Industrial Expanded Metal

Ferrier Wires line of industrial expanded (ampliato) metal products features expanded sheet metal available in aluminum, mild steel, and even stainless steel materials. The process for manufacturing industrial expanded metal is quite interesting and is comparable to the process of producing perforated metal. Much like perforated metal, raw material (in the form of either sheet metal or coils of metal) is fed into a press. The tooling in the press then comes down on the raw material, slitting it and then pulling it apart as the tooling is raised, this process is repeated throughout the material creating the desired expanded design. Due to the nature of the slitting and expanding process, the sheets or coils come out of the press in a curved manner and must be flattened with the use of rollers.

Industrial Expanded metal is available in 2 different varieties; raised (denoted by an “R” at the end of the pattern name) and flat (denoted by an “F” at the end of the pattern name). The difference between these 2 varieties lies with the edges of the material. Raised expanded metal does not have a flat surface and has raised edges that create a wavy texture on the material. Flattened expanded metal has a smooth texture on the face of the material and is the same thickness as the original raw material fed into the press.