Stainless Steel Strip Brush

A stainless steel strip brush is a linear brush assembly built from continuous crimped stainless wire fill held in a channel or angle holder. The holder mounts along the edge of a gap or parallel to a moving surface, and the free wire portion outside the holder, the trim height, is the working contact zone.

On a sliding door, the brush holds a flexible contact line against the floor, jamb, or mating panel and slows the passage of dust, mist, drafts, light, and insects while the door moves through the fill. In a wiping or guiding role, the wire tips ride against a passing rail, sheet edge, or conveyor surface to remove loose material and keep the travel path clean.

The wire is not a gasket. It reduces leakage and splash but does not create a hermetic or pressure-tight seal, and it can score softer finishes if set too hard. The critical design relationships are the free trim height, the wire diameter, and the actual gap at the mounting line. Vertical, horizontal, and inverted mounting are all possible, but inverted or high-vibration installations should use end caps or retention details so the fill cannot walk out of the channel.

The standard production range for stainless steel strip brushes is shown below. Each row can be adjusted to the sealing or wiping requirement, and the final dimensions are selected together with the holder and mounting method.

• Sliding doors on machine enclosures, cleanrooms, ovens, and industrial buildings — the brush blocks dust, mist, light, and insects along the bottom or side gap while the panel slides through the fill.
• Linear rails and machine tool way covers — the wire wipes coolant, chips, and fine swarf off guide surfaces and keeps contamination out of bearing paths.
• Cable entry slots and floor openings for moving hoses, cables, or product carriers — the opening stays passable, but dust and loose granules do not pour through.
• Conveyor transfer points and edge gaps — the fill contains small parts, removes loose residue from belt edges, and reduces drift between adjacent conveyors.
• Vent, draft, and light-blocking gaps — some airflow continues, but direct line-of-sight and airborne debris are interrupted.

Pin the gap before the brush. Measure the actual gap at the mounting line, including any door sag, panel bow, or hinge drop. If the gap varies, the brush must be sized to hold contact at the widest point without binding at the narrowest point, or the mounting face must be corrected. Trim height that is too short loses contact; trim height that is too long adds drag and can permanently bend the outer wire tips.

Work from the compression range, not just trim height. Use 5 to 15% of trim height for light wiping, dust control, and low-drag passes across coated or machined surfaces. Use 10 to 25% for sealing against dust, mist, light, and insects where a stronger contact line is acceptable. Compression beyond about 25% flattens the fill and shortens service life.

Set wire diameter to the job. Fine wire from about 0.10 to 0.30 mm bends easily, follows irregular surfaces, and is the first choice for door gap sealing and dust barriers. Heavy wire from about 0.50 to 1.27 mm applies more mechanical action and is better for wiping coolant or chips, holding back larger granules, or guiding heavy sliding panels.

Choose the holder for how it mounts and what it sees. Straight aluminum channel works for dry indoor enclosures and simple screw mounting. Stainless or coated steel angle holders go into washdown, marine, or high-corrosion positions. A custom profile is used when the brush must clamp into an existing extrusion, form a radius, or match a specific fastener pattern.

When to choose a different brush. If the mating surface is painted, anodized, polished, or otherwise scratch-sensitive, a nylon, PBT, or horsehair strip brush may be the better contact. If the opening must be airtight, watertight, or pressure-tight, the strip brush needs to work in series with an elastomer gasket or mechanical seal, not instead of one. If the deposit is cured, baked-on, or firmly bonded, brushing alone may not remove it.

Stainless steel strip brushes are configured to the mounting face and the gap, not picked from a fixed catalog. For a new design, the most useful inputs are the actual installed gap, door or panel travel, opposing surface material and finish, residue type, cleaning or washdown chemicals, mounting face drawing, and any curves or end transitions.

• Fill configuration — stainless wire grade (304, 316, or other grades on request), filament diameter from 0.10 to 1.27 mm, trim height, fill density, and single or double fill rows.
• Holder profile — channel width from 3.2 to 14.3 mm, straight channel, angle, aluminum carrier, stainless or coated steel channel, formed radii, or notched and bent corners.
• Mounting — pre-punched holes on a customer pitch, slotted holes for adjustment, adhesive or pressure-sensitive backing, clips or brackets, or welded and studded mounting.
• End treatment — flush cut, sealed or closed ends, plastic or metal end caps, mitered corners, or notches for cable and material pass-throughs.
• Length and joining — any section length from 100 to 3,000 mm, with longer runs built as end-to-end butt joints and alignment details.
• Identification and packaging — part identification tags, lot marking, individual poly bagging, bulk pack, or custom carton labels for distribution programs.

If the application requires material certificates, dimensional inspection, or third-party testing of the brush assembly, we can coordinate those requirements as part of the custom specification. Provide the required documents and acceptance criteria with the RFQ.