A screen (10) for separating particles according to size, being made up of a plurality of first straight wires (14) extending in one direction, and a plurality of alternating crimped second wires (12) extending in the same direction. A plurality of third straight wires (16) extend in the other direction, and are interwoven with each of the first and second wires. The first wires are 11/2 to 21/2 times the diameter of the second and third wires, which are of the same diameter.

A drying screen for paper making machines is described which comprises at least one layer of a thread composite and a thin glued-on, perforated or slit sheet i.e., with thermoplastic material-comprising filaments. The individual layers are preferably connected to one another in three layers and arranged one above the other, with the layer facing the paper web always being oriented in the direction of paper travel.

A sifting screen is described comprising a rigid frame, a first woven cloth of hard wearing metal wire, stretched thereacross and secured thereto, and a second woven cloth having a coarser mesh than the first cloth and being woven from an elongate material of greater cross-section than the first, also stretched across the frame, and secured thereto, below the first cloth, to support the latter against sagging. In accordance with the invention, at least the wearing surface of the material from which the lower cloth is woven is selected to be significantly less hard wearing than that from which the upper cloth is woven, so that wear due to rubbing and vibration during use, occurs to a greater extent in the lower cloth than in the upper cloth. In one example the upper cloth is woven from stainless steel wire and the lower from phosphor bronze wire. In another example the lower cloth is of wire having a coating of an epoxy based material, or Teflon (TM), or Molybdenum Disulphide. In another example the lower cloth is formed from a plastics material or Kevlar (TM) or carbon fibre. The frame may be formed from glass reinforced gas blown polypropylene reinforced by elongate metal reinforcing elements or rods.

A screening screen having openings in the warp direction which are longer than these openings in the woof direction including warp wires and woof wires of the same maximum size extending at substantially maximum warp and woof crimp angles relative to each other which will not permit the warp wires and the woof wires to slide relative to each other. A method of fabricating a screening screen of the above type including the steps of determining the size of the openings in the woof direction and determining the maximum wire size of the warp and woof wires which will produce a maximum woof crimp angle which will not permit the woof wires to slide relative to the warp wires in the woof direction, and determining the length of the openings in the warp direction which will produce a substantially maximum warp crimp angle which will not permit the warp wires to slide relative to the woof wires in the warp direction.

A woven work fabric includes a first set of monofilament yarns that extend in a first direction and a second set of monofilament yarns that are interwoven with the first set of yarns and that extend in a second direction that is transverse to the first set of yarns. Each of the monofilaments in one of the sets of yarns has a cross section that has a substantially "X"-shaped configuration, and that is deformed during the weaving of the yarn sets wherein a relatively flat outer exposed surface is formed on each of the monofilament yarns in the one set of yarns.