Screening & Sieving Mesh: Opening Size & Screen Type
Quick answer
For screening and sieving, select woven or crimped wire mesh by the cut point you need: heavy crimped mesh with large apertures for aggregate and quarry screening, finer woven mesh for sand and gravel grading; the opening should match the size at which you want material to pass or be retained, allowing for near-mesh particle blinding.
By the WireMeshQA editorial team · Independent wire mesh reference
How Screening Mesh Works
Screening separates material by size: particles smaller than the aperture pass through, larger ones are retained. On vibrating screens the deck vibrates to keep material moving and stop blinding (particles lodging in openings). The aperture you choose is the cut point; in practice you size it slightly to account for near-size particles and screen efficiency.
Figure 1: Crimped Mesh vs Woven Mesh for this application (indicative).
Figure summary: For screening and sieving, crimped mesh is heavy-duty and resists vibration for coarse screening in mining and quarrying, while woven mesh gives finer apertures for lab, food and precise grading. Match wire type and aperture to particle size and duty.
Crimped vs Woven Screen Mesh
Crimped mesh has pre-formed crimps that lock the wires at each intersection, giving a stable aperture and heavy-duty performance — the standard for quarry, aggregate and mining screens. Plain woven mesh suits finer sieving and lab-grade grading. For very coarse, abrasive duty, heavy double-crimp or lock-crimp mesh with thick wire resists wear and impact.
Screen mesh type
Aperture range
Best for
Heavy double-crimp
20–150mm+
Quarry, aggregate, primary screening
Lock / intermediate crimp
6–50mm
Secondary aggregate sizing
Woven square
0.5–10mm
Sand, fine gravel, grading
Fine woven / sieve
< 0.5mm
Lab and fine particle sieving
Aggregate & Sand Grading
Aggregate and sand are graded across a series of screen decks, each with a smaller aperture, to split material into size fractions. Standard nominal aggregate sizes are widely used; pick the screen aperture matching the upper limit of each fraction you want to produce.
Aperture
Nominal product / fraction
Typical use
40mm
40mm aggregate
Sub-base, coarse fill
20mm
20mm aggregate
Concrete coarse aggregate
10mm
10mm aggregate
Fine concrete, asphalt
5mm
Coarse sand cut
Sand/gravel split
1–2mm
Fine sand
Building / plaster sand
Opening Size & Mesh Count Reference
For finer sieving, openings are often given as mesh count. The table below maps common counts to nominal openings; the full method is in mesh count to opening size, and our spec converter handles other units.
Mesh count
Nominal opening
Typical sieving use
4 mesh
~4.75mm
Coarse sand / fine gravel
8 mesh
~2.36mm
Coarse-medium sand
16 mesh
~1.18mm
Medium sand
30 mesh
~600µm
Fine sand
50 mesh
~300µm
Very fine sand / powder
Selecting Wire Diameter & Open Area
Heavier wire lasts longer on abrasive duty but reduces open area and throughput.
More open area (thinner wire for a given aperture) increases capacity but wears faster.
Crimped mesh holds its aperture under vibration better than plain woven for coarse duty.
Allow for blinding and near-size particles when picking the cut-point aperture.
Stainless mesh resists corrosion for wet screening; galvanised or spring steel suits dry abrasive duty.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose the right screen mesh aperture?
Set the aperture to your cut point — the size at which material should pass or be retained. Allow a small margin for near-size particles and screen efficiency, since real screens never separate perfectly. For abrasive or coarse duty use heavier crimped mesh, and for fine grading use woven mesh sized to the upper limit of the fraction you want to produce.
What is the difference between crimped and woven screen mesh?
Crimped mesh has pre-formed crimps that lock the wires at each intersection, holding a stable aperture under heavy vibration — the standard for quarry and aggregate screens. Plain woven mesh has interlaced straight wires and suits finer sieving and grading. Use crimped for coarse, abrasive screening and woven for fine particle separation.
What mesh size screens 20mm aggregate?
To produce 20mm aggregate, screen on a deck with a 20mm aperture so material up to 20mm passes and larger pieces are retained on the deck above. Aggregate is normally graded across a series of decks (for example 40mm, 20mm, 10mm and 5mm) so each fraction is split out cleanly. Use heavy crimped mesh for this abrasive duty.
Why does my screen mesh keep blinding?
Blinding happens when near-size or sticky particles lodge in the openings and block them, cutting throughput. It is worse with damp material, flaky particles close to the aperture size, and insufficient vibration. Remedies include a slightly larger or different aperture shape, increased screen amplitude, self-cleaning screen designs, or drying the feed where moisture is the cause.
What wire mesh is best for a vibrating screen?
For most aggregate and quarry vibrating screens, heavy crimped wire mesh holds its aperture and resists wear and impact. Choose wire diameter to balance life against open area: thicker wire lasts longer but lowers throughput. Use stainless for wet or corrosive screening and spring steel or galvanised for dry abrasive duty.
Need to define the specification?
Use the selector to turn the application, opening, wire and material requirements into a clearer mesh brief.