Sieve Size No. (US mesh)

18 US Mesh defined as 1000 µm screen aperture

Diamond abrasives are traditionally sold in US mesh size ranges, these mesh sizes are defined by the mesh size of sieves used to separate the diamond particles. The sieve sizes are graduated and defined by the number of lines per inch of each sieve e.g. 50 lines per inch or 20 lines per inch. The diamond is then sold in overlapping mesh size ranges. The industry size specifications are laid down and governed by two bodies, these are ANSI and FEPA. The specifications are completely interchangeable. ANSI specify a US mesh size while FEPA sizes are quoted as a DIN size. Element Six saw diamond products are available in the following US mesh/FEPA DIN sizes. 20/30, 25/35, 30/40, 35/45, 40/50, 45/60 & 50/70. This means for example in a sample of 40/50 US mesh diamond most of the material would fall between the 40 mesh and the 50 mesh sieve. International standards permit that a small amount of oversize and undersize material is permitted, but this is usually no more than 2-4%. Element Six products are processed to standards much tighter than ANSI/FEPA specifications.

18 US Mesh defined as 1000 µm screen aperture
Sieve Size No. (US Mesh) Theoretical Sieve Opening (µm)Sieve Opening ASTME II (µm) FEPA Size No.
18 1000 1000 D1001
20 841 850 D851
25 707 710 D711
30 595 600 D601
35 500 500 D501
40 420 425 D426
45 354 355 D356
50 297 300 D301
60 250 250 D251
70 210 212 D213
80 177 180 D181
100 149 150 D151
120 125 125 D126
140 105 106 D107
170 88 90 D91
200 74 75 D76
230 63 63 D64
270 53 53 D54
325 44 45 D46
400 37 38 D39
500   32 D33
600   25