There are many factors to consider when rating the worthiness of perforated metal components utilised within the vehicle manufacturing industry – strength, weight, affordability, energy absorption safety, ease of forming and fabrication are all considerations that vehicle manufacturers must consider when engineering their designs. For the past 100 years, perforated metals applications are used in practically every imaginable application including some of the following. Read more.

1. 1

2. 2
Perforated Metal for the Vehicle Manufacturing Industry
There are many factors to consider when rating the worthiness of perforated metal components
utilised within the vehicle manufacturing industry – strength, weight, affordability, energy absorption
safety, ease of forming and fabrication are all considerations that vehicle manufacturers must consider
when engineering their designs.
Perforated metal has been used in the automotive, agricultural, industrial, and commercial industry for
over 100 years and its applications are used in practically every imaginable application including some
of the following:
• Aesthetic Design
• Pressed Engine Casings
• Ventilation Grills
• Filtration
• Sound Attenuation
• Heat Shields
• Pressed Parts
• Speaker Grills
• Steps and Walkways
• Air and Liquid Diffusion
• Energy Absorbtion
Aesthetic Design
Perforated metal is particularly suitable when it comes to design for the vehicle industry, the product
must not only be strong and functional but it must also look good while remaining cost effective.
Pressed Engine Casings & Ventilation
As an automotive or vehicular component, perforated metal must have a high open area while being
tough enough to keep airborne debris, dirt, rock and other items from damaging radiators, oil coolers
and other important ventilated engine parts.
For this reason, perforated material with round holes with a 60-degree orientation offers significant
advantages over most other products especially when strength, open area and weight are the most
important design considerations.
Filtration
Generous open area in addition to having a resistance to cracking or tearing is a requirement for these
applications, so the strongest orientation of perforation is most commonly used.
Perforated metal also has one main advantage over other products in that it is easier to fabricate while
also retaining its strength.
Sound Attenuation
The desired sound absorption and frequency is taken into consideration when designing perforated
metal for exhaust baffles, especially for cars where the tone of the exhaust in addition to its sound
deadening properties is important to the design.

3. 3
The perforation size, hole spacing, material thickness, exhaust shape and dimensions all contribute to
the desired effect for the manufacturer while also being cost effective to manufacture. Perforated
metal is particularly suited to this application, because its solid state nature, it can minimise vibrations
and sharp sounds efficiently while also having a long life span.
Heat Shields
Aesthetics are important when designing heat shields, so perforated metal is a natural choice with its
smooth, clean appearance while also being cost effective.
Stainless steel perforated heat shields are popular because they look well, have a long life span and
remain maintenance free.
Pressed Parts
Pressing apart from a sheet of perforated metal gives it huge advantages over other products because
of its strength in all directions.
Perforated Metal pressed into three dimensional shapes, gives manufacturers the perfect weight and
durability balance leading to greater robustness while also achieving a balance between weight
reduction and strength.
Speaker Grills
Aesthetics, strength and acoustic effect are important design considerations when designing speaker
grills.
Sound waves can cause vibration but the solid state of the perforations, in combination with the
pressed shape of the grill, can help to eliminate unwanted vibration and therefore minimise unwanted
sounds.
Steps and Walkways
There are many examples of perforated steps, ladder rungs and walkways used in the Vehicular
industry.
Many perforated parts are manufactured by pressing a single piece of metal into a three-dimensional
object.
These types of perforated steps have a high strength to weight ratio and are unaffected by vibration
and are therefore very suitable for the vehicular industry.
Air and Liquid Diffusion
Perforated sheet acts as a natural diffuser due to localised turbulence being created as the liquid or
gas passes through.
It’s not as aerodynamic as other meshes due to the nature of its flat surface. Back pressure is created
as the speed of the liquid or gas increases but this can also be controlled through regulating the
perforation size, spacing and shape of the holes as well as the shape of the panel.
Energy Absorbtion
Perforated metal can be more suitable than solid flat plate for stopping projectiles from penetration
because it changes the properties of the material in a way that disrupts the power of the oncoming
projectile. An example of this would be bullet proof perforated panelling