Plastic support net for filter media

A plastic support net for supporting a filter medium having a number of longitudinally extending pleats, opposing faces of adjacent pleats forming a valley therebetween, and including a pair of peak portions and a valley portion, the plastic support net comprising:

• spaced strands extending in a first direction and spaced strands extending in a second direction generally transverse to the first direction bonded to the spaced strands extending in the first direction, the strands extending in the first direction continuously extending over the valley and peak portions of opposing faces of adjacent filter medium pleats and being aligned in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the filter medium pleats, the plastic support net being pleated for supporting the pleated filter medium in a pleated shape, and the plastic support net being formed of a plastic material capable of being pleated into a pleated shape at an ambient temperature and substantially holding the pleated shape after the ambient pleating operation.

A method for forming a pleated filter assembly, the method comprising of:

• providing a generally planar plastic net adjacent to a generally planar filter medium to obtain a generally planar filter assembly;
• and
• pleating the generally planar filter assembly at an ambient temperature to obtain a pleated filter assembly including a pleated filter medium for removing particulate matter from a fluid stream and having pleats extending in a longitudinal direction and a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a pleated plastic support net for holding the pleated filter medium in a pleated shape after the ambient temperature pleating operation.