The 304 stainless steel mesh sheet is woven, meets American Society for Testing and Materials International ASTM E2016-06 specifications, and has an unpolished (mill) surface and a standard tolerance. The 304 stainless steel grade provides good strength and weldability, and is resistant to corrosion. It is typically nonmagnetic. The wire strands are woven to create a flexible mesh sheet.

Mesh sheets, also called wire cloth, are created by connecting metal wire strands to form a sheet. Open space between the wire strands makes mesh sheets flexible and useable as a strainer or a sieve. Many mesh sheets are woven and flexible, and may have crimps to provide a uniform opening size and additional strength. Others are welded to form a more rigid sheet that maintains a uniform opening size and will not fray after cutting. The size of a mesh pattern is expressed as the number of openings per inch in horizontal and vertical directions. For example, a 4 x 4 mesh pattern has four openings per inch in each direction (16 openings per square inch). For the same mesh pattern size, a sheet with a smaller wire diameter is more flexible and permits larger particles to pass through than mesh with a larger wire diameter.