Regenerator and heat materials: stainless mesh counts, steel wool, scrubbers, mica, fiberglass, ceramic, firebrick — dimension sheet
Source: Xem Studio, https://xemstudio.com/objects/regenerator-and-heat-materials/  (CC BY 4.0)
Basis: ASTM E11 wire-mesh sizes (mesh count, wire diameter, opening); steel-wool grades; common insulator sheet and brick sizes
Catalog version: 2026-10-20

Sizes: see table below
- Stainless mesh (ASTM E11), count → wire Ø / opening: #40 → 0.25 / 0.42 mm; #60 → 0.19 / 0.25; #80 → 0.14 / 0.18; #100 → 0.10 / 0.15; #150 → 0.066 / 0.104; #200 → 0.053 / 0.074. Regenerators want #100–#200 at 60–70% porosity (loosely stacked discs); #40–60 for low-temperature demonstrators where flow loss matters more than heat capacity.
- Alternatives by thermal mass per flow loss, best first: stacked stainless mesh discs; stainless pot scrubber (knitted 0.1 mm wire, ~95% porosity, good enough and 1 dollar); steel wool grade 0000 (0.025 mm fibres, rusts, packs too dense if squeezed; grade 0–1 is 0.06–0.09 mm). Copper mesh conducts heat along the regenerator (bad): use stainless.
- Insulation: mica sheet 0.1–0.5 mm (gaskets, 500 °C), fiberglass cloth 0.2–0.5 mm (to 540 °C), ceramic fibre blanket 6–25 mm (1260 °C), steatite standoffs (Ø6–12), insulating firebrick 230 × 114 × 64 mm (IFB 23, cuts with a saw). A 2 in spool regenerator holds about Ø47 × 40 mm of mesh = 25–30 discs.
- LES: the regenerator spool between the hot and cold ends is a split printed cage packed with #100 stainless mesh; firebrick under the burner; mica under the hot-end clamp.

material  size  temp_c  use
stainless mesh #100  0.10 mm wire, 0.15 opening  800  regenerator
stainless mesh #200  0.053 wire, 0.074 opening  800  high-T regenerator
stainless scrubber  0.1 mm knitted  800  cheap regenerator
steel wool 0000  0.025 mm fibre  400  demonstrators (rusts)
mica sheet  0.1–0.5  500  gaskets, washers
fiberglass cloth  0.2–0.5  540  wrap, gasket
ceramic fibre blanket  6–25  1260  burner box
steatite standoff  Ø6–12 × 10–30  1000  hot-end spacing
insulating firebrick  230 × 114 × 64  1260  burner base

Files elsewhere (not hosted by Xem Studio; license as stated by the publisher):
- Wikipedia: Mesh (scale) — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_(scale)
- Wikipedia: Regenerative heat exchanger — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_heat_exchanger
- Wikipedia: Steel wool — web — CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_wool
- McMaster-Carr: Wire cloth (free STEP per part, for your own design use; no redistribution) — STEP, PDF — McMaster-Carr site terms [verify license at link] — https://www.mcmaster.com/products/wire-cloth/
- Long Earth Society: Engine and rig builds — web, video — LES site — https://longearthsociety.com/engineering/

Free files (CC BY 4.0, Xem Studio; STEP + STL, 5 parts): https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/regenerator-and-heat-materials/index.json
API: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=regenerator-and-heat-materials