Improve the performance of your lightning strike protection while reducing weight. CThru MeshTM expanded metal mesh delivers superior lightning strike protection with an ultra-lightweight design, setting a new standard in performance. Get Started >
Superior Aircraft Lightning Strike Protection
CThru MeshTM expanded metal foil is designed for aircraft components using composite materials to protect them from lightning strikes.
By implementing CThru MeshTM, the voltage and amperage of a lightning strike are distributed over the surface area of the component allowing it to exit without damage to the carbon fiber or other composite materials used in critical components.
Our mission: deliver the highest quality expanded metal with industry-leading quality, at a cost to meet every budget. Working in the stamped metals industry for over 35 years, our management team discovered we could provide a much-needed solution to our aerospace clients: expanded metal for electrical resistivity and conductivity as a base metal for lightning strike protection.
We are the first to introduce CNC-controlled expanding machines to manufacture expanded metal mesh with greater consistency.
The result?
- Superior Quality and Consistency – Our proprietary smart manufacturing technology develops stronger, more reliable, and more lightweight expanded metal mesh for lightning strike protection.
- Better Customer Service – We prioritize your needs with a customer-first approach and a dedicated support team.
- Faster Delivery – Our efficient production process and domestic manufacturing mean shorter lead times. For our global customers, our UK-based sales and distribution warehouse ensures quick and efficient deliveries.
Lightning Strike Protection: How It Works
Lightning strikes can deliver as much as 1,000,000 volts or 30,000 amps to aircrafts in flight. This instantaneous introduction of energy across the leading edges of the plane can cause damage to radome, nacelles, wing tips, horizontal stabilizer tips, vertical fin tips, flaps, landing gear, and air data sensors as it exits to the ground to complete the circuit.
While lightning strikes on aircraft are relatively common, significant events are rare because of the technology engineered into the aircraft. The metal skin of an aircraft is thick enough to protect internal spaces from a strike and severely reduce electromagnetic energy from entering electrical wires. But aircraft are continuously leveraging composite material to become lighter, stronger, and faster. These materials are poor electrical conductors that introduce risk into the overall lightning protection of the aircraft. Top aerospace and aircraft suppliers across the world rely on our expanded metal mesh to keep their critical composite components with complex shapes and surfaces safe from lightning strikes.
CThru MeshTM lightning strike protection is available in copper and aluminum. This technology is designed to provide protection for components in Zone 1A and 1C as designated by SAE ARP 5414.
CThru MeshTM Expanded Metal Foils for Aircraft
CThru Metals provides CThru MeshTM expanded metal foil in standard diamond sizes from 0.030”- 0.500”, with the number of openings per square inch varying from 25 to 5,000. We can also manufacture your custom expanded metal configuration based on pattern, thickness, width, material, and blanking/forming the design.
The proprietary expanding process developed by CThru Metals is lubricant-free and runs faster than the competition. This means you get a superior product that won’t fray or unravel like woven wire cloth, is cleaner to work with, and saves you money. Ready to upgrade to CThru MeshTM? Get started with our team today.