is square. This precision weaving process creates fine mesh industrial textiles with apertures (hole sizes) as small as 1 micron.
Unlike extruded mesh, the intersections of warp and weft fibers do not constitute a single bonded structure.
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