Method of manufacturing battery plate grids

A battery plate grid includes an open, rectangular conductive framework, a conductive battery plate lug integral with the framework, a plurality of parallel ribs extending between a pair of opposite frame members of the grid, and a plurality of strands arranged to define a lattice structure bounded by the framework, the interstices of the lattice structure being arranged to receive the active material of the battery plate. To manufacture the grid, a strip of grid material is blanked to produce a preform grid having the same weight as the finished grid and having a rectangular framework of substantially the same dimensions as that of the finished grid, the preformed grid also including a lattice structure defined by a plurality of strands and arranged so that the dimensions of the lattice structure in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the preformed grid are less than the corresponding dimensions of the lattice structure of the finished grid. After blanking, the strands of the preformed grid are displaced in such a manner as to increase the dimension of the lattice structure in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the grid to the value required in the finished grid.