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A trademan's life


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A trademan's life

On the back of the mining boom it's finally cool to be a tradie again - and thank goodness because I can't think of anything worse than being a desk jockey! The trick to earning big dollars at the moment isn't having a fancy law degree - it's being good with your hands and able to to fix and maintain any industrial equipment. Everyday is a new challenge in this job, with new problems coming up all the time. You'll never get bored! This site has loads of tips and tricks on maintain common and uncommon industrial and mining equipment.

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Tips for Choosing the Right Design of Perforated Metal for Your Application

Perforated metal has a number of different uses in production and manufacturing as well as construction and design. When choosing perforated metal for your application, you have a virtually unlimited choice, as the perforations can be made in any shape or size.

Choosing the right design of perforation can then be a challenge, simply because there are so many choices available. Note a few tips for making that choice, depending on your application:

1. Strength levels

Perforations in metal will compromise its overall strength, and this needs to be considered when choosing a style and size of perforation. If you're choosing perforated metal for a ramp or other flooring, note that larger perforations will allow for dust and dirt and other debris to fall away, but can compromise the strength of the flooring.

It's good to look at a spec sheet of perforated metal and if you need larger slots for the ramp or flooring, choosing a metal thickness that will compensate for how the perforations weaken the metal itself.

2. Size of perforations

Your application will help determine the size of perforations. For factory facilities, you may need perforations on a factory line that will allow debris like seeds to fall away. Your perforations should be sized no larger than this standard debris. For screens and vents, consider if they should catch dust and dirt and if so, the perforations need to be very small.

However, if you're choosing metal for use in construction such as bracing up a concrete slab, the perforations may need to be larger to allow the concrete to seep through each opening. Note that the larger the perforation, the cheaper the metal sheets as you may be paying for less metal itself, but don't let price alone determine the size of perforations for you.

3. Appearance

Is the perforated metal needed for design and not just construction or manufacturing? Then choose a perforation that is very creative and attractive, and remember to note how it will look when applied. Smaller perforations might tend to look very busy and cluttered in a large sheet, whereas larger perforations might look very decorative.

Opt for something unique such as oblong perforations, or metal that is cut in what resembles zebra stripes or mosaic tiles. While the perforated metal may need to have certain sizes of perforations for a particular function and even safety, take the opportunity to get creative when the metal will be visible.

To learn more, contact a company such as Acorn Metal Products Pty Ltd with any questions you have.