What the mesh is actually stopping
Mesh opening size and standoff distance are the same decision. Most buyers only make half of it.
The instinct is that a fence either keeps someone out or it does not. For security that is roughly true. For safety it is not, because the relevant question is not whether a person can walk through the fence. It is whether they can reach through it, and how far their arm gets.
ISO 13857 is the standard that answers this. It tabulates minimum safety distances to prevent hazard zones being reached by upper and lower limbs, and the figures come from worldwide anthropometric investigation, deliberately based on very slender fourteen-year-old limbs rather than average adults.
| Opening width | Slot | Square | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 mm | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Up to 6 mm | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Up to 8 mm | 20 | 15 | 5 |
| Up to 10 mm | 80 | 25 | 20 |
| Up to 12 mm | 100 | 80 | 80 |
| Up to 20 mm | 120 | Not tabulated | Not tabulated |
| Up to 30 mm | Not tabulated | 120 | 120 |
| Up to 40 mm | Not tabulated | 200 | 120 |
This is the single most misunderstood thing about wire partitions. A standard 2 inch industrial mesh is an excellent security barrier and a poor short-range safety guard, because a hand and forearm pass straight through it. If you are fencing a robot or a machine, either accept a standoff of roughly 850 mm, about 33 inches, or specify a much finer mesh so the fence can sit close. There is no third option, and no amount of gauge fixes it. Gauge is about how hard the wire is to cut; opening size is about what fits through it.
For a slot, the governing figure is the narrow dimension, not the long one. A 2 inch by 1 inch mesh is treated as a 1 inch slot rather than a 2 inch square, which is one reason rectangular woven mesh is specified where square welded mesh would not do. Do not assume the two are interchangeable because the wire gauge matches. Always confirm the required distance for your specific mesh and hazard against the standard and a risk assessment.
Safe distance calculation, what OSHA 1910.212 requires and where impact protection differs from machine guarding are covered in our barriers and machine guarding guide. This section is about how mesh geometry feeds into that calculation.
Woven versus welded wire
Two construction methods, two different failure modes, and a real price difference.
Heavy duty
Woven wire
Wires are interlaced rather than fused, then the whole panel is welded into a heavy hot-rolled angle frame. Published specification here is 10 gauge woven wire in a 2 inch by 1 inch rectangular mesh, with stiffener bars added on larger panels for rigidity. Because the wires are woven, a single cut does not open a hole; the surrounding weave holds. This is the specification for high-security, high-abuse and regulated applications.
Medium duty
Welded wire
Wires are fused at each intersection into a rigid sheet. Published specification here is 10 gauge in a 2 inch by 2 inch welded mesh on a 1-1/4 by 1-1/4 by 1/8 inch angle frame. Lighter, faster to assemble and less expensive for the same enclosed area. The trade is that cutting a weld releases the intersection, so a determined attack progresses faster than it would through woven mesh.
Both of these are 10 gauge, which is why comparing quotes on gauge alone tells you very little. What differs is the mesh geometry, the frame section and how the wire behaves when attacked. Ask for mesh pattern, frame size and construction method, in that order, and treat gauge as the least informative of the three.
Which one to buy
- Woven, 2 by 1 mesh for controlled substances, high-value stock, tool cribs in rough environments, anywhere a forklift may contact it, and anywhere the enclosure is part of a regulatory requirement.
- Welded, 2 by 2 mesh for general inventory control, internal storage cages, tidy separation of areas, and lighter-duty security where the threat is casual rather than determined.
- Neither where the requirement is actually a solid barrier. A wire partition is transparent by design. If you need visual privacy or dust containment, a partition is the wrong product no matter how heavy the wire.
The frame, the posts and the hardware
A cage is defeated at its weakest fastener, not through its strongest panel.
Nobody cuts through 10 gauge mesh if there is a bolt head available instead. The security of a wire enclosure is decided by things that do not appear in the headline specification.
Two enclosures can quote identically on gauge, mesh and height, and one can be disassembled from the aisle. This is not an exotic security concern, it is the ordinary way cages get emptied without any sign of a break-in. If a supplier cannot tell you which side the fasteners are on, that is your answer.
The DEA cage specification
This is the rare case where the product specification is written into federal regulation, line by line.
For storing controlled substances, you are not choosing a cage. You are meeting a construction standard set out in 21 CFR 1301.72, and the regulation is unusually specific about what the enclosure must be made of.
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Walls | "Not less than No. 10 gauge steel fabric mounted on steel posts" |
| Mesh | Openings "of not more than two and one-half inches across the square" |
| Posts | "At least one inch in diameter", set in concrete or installed with lag bolts that are pinned or brazed |
| Post spacing | "No more than ten feet apart" |
| Reinforcement | "Horizontal one and one-half inch reinforcements every sixty inches" |
| Ceiling | Same material, or the cage "reaches and is securely attached to the structural ceiling of the building" |
| Door | "No. 10 gauge steel fabric on a metal door frame in a metal door flange" |
| Alarm | On unauthorised entry, transmits "directly to a central station protection agency or a local or state police agency" |
The distinction matters before you price anything. A wire cage addresses Schedule III, IV and V controlled substances. Schedule I and II require a solid-walled vault or safe, and no wire enclosure meets that requirement regardless of gauge. If you handle both, you need both, and the cage is only part of the answer.
How the products map to the rule
The DEA-specific product in this catalogue is built to those numbers deliberately: 10 gauge wire in a 2 by 1 inch mesh, which is well inside the two and a half inch limit; 2 inch square steel posts no more than 10 feet apart; a minimum of 1-1/2 inch horizontal bars every 5 feet, matching the sixty inch requirement; self-closing and self-locking doors; and 3/8 inch hardware inaccessible from the exterior. It is described as meeting the standards for Schedule III through V as outlined in Title 21 CFR sections 1301.72 to 1301.76.
The regulation gives two options: a mesh ceiling, or a cage that reaches and is securely attached to the structural ceiling. In a building with a high deck, running the cage to the structure can be a substantial job. Products in this range offer clear spanning ceilings up to 30 feet, which is usually the cheaper and far less disruptive route. Price the ceiling before you assume the cage cost is the panel cost.
Published guidance describes self-closing and self-locking doors as the requirement, with an alternative for occasional access being a 24-hour-a-day monitoring service. A door held open with a bin, which is what actually happens in a busy pharmacy or stockroom, defeats both. Specify the door hardware to survive the way people really work, not the way the procedure says they will.
These are the published requirements and the products built to them, presented so you can have an informed conversation. Controlled substance security is assessed by the DEA against your specific registration, location and circumstances, and other sections of Part 1301 apply. Confirm your obligations with the agency and your own compliance counsel before ordering.
Configurations, heights and doors
You buy the walls you do not already have, which is where most of the cost saving lives.
Partition systems are sold by wall count, because an enclosure built into a building corner needs fewer panels than a free-standing one.
A one-wall or two-wall configuration assumes the building wall is a barrier. Plasterboard on studs is not. If you are securing anything worth securing, either verify the wall construction or buy the extra panel, because a cage with one soft side is theatre.
Heights and panel widths
Published heights are 8 ft 5-1/4 in, 10 ft 5-1/4 in and 12 ft 5-1/4 in, with panel widths from 1 foot to 10 feet in 1 foot increments. The odd fractional heights are not arbitrary; they are the panel plus the frame and floor detail. Work in those increments when laying out, rather than designing to a round number and discovering it does not tile.
Doors
- Hinged. The default. Needs swing clearance inside or outside, which has to be found on the layout rather than assumed.
- Double hinged. For wide openings where a pallet jack or cart has to pass.
- Sliding. Where there is no room to swing. Slides along the panel line, so it costs you wall length rather than floor space.
- Vertical rise. Where there is neither swing room nor spare wall, and headroom is available.
Everything else in a wire enclosure is static. The door cycles thousands of times a year, takes the knocks, and is where every failure eventually shows up. Buying a heavier door specification than the panels is usually a better use of money than upgrading the panels.
Locks and access control
The lock is a policy decision expressed in hardware, and half the options do not lock at all.
Two of the standard options in this range are described plainly as "latches only; does not lock." A thumb-turn latch and a door knob entry set both hold the door closed and neither secures it. They are correct choices for a partition that separates areas or keeps a door from swinging, and completely wrong for a cage protecting anything of value. If the quote says latch, it is not a lock.
The mechanical options
- Key lock with recessed thumb turn inside. Cylinder key on the outside, thumb turn on the inside, fits hinged or sliding doors. The standard secure choice.
- Key lock with lever handle inside. The same lock with an ADA-compliant lever handle, for hinged doors. Specify this where accessibility applies, which in most workplaces is more often than people assume.
- Push bar. Runs the full width of the door on the inside. This is your egress answer, covered further in section ten.
- Alarm lock. Sounds a battery-powered alarm when opened, available with exterior key access. Useful on a door that should almost never be used.
The electronic options
- Ten-digit keypad operating an electric strike or magnetic lock on a four-digit passcode, programmable to up to 64 different codes. That code count is the useful specification: it decides whether you can issue individual codes or must share one, and a shared code is not an audit trail.
- Keyless entry with lever handle, combining coded access with an accessible handle.
- Five-button coded access, taking code or keyed entry.
- Card reader activating an electric strike or magnetic lock, supplied with ten cards.
- Magnetic lock for sliding doors, holding the door closed electrically. Note that a mag lock needs power, and what it does on power failure is a design decision you must make deliberately.
A key lock is ideal for three named keyholders and hopeless for forty maintenance staff across three shifts, because the keys end up copied or the door ends up propped. Count the people who legitimately need access and how often, then choose. Coded and card systems cost more up front and are usually cheaper than the rekeying you would otherwise be doing.
Machine guard and robot fencing
The same panels doing a completely different job, under a completely different set of rules.
Security fencing keeps people away from things. Safety fencing keeps things away from people, and the standard of proof is much higher, because the consequence of getting it wrong is an injury rather than a loss.
Section one gave the governing principle. It is worth restating in the form that matters on a drawing: the fence line is set by the mesh, not by where the space happens to allow. A 2 inch mesh guard needs roughly 850 mm of standoff from the hazard because the whole arm passes through it. If the cell layout does not have 33 inches to spare, the answer is a finer mesh or a different guarding strategy, not a closer fence.
Guard fencing sits inside a safety system that includes the interlocks, the control reliability of the stop function, and how the cell is entered for maintenance. Specify the fence from the risk assessment and the standards your machine is built to, with your safety engineer. This guide can tell you how mesh geometry drives distance; it cannot tell you your required safety distance, because that depends on your hazard.
Lift-out wire fencing lets a panel be removed rather than the fence being cut or unbolted. On a cell that needs a machine pulled out annually, that is the difference between an hour and a day. Ask for it on any run where large equipment sits behind the fence.
Driver cages and dock control
A small enclosure that solves a traffic problem, a security problem and a liability problem at once.
A driver access cage, sometimes called a building access cage or a man trap, creates a controlled entry point at a dock or door. Drivers and vendors enter the cage, present credentials, and wait there. Published description of the purpose is direct: it keeps drivers and vendors out of forklift lanes and away from inventory.
The safety case
People and forklifts share a door
Every dock has a point where someone on foot arrives in a space designed for trucks. A cage gives that person a defined place to stand that is not the traffic lane. This is the argument that usually justifies the purchase on its own, because pedestrian and forklift interaction is one of the highest-consequence exposures in any warehouse.
The security case
Credentials before access
The cage establishes a check-in point where credentials are verified before anyone goes further, which prevents tailgating and stops casual wandering into stock. It also gives you a defensible answer about who was in the building and where they were allowed to be.
Sizing and configurations
These come in two-wall and three-wall configurations, with the two-wall version fitting into a corner and the three-wall version standing off a single existing wall. Published sizes run from roughly 3 ft 4 in square up to 8 ft 6 in by 8 ft 4 in, with 3 foot or 4 foot hinged doors.
| Model | Configuration | Size |
|---|---|---|
| MT2-33HD | 2-wall | 3'4" x 3'4" |
| MT3-33HD | 3-wall | 3'4" x 3'4" |
| MT2-46HD | 2-wall | 4'4" x 6'4" |
| MT3-56HD | 3-wall | 5'6" x 6'4" |
| MT2-88HD | 2-wall | 8'6" x 8'4" |
| MT3-88HD | 3-wall | 8'6" x 8'4" |
| MTB-4 bench | Bench only | 4 ft long |
| MTB-8 bench | Bench only | 8 ft long |
Going from 3'4" square to 8'6" by 8'4" in the two-wall version is roughly a sixfold increase in floor area for a far smaller increase in price, because the fixed costs of a door, posts and hardware dominate. If you are undecided between two sizes, the larger one is usually better value than the difference suggests, and a driver waiting in a cramped cage is a driver who steps out of it.
Rack enclosures and lift-out panels
Using structure you already own instead of building a room around it.
If the stock you want to secure is already on pallet racking, you may not need a cage. You need to close the rack.
- Rack enclosures. Wire panels fitted to the rack itself, turning selected bays into a locked compartment. Far less floor space than a free-standing cage, because the rack is already there and the aisle is already there.
- Pallet rack backing. Mesh fitted to the back of a run, which serves two different purposes at once: it stops product being pushed through into the aisle behind, and it stops product being taken from the far side. In a back-to-back run the safety argument alone often justifies it.
- Lift-out panels. Panels that lift out of their channels rather than needing to be unbolted, for anywhere access is occasional but has to be full-width.
A pallet pushed slightly too far in a back-to-back run has to go somewhere. Rack backing catches it. If you have a walkway, a workstation or a door on the far side of a rack run, this is worth pricing even where security is not a concern at all. Our pallet racking guide covers the wider set of rack safety components, including column protection and the damage inspection obligations under ANSI MH16.1.
Fitting panels to racking does not change the rack's capacity, its beam spacing or its damage condition. If the run is already at its limit or has taken forklift damage, enclosing it secures a structure that has a separate problem. Fix the rack first.
Gates for openings you cannot close permanently
Expandable gates are the answer where an opening has to be blocked sometimes and clear at other times: a maintenance area, an aisle closed during a shift, a dock door standing open for ventilation. They come in steel, aluminium and plastic, and the material choice is mostly about weight against durability. A gate that is too heavy to move easily will be left open, which makes the lightest gate that survives your environment the correct one.
Sprinklers, fire and egress
Two ways a wire enclosure creates a problem in a building that was fine before you installed it.
The sprinkler clearance rule
A cage with a mesh ceiling sits below the sprinklers, and the code treats a freestanding partition as an obstruction with a required clearance beneath the deflector.
You choose the cage height from a list of three: 8 ft 5-1/4 in, 10 ft 5-1/4 in or 12 ft 5-1/4 in. Whether the chosen height leaves enough clearance under your sprinklers depends on your ceiling and head positions. Check it on the drawing. The alternative is discovering it at inspection, when the options are relocating heads or cutting down a cage you already paid for.
Getting out
A locked enclosure that people work inside is a room, and rooms need a way out that does not require a key. This is why the push bar exists in the lock range, running the full width of the door.
Does anyone work inside this enclosure, even briefly? Can the door be opened from the inside without a key, tool or special knowledge? And if the lock is electric or magnetic, what happens to it when the power or the fire alarm goes? Egress requirements are set by your building code and fire official, not by the fence supplier, so raise these with them while the layout is still on paper. This guide is educational and is not a code assessment.
Choosing by application
What we would specify, and why, for the situations that come up most.
Common and costly mistakes
Each of these is cheap to avoid at quote stage and expensive afterwards.
Treating a machine guard fence like a security fence
A 2 inch mesh admits a whole arm. The published example puts a 50 mm square opening at 850 mm of required standoff. If you cannot give the fence that distance, you need a finer mesh, not a closer fence.
Comparing quotes on gauge alone
Heavy duty woven and medium duty welded are both 10 gauge. Mesh pattern, frame section and construction method are what differ.
Buying a cage assembled with hardware reachable from the aisle
Fasteners must be accessible only from inside. A cage that unbolts from outside empties without any evidence of forced entry.
Specifying a latch and calling it a lock
Two standard options are described as latching only and not locking. Read the description rather than assuming.
Assuming a wire cage covers all controlled substances
A cage addresses Schedule III through V. Schedule I and II require a solid-walled vault.
Forgetting the ceiling in a DEA installation
The rule requires a mesh ceiling or attachment to the structural ceiling. In a high-deck building that is a significant cost, and clear spanning ceilings up to 30 feet usually beat running steel to the roof.
Relying on a building wall that is plasterboard
A one-wall or two-wall configuration assumes the existing wall is a barrier. Verify what it is made of, or buy the panel.
Leaving a gap at the floor
Panels should mount flush. A floor gap is an opening, and for guard fencing it is an opening that admits a leg.
Ignoring sprinkler clearance
Ordinary hazard occupancies require 18 inches from the sprinkler deflector to the top of a freestanding obstruction. Cage heights come in fixed increments; check the clearance on the drawing.
No way out without a key
If anyone works inside the enclosure, egress hardware is not optional. A full-width push bar exists for this reason.
Choosing a key lock for forty people
Keys get copied and doors get propped. Count the legitimate users before selecting hardware; coded and card systems are usually cheaper than repeated rekeying.
Buying the smallest driver cage that fits
The fixed cost of door, posts and hardware dominates the price. A cramped cage is one the driver steps out of, which defeats the purchase.
Frequently asked questions
What comes up most often on quote calls.
How far from a machine does a wire guard fence have to be?
It depends on the mesh opening, not on the gauge. ISO 13857 tabulates minimum safety distances for reaching through openings, based on worldwide anthropometric investigation using very slender fourteen-year-old limbs rather than average adults.
The published worked example is stark: a 50 mm square opening requires a minimum safety distance of 850 mm, while a 12 mm opening requires only 80 mm. Fifty millimetres is just under two inches, and at that size the whole arm passes through, so the distance is set by arm length. A standard 2 inch industrial mesh therefore needs roughly 33 inches of standoff. Your actual required distance comes from the standard and your risk assessment, with your safety engineer.
Woven or welded wire, and does it matter?
It matters more than gauge does. Woven wire interlaces the strands and is then welded into a heavy hot-rolled angle frame; published specification here is 10 gauge in a 2 inch by 1 inch rectangular mesh with stiffener bars on larger panels. Because the wires are woven, cutting one does not open a hole.
Welded wire fuses the strands at each intersection into a rigid sheet, published here as 10 gauge in a 2 by 2 mesh on a 1-1/4 by 1-1/4 by 1/8 inch angle frame. It is lighter, faster to assemble and cheaper. Cutting a weld releases the intersection, so a determined attack progresses faster. Woven for regulated, high-value or high-abuse applications; welded for general inventory control.
What exactly does the DEA require for a controlled substance cage?
21 CFR 1301.72 sets it out specifically. Walls of not less than No. 10 gauge steel fabric mounted on steel posts, with mesh openings of not more than two and one-half inches across the square. Posts at least one inch in diameter, set in concrete or installed with lag bolts that are pinned or brazed, no more than ten feet apart, with horizontal one and one-half inch reinforcements every sixty inches.
The ceiling must be of the same material, or the cage must reach and be securely attached to the structural ceiling of the building. The door must be No. 10 gauge steel fabric on a metal door frame in a metal door flange. An alarm system must transmit on unauthorised entry directly to a central station protection agency or a local or state police agency. Confirm your own obligations with the DEA and your compliance counsel, since other sections of Part 1301 also apply.
Can I store all controlled substances in a wire cage?
No. A wire cage addresses Schedule III, IV and V controlled substances. Schedule I and II require a solid-walled vault or safe, and no wire enclosure meets that requirement regardless of gauge or mesh.
If you handle both, plan for both from the start. The cage is the larger and more visible purchase, but it does not discharge the vault requirement.
How is a cage broken into?
Usually not through the mesh. It is unbolted. If the assembly hardware is reachable from the aisle, a panel can be removed with ordinary tools, nothing is forced, and no alarm fires because no entry was detected.
The specification to insist on is hardware accessible only from inside the cage. The products in this range use 3/8 inch hardware described as inaccessible from the exterior. Ask every supplier which side the fasteners are on, and treat an unclear answer as a decision.
What heights and sizes do partitions come in?
Published heights are 8 ft 5-1/4 in, 10 ft 5-1/4 in and 12 ft 5-1/4 in, with panel widths from 1 foot to 10 feet in 1 foot increments. The fractional heights account for the frame and floor detail, so lay out in those increments rather than designing to round numbers.
Configurations are sold by wall count: 1-wall fits between two existing walls, 2-wall suits a corner, 3-wall runs against an existing wall, and 4-wall is fully free-standing. The fewer walls you buy the cheaper it is, provided the building walls you are relying on are genuinely solid.
Which lock should I choose?
First, check that it is a lock. Two of the standard options are described as latching only and not locking, which is correct for a partition and wrong for a cage. The standard secure choice is a cylinder key lock with a recessed thumb turn inside, which fits hinged or sliding doors, and there is a version with an ADA-compliant lever handle inside.
Choose on the number of users rather than the value of the stock. Keys suit a handful of named holders. For larger groups, a ten-digit keypad operating an electric strike or magnetic lock, programmable to up to 64 different codes, or a card reader, avoids the copying and propping that defeats keys. Note that a magnetic lock requires power, so decide deliberately what it should do when power fails.
Will a cage interfere with my sprinklers?
It can, because a freestanding partition is treated as an obstruction. NFPA 13 (2025) at 10.2.8.3.2.3 requires that in ordinary hazard occupancies, where sprinklers are installed above freestanding partitions, room dividers and similar obstructions, the distance from the sprinkler deflector to the top of the obstruction shall be 18 in or greater. Section 10.2.8.3.2.4 permits 7 in or greater under certain conditions, and light hazard occupancies require only 3 in.
Because cage heights come in fixed increments, this needs checking on the drawing before you order. The alternative is finding out at inspection, when your options are relocating sprinkler heads or modifying a cage you have already paid for. Your fire protection professional and authority having jurisdiction make the call.
Do I need a way out of a locked cage?
If anyone works inside it, yes. A locked enclosure that people occupy is a room, and it needs egress that does not require a key, a tool or special knowledge. That is why a full-width push bar is offered in the lock range.
Three questions settle it: does anyone go inside, even briefly; can the door be opened from the inside without a key; and if the lock is electric or magnetic, what does it do when power or the fire alarm system changes state. Egress requirements come from your building code and fire official rather than from the fence supplier.
Is a rack enclosure as good as a free-standing cage?
For securing stock already on pallet racking it is frequently better, because it uses structure and aisle space you already have rather than consuming new floor area. Wire panels fit to the rack itself and turn selected bays into a locked compartment.
The caveat is that enclosing racking does not change the racking. If the run is at its capacity limit or has taken forklift damage, you have secured a structure that has a separate and more urgent problem. Also consider rack backing, which stops product being pushed through a back-to-back run into whatever is on the other side, a falling-object control as much as a security one.
What is a driver cage and is it worth the money?
It is a small enclosure at a dock or entrance where drivers and vendors check in, described as keeping them out of forklift lanes and away from inventory. Credentials are verified before anyone goes further, which prevents tailgating and gives you a record of who was allowed where.
The safety argument usually carries it on its own, since pedestrian and forklift interaction is among the highest-consequence exposures in a warehouse. Note that price scales much more slowly than floor area across the range, because the door, posts and hardware are fixed costs, so buying the larger size is usually better value than the difference suggests.
When should I use an expandable gate instead of a partition?
When the opening needs to be blocked some of the time and clear the rest: a maintenance area, an aisle closed during one shift, a dock door standing open for ventilation. A fixed partition would have to be removed and reinstalled; a gate simply folds back.
Gates come in steel, aluminium and plastic, and the choice is mostly weight against durability. Steel where it takes knocks, aluminium where it is moved frequently, plastic where the purpose is a visible procedural barrier rather than a physical one. The practical test is that a gate too heavy to move easily gets left open, so specify the lightest one that survives your environment.
Quick-reference spec table
Published figures, verified against the regulations, the standards and manufacturer data. Confirm against current documentation before ordering.
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Wall material | Not less than No. 10 gauge steel fabric |
| Mesh opening | Not more than 2-1/2 in across the square |
| Post diameter | At least 1 in |
| Post installation | Set in concrete, or lag bolts pinned or brazed |
| Post spacing | No more than 10 ft apart |
| Horizontal reinforcement | 1-1/2 in, every 60 in |
| Ceiling | Same material, or attached to the structural ceiling |
| Door | No. 10 gauge steel fabric, metal frame and flange |
| Alarm | Direct to central station or police on unauthorised entry |
| Applies to | Schedule III, IV and V |
| Schedule I and II | Solid-walled vault or safe, not a cage |
| Opening width | Slot | Square | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 mm | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Up to 6 mm | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Up to 8 mm | 20 | 15 | 5 |
| Up to 10 mm | 80 | 25 | 20 |
| Up to 12 mm | 100 | 80 | 80 |
| Up to 20 mm | 120 | Not tabulated | Not tabulated |
| Up to 30 mm | Not tabulated | 120 | 120 |
| Up to 40 mm | Not tabulated | 200 | 120 |
| 50 mm square, published example | 850 mm minimum safety distance | ||
| Specification | Heavy duty woven | Medium duty welded |
|---|---|---|
| Wire gauge | 10 gauge | 10 gauge |
| Mesh | 2 in x 1 in woven | 2 in x 2 in welded |
| Frame | Heavy hot-rolled angle | 1-1/4 x 1-1/4 x 1/8 in angle |
| Posts | 2 in square, 14 gauge tube | 2 in square |
| Hardware | 3/8 in, inside only | 3/8 in |
| Extra rigidity | Stiffener bars on larger panels | Not specified |
| Typical use | Regulated, high value, high abuse | Inventory control, lighter duty |
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Panel heights | 8'5-1/4", 10'5-1/4", 12'5-1/4" |
| Panel widths | 1 ft to 10 ft, in 1 ft increments |
| Configurations | 1, 2, 3 or 4 wall |
| Clear spanning ceiling | Up to 30 ft |
| Sprinkler clearance, ordinary hazard | 18 in or greater |
| Sprinkler clearance, reduced condition | 7 in or greater |
| Sprinkler clearance, light hazard | 3 in |
| Option | Secures? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Key lock with recessed thumb turn | Yes | Hinged or sliding doors |
| Key lock with lever handle | Yes | Meets ADA requirements, hinged doors |
| Thumb-turn latch | No | Latches only, does not lock |
| Door knob entry set | No | Latches only, does not lock |
| Ten-digit keypad | Yes | Electric strike or mag lock, up to 64 codes |
| Coded card reader | Yes | Ten cards supplied |
| Alarm lock | Yes | Battery-powered alarm on opening |
| Magnetic lock | Yes | Sliding doors, requires power |
| Push bar | Egress | Full width of the door, inside |
| Family | Brand | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy duty woven wire partitions | WireCrafters | High security, regulated and high-abuse enclosures |
| Welded wire medium duty cages | WireCrafters | Inventory control and general storage cages |
| DEA drug storage fencing | WireCrafters | Schedule III to V controlled substance storage |
| Driver and building access cages | WireCrafters | Controlled check-in at docks and entrances |
| Machine guard and robot fencing | WireCrafters | Guarding to a risk assessment and safety distance |
| Wire server security cages | WireCrafters | IT equipment in shared space, without blocking airflow |
| Rack enclosures and pallet rack backing | WireCrafters | Securing racked stock and catching pushed-through pallets |
| Lift-out wire fencing | WireCrafters | Full-width access without unbolting |
| Standard and custom door locks | WireCrafters | Mechanical, coded, card and egress hardware |
| Expand-A-Gates | Vestil | Temporary blocking of openings, in steel, aluminium or plastic |
Specifications and prices are as published and subject to change. Regulatory material here is educational and is not a compliance assessment, legal advice or a safety risk assessment. Controlled substance security is determined by the DEA against your specific registration and circumstances, and other sections of 21 CFR Part 1301 apply. Machine guarding distances must come from your own risk assessment and the standards your equipment is built to. Sprinkler clearance and egress are decided by your fire protection professional, building code and authority having jurisdiction. Tell us what you are enclosing, who needs access and how often, and whether anything hazardous or regulated is involved, and we will specify it.