304 Stainless Steel Vs 316 Stainless Steel
1. Corrosion Resistance
304 GRADE STAINLESS STEEL SECURITY SCREENS ARE VERY CORROSION RESISTANT
In coated mesh security applications there is little difference in corrosion resistance between 304 structural grade and 316 marine grade stainless steel.
Other brands use 316 marine grade stainless steel and claim to have higher resistance to corrosion, but the fact is for all products using high grade pre-treatment and high durability powder coat technologies, corrosion resistance levels are almost exactly the same in this application.
2. Strength
AT A GIVEN STRENGTH 304 GRADE STAINLESS STEEL HAS A GREATER ABILITY TO DEFORM AND ABSORB ENERGY WITHOUT BREAKING THAN 316
Both 304 structural grade and 316 marine grade stainless steel in their softened state (annealed condition) are made to the same minimum Tensile Strength (strength before breaking) and Yield Strength (strength before permanently deforming.
Greater strength may be obtained from stainless steel by cold working the steel, for example, by bending or rolling a product, drawing wire from a thicker to a thinner diameter or hammering a product.
In addition, because of its lower rate of strengthening with cold work, 316 wire needs to be cold worked more than a 304 wire of the same diameter in order to gain its ability to be hard enough to pass the Australian Standard's Knife Shear Test. This greater level of cold work makes 316 product less ductile and less able to absorb energy and deform without breaking.
304 STAINLESS STEEL IS THE BEST FOR SECURITY APPLICATIONS
0.9mm diameter 304 structural grade stainless steel mesh performs better with higher ductility and higher energy absorption, at higher strength levels than 0.8mm diameter 316 marine grade making it more appropriate for use in security applications.
We encourage you to choose the correct product for the correct application - just as BEBON did. BEBON 0.9mm diameter 304 grade Tensile-Tuff mesh is the strongest and most appropriate product to use in this category of stainless steel security screen products.