Need screens now? You can browse round vibratory replacement screens here — or read on so you measure your machine right and order the correct screen the first time.
Reordering a screen for a round vibratory separator (Sweco, Kason, Midwestern, Cleveland style) fails for one of two reasons: someone measured the wrong thing, or they gave us a mesh count and nothing else. Both send the wrong part to a plant that's already down. This guide is the hands-on version — how to actually measure your existing screen and read its specs off the part in your hands, so the replacement drops in and runs.
The short answer — six things we need:
(1) machine make & model, (2) screen diameter (the screen's own outside diameter, not the machine body), (3) mesh count and wire diameter, (4) alloy (304 standard, 316 upgrade, or 430 magnetic), (5) build (loose mesh or pre-tensioned), and (6) any backing screen or deblinding deck. Miss any one and the order can be wrong.
Don't want to measure it yourself? Send us your old screen and we'll match it — diameter, mesh, wire, weave, and alloy — and build the replacement to fit your machine. The old screen is the most reliable spec sheet there is. Learn more about our rescreening service, or call 866-265-1575 and we'll walk the measurements with you.
Line down? Most common sizes and meshes build fast — call for a firm date and ask about rush options.
Watch: measuring your screen for a replacement, start to finish (about 2 minutes).
Safety First: Get the Machine Stopped Before You Touch It
Before you pull anything to measure it: lock and tag out the drive to guard against accidental start-up, then wait for the machine to come to a complete stop. A round separator runs eccentric weights on the motor shaft, and the deck keeps moving after you hit stop — don't loosen the clamp band on a machine that's still shaking. Only once it's fully stopped and locked out do you release the clamp ring and lift the screen out.
First, Which Build Do You Have?
A round-separator screen comes in one of two builds, and it changes what you measure:
- Loose mesh — woven wire cloth cut to a disc that the operator tensions over the frame on install. You're specifying the cloth: diameter, mesh, wire, weave, alloy.
- Pre-tensioned — cloth stretched to a uniform tension at the factory and mounted onto a rigid support ring, dropped in as a finished unit. Here you also measure the ring: its outside diameter and its height.
Not sure which to reorder, or whether to switch builds? Our head-to-head on loose mesh vs. pre-tensioned screens covers which build fits which duty, and our primer on loose mesh screens for round separators covers the cloth itself. Either way, on a round separator the cloth is held between the machine's body sections and clamped down by a clamp ring (also called a tension ring) — not spring clips, and not the tension rails of a rectangular deck.
How to Measure the Screen Diameter
This is the number people get wrong most often. Measure the outside diameter of the screen itself — the cloth disc or the frame ring — not the machine body, and not the clamp band. The nameplate machine size is a starting point, but the screen's actual OD is what has to match.
In practice: measure across the center at the widest point, and sweep the tape a little to find the true maximum — a diameter read off-center always comes up short. On a big disc (48"–72") that's a two-person job, and a floppy loose-mesh disc should be laid flat or measured on its frame ring, since a bowed disc reads small. For a pre-tensioned screen, also measure the ring height — the overall height of the support ring where it seats in the machine — with a tape or calipers on the ring wall, because diameter alone won't tell us if the ring seats.
Round separators cluster around a set of common replacement diameters:
| Common replacement diameters | Notes |
|---|---|
| 18", 24", 30", 36", 40", 48", 60", 72" | The sizes that line up with standard factory machine models. |
| Anything else | Larger machines and odd sizes exist. We cut screens to any diameter — measure yours and give us the number. |
Treat that list as common replacement diameters, not a fixed menu. If your screen measures to something off-list, that's not a problem — it's just the number we build to.
How to Read the Mesh Off Your Old Screen
The most common spec mistake is ordering by mesh count alone. Mesh count doesn't define the opening by itself — you also need the wire diameter, because the opening is roughly the pitch (1 ÷ mesh count, in inches) minus the wire diameter. Two screens can both be "40 mesh" with different openings if the wire is thicker on one. (Our explainer on mesh count vs. micron rating covers the full relationship and how to hit a target particle size.) So capture both, off the part in your hands:
- Mesh count — read it off the screen tag first if it's legible. On coarse cloth you can count openings across one inch; on fine cloth, don't try to eyeball 200 wires in an inch — use a mesh-counting card or a pocket loupe, or count across two inches and divide.
- Wire diameter — measure a single wire with calipers or a micrometer. This is the number that pins down the actual opening.
- Weave — plain, twill, or dutch, depending on the cut and wire; see wire cloth weave types if you're not sure what you're looking at.
A worn screen's tag is often caked over or blasted off after a run of product — which is exactly why the old screen itself, measured directly, is the better reference than a half-remembered spec.
How to Tell What Alloy You Have
Confronting a dirty, unlabeled disc? A magnet is the one field test that works: 430 stainless is magnetic; 304 and 316 are essentially non-magnetic, so a magnet at least tells you whether you're holding a 430 screen or an austenitic 304/316. A faint or patchy pull is ambiguous, though — work-hardened 304 or embedded iron fines can fake it, so it's a clean, strong grab across the whole disc that marks 430. The magnet won't reliably tell 304 from 316 either way — for that, go by your prior spec or the machine's service history, or send the old screen in and we'll confirm it. And a magnetic read doesn't by itself mean your line runs a metal detector; 430 also turns up simply as an older or lower-cost magnetic grade.
For the reorder itself, 304 is the standard and handles most dry, non-corrosive duty at the best price; step up to 316 for wet, corrosive, or washdown service, and use magnetic 430 where a downstream metal detector needs the cloth to be detectable. Our deep dive on 304 vs. 316 stainless covers when the upgrade is worth it.
Measure the Whole Stack: Backing Screens and Deblinding Decks
Fine cloth often doesn't run alone. Two things live in the screen zone and both belong on the order, so note them while the machine's open:
- Backing (support) screen — when the working mesh is fine, a coarser support mesh underneath carries the load. Built together, that's a "sandwich" screen: fine working cloth on top, coarse support cloth on the bottom of the ring. Note whether your screen has one, because it's part of the build.
- Anti-blinding deck — bouncing balls or slider rings that ride between a support tray and the screen to keep the openings clear. As a rule of thumb, bouncing balls suit coarser cuts because they hit with more energy, while slider rings suit the finer decks, where a gentler wiping action is what you want. If your machine runs one, tell us so the new screen is built to work with it.
One terminology note that trips people up: a "wagon wheel" is a screen support — a radial structure (you'll spot it as a metal spider under the cloth) that backs dense material or fine cloth on larger diameters — not the center tie-down. The center tie-down is its own part that stabilizes the middle of the screen. If yours has either, note it.
And don't confuse blinding with tension while you're at it: chronic blinding — near-size particles wedging into the openings — is not primarily a tension problem, so you spec a deblinding deck for it, not a tighter screen. (A slack screen does blind worse, so tension isn't nothing — it's just not the fix.)
One Install Number Worth Having: Clamp-Ring Torque
Once the correct screen shows up, the clamp ring is a torqued joint, not "snug it and go." Sweco, for example, specifies tightening the clamp-ring hardware to about 32 ft-lb (43 Nm) on the standard 3/8" hardware used on 24"–72" units — and about 5 ft-lb on the 1/4" hardware of an 18" unit — then re-checking that torque after roughly one hour of operation, because the stack settles on the first run. (Heavier-duty clamp rings with 1/2" hardware run higher, around 40 ft-lb.) Values differ by clamp-ring type and machine, so confirm the exact figure against your unit's manual rather than torquing to a number you half-remember. Skip the re-torque and the joint loosens, the screen loses tension, and separation drifts.
The Measurement Checklist
Have this in hand (or your old screen in a box) before you call, and the order goes right the first time:
- Machine make & model — off the nameplate on the frame or motor housing.
- Screen diameter — the OD of the cloth disc or frame ring, measured across center at the widest point on the screen itself.
- Ring height — for a pre-tensioned screen, the overall ring height where it seats.
- Mesh count + wire diameter — both, so the opening is defined.
- Weave — plain, twill, or dutch.
- Alloy — 304, 316, or 430.
- Build — loose mesh, or pre-tensioned.
- Backing screen, deblinding deck, wagon-wheel support, or center tie-down — note any present.
And don't let a stock catalog box you in. We build screens to any size, for any machine, in whatever mesh, wire, weave, or alloy the job needs — loose or pre-tensioned, including odd diameters and off-size machines a catalog won't cover. Every screen is built to fit your machine, or we make it right.
Reordering a full stack for a multi-deck machine? Measure and spec each deck separately — that guide covers how.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I measure a round separator screen for a replacement?
Measure the outside diameter of the screen itself — the cloth disc or frame ring, across the center at the widest point — not the machine body or clamp band. Then capture the mesh count and the wire diameter (you need both to define the opening), the weave, the alloy, and whether it's loose mesh or a pre-tensioned ring. For a pre-tensioned screen, also note the ring height. The most reliable method is to send us the old screen and let us match it.
Why isn't mesh count enough to order a screen?
Because mesh count alone doesn't define the opening — wire diameter does the rest. Two screens can both be the same mesh count but have different openings if one uses thicker wire. The opening is roughly the pitch (1 divided by mesh count, in inches) minus the wire diameter, so without the wire size the opening is undefined. The ASTM E11 test-sieve standard specifies both numbers for every sieve for that reason.
What are the common round separator screen diameters?
Common replacement diameters are 18", 24", 30", 36", 40", 48", 60", and 72", which line up with standard factory machine models. Larger and odd sizes exist too — we cut screens to any diameter, so measure yours and give us the number.
How can I tell if my screen is 304, 316, or 430 stainless?
Use a magnet. 430 is magnetic; 304 and 316 are essentially non-magnetic, so a magnet tells you whether you have a 430 detectable-grade screen or an austenitic 304/316. It won't reliably distinguish 304 from 316 — for that, go by your prior spec or service history, or send the old screen in and we'll confirm the alloy. For selection, 304 is the standard, 316 is the upgrade for wet or corrosive duty, and 430 is used where a metal detector needs detectable cloth.
Do I measure the machine or the screen?
The screen. Measure the actual outside diameter of the screen's cloth disc or frame ring, not the machine bore or the clamp band. The nameplate machine size is only a starting point; the screen's real OD (and, for a pre-tensioned screen, the ring height) is what has to seat in the machine.
Can you match a screen if I don't know all the specs?
Yes. Send us the old screen and we'll measure the diameter, mesh, wire, weave, and alloy off it directly and build the replacement to fit. Tell us the machine make and model too if you have it. The old screen is the most reliable spec sheet there is.
Ready to Order? We'll Confirm the Spec With You
Give us your machine, your measurements, or just the old screen, and we'll build the right replacement to fit. Browse round vibratory replacement screens, send your old screens in for rescreening, or call 866-265-1575 for a quote. Most common sizes and meshes build fast — call for a firm date and ask about rush options if you've got a line down. Not sure what you're looking at? Contact us and we'll help you order the right screen the first time. Online ordering for round separator screens is coming soon.
