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Stainless steel wire is a long, flexible length of steel drawn through a die to reach its final diameter. It starts as hot rolled rod, passes through a series of drawing dies, and picks up cold work along the way. That cold work is the reason one alloy can finish soft enough to weave or stiff enough for a compression spring.

The alloy is the one you already know from sheet and pipe. Chromium gives the corrosion resistance. Nickel, molybdenum, and carbon decide how the wire behaves under tension, at temperature, and around chemicals. Buyers pick stainless wire when a part has to hold its shape under load, survive repeated bending, or resist rust in wet service where carbon or galvanized wire will not last.

Wire versus rod: both are solid round sections. Wire is the smaller, coiled product. Rod is larger and ships straight. If your part gets formed, woven, or coiled after purchase, you are buying wire. If it gets machined, you are shopping in bar and rod.

Common stock diameters run from 0.1 mm for fine mesh weaving up to 12 mm for heavy pins and formed parts. Heavier sizes to 25 mm are made to order, though at that point you are into rod territory.

Diameter	Weight per 100 m	Typical use
0.1 mm	6 g	Fine woven mesh
0.2 mm	25 g	Filter cloth
0.3 mm	56 g	Fine sieves and screens
0.5 mm	156 g	Mesh, small springs
0.8 mm	0.4 kg	Springs, wire forms
1.0 mm	0.62 kg	Springs, weaving
1.2 mm	0.9 kg	Springs, fasteners
1.5 mm	1.4 kg	Springs, clips
2.0 mm	2.5 kg	Springs, mesh, hooks
2.5 mm	3.9 kg	Formed parts, cable
3.0 mm	5.6 kg	Springs, pins
4.0 mm	10.0 kg	Formed parts, cut lengths
5.0 mm	15.6 kg	Pins, straightened cut wire
6.0 mm	22.4 kg	Pins, rod stock
8.0 mm	39.9 kg	Heavy formed parts
10.0 mm	62.3 kg	Rod stock

For a quick estimate, the theoretical weight in kg per 100 m is the diameter in mm squared, times 0.623 for austenitic grades. Ferritic grades like 430 run about 3 percent lighter. Your coil label will show actual weight, because drawing tolerance and the winding pattern both nudge the number.

If you work in AWG, a rough conversion: 18 AWG is about 1 mm, 12 AWG about 2 mm, and 6 AWG about 4 mm.

Calificación	Family	Best for	Not the best call for
302	Austenitic spring wire	Springs, clips, pins	Parts that will be welded later
304	Austenitic, the default	Mesh, weaving, general forming	Coastal or chemical service
304L	Austenitic, low carbon	Welded assemblies, food plant	Sustained high temperature, use 321
316 / 316L	Austenitic with molybdenum	Marine, chemical, pharma, desalination	Warm stagnant seawater, use 317L or duplex
317L	Austenitic, higher molybdenum	Aggressive acid service, sulfuric, phosphoric	General service, it is over-spec
321	Austenitic, titanium stabilized	Exhaust springs, high temperature parts	Room temperature general use, 304 is cheaper
310S	Austenitic, high Cr and Ni	Furnace parts, heat treat baskets	Routine mechanical parts
430	Ferritic, no nickel	Indoor trim, decorative, magnetic uses	Wet or outdoor service
410	Martensitic	Hard springs, valve stems, shafts	Corrosive environments
17-7 PH	Precipitation hardening	High strength springs, aerospace, medical	General use, the cost is not justified

302 is the traditional spring wire grade in the US. It work-hardens well and holds a set. 304 is the all-purpose alloy you see in mesh and general fabrication. 316 adds molybdenum and is the one to spec near the coast or in chemical service. 17-7 PH is the specialty call when you need very high strength in a thin section, such as a precision spring or a medical device part.

One note on the L grades: if the part gets welded and then lives in a corrosive line, order 304L or 316L. The low carbon keeps the weld zone from sensitizing.

Temper is the variable buyers miss most. Same grade, same diameter, different temper, and you get a completely different part. Wire picks up cold work at every drawing pass, and the mill decides how much to leave in.

Temper	Typical use	Strength	Formability
Annealed (soft)	Deep drawing, mesh weaving, post-purchase forming	Low	Excellent
Quarter and half hard	Clips, light springs, light forming	Medium	Good
Three-quarter hard	Compression and torsion springs	High	Limited
Full hard	High stress precision springs	Very high	Poor

Annealed wire is soft and forgiving. Buy it when the part gets its shape after purchase or when you are weaving mesh. Half hard is the middle ground for clips and light springs. Three-quarter and full hard are for springs where the coiler does the last forming and the wire is the finished part. After coiling a hard temper, a stress-relief heat treatment (375 to 425°C) removes the residual stress; check what your drawing calls for.

• Coil: the standard supply form, wound onto spools or as a bulk coil for feeding spring compilers, wire formers, and welding heads. Coil weights run from a few kilos on small spools to several hundred kilos bulk.
• Straight cut: cut to length for pins, rod stock, and lines that cannot take coil feed.
• Wire rope: strands of wire twisted together for lifting, rigging, and cable.
• Mesh: woven from wire into filters, sieves, guards, and architectural screens. See our stainless steel wire mesh page for those options.

Coil is the default unless your process needs straight stock. If you are not sure which form fits, tell us the application and we will recommend the coil size and temper.

The finish decides how the wire feeds, how it looks, and in some jobs how it performs.

• Bright (soap drawn): the standard spring wire finish. Smooth, clean, consistent diameter.
• Annealed (black): carries the oxide film from the annealing furnace. You want this when the wire gets cleaned, redrawn, or formed before use.
• Pickled and passivated: acid cleaned. The call for welding wire and sanitary work.
• Polished: burnished for visible parts and medical devices.
• Coated: PVC or nylon jacket for cable rail, hangers, and wire that sits against other metals.

For food, medical, and architectural work, bright or polished is the usual answer. Coated wire saves you the job of isolating the wire from aluminium and carbon steel contact.

• Corrosion resistance without paint or coating in most environments
• High strength to weight, especially in spring tempers
• Good fatigue life, which is why springs are the default use
• A clean surface that resists biofilm in food and pharma lines
• Long service life with little maintenance
• Weldable with ordinary TIG and MIG equipment in the austenitic grades
• Fully recyclable at end of life

Sector	Typical parts	Common grade
Springs	Compression, torsion, extension springs	302, 316, 17-7 PH
Fasteners	Bolts, screws, rivets, pins	304, 316, 410
Mesh and filtration	Sieves, filters, guards, screens	304, 316
Arquitectónico	Railing cable, mesh panels, facades	316, 304
Automotive	Exhaust hangers, fuel lines, sensors	321, 430
Medical	Implants, surgical tools, devices	316L, 17-7 PH
Industrial	Conveyor belts, retainers, hooks	304, 316
Energy	Cable tray, restraint, anchor	304, 316

One practical note on mesh: if you are buying wire to weave your own mesh, you will want annealed or half-hard temper for formability. If you need the finished mesh, that is a different product and we quote it separately. See our stainless steel wire mesh page for woven and welded options.

We supply the steel and our sister company builds the equipment, so the wire you buy is the same material our tank division fabricates. That traceability matters on the day a spec fails and someone asks where the heat came from. We stock 302, 304, 304L, 316L, 321, 430, and 17-7 PH in common sizes, cut and process to order, and ship against EN 10204 3.1 mill certificates with PMI verification available.

If you already buy cold rolled stainless sheet, hot rolled plate, or 304, 316, and 430 sheet from us, the wire comes out of the same mill relationships. The full catalogue is on the all products page and in the stainless steel category.

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