Choosing Sheet Metal Gauge

Selecting sheet metal thickness requires familiarity with material gauges.

Choosing sheet metal gauge.

With a sheet metal gauge table the process is simplified to just a few clicks. Next we use the pull down menu to select the appropriate table. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material. Gauge or gage sizes are numbers that indicate the thickness of a piece of sheet metal with a higher number referring to a thinner sheet.

It is very important that you are using the correct product to optimize efficiency and functionality. For cnc machined parts panels and enclosures 6061 aluminum is ideal because the material is softer and is easily milled. The thicker the piece of sheet metal the heavier in weight the material is for building. A gauge conversion chart can be used to determine the actual thickness of sheet metal in inches or millimeters.

With custom sheet metal fabrication always note that the higher the number of the gauge the thinner the metal. This is choosing the right thickness or gauge of sheet metal. The manufacturers standard gage provides the thicknesses for standard steel galvanized steel and stainless steel. The gauge number 18 holds no relevance to the actual measurements.

Choosing the right gauge sheet metal for your fabrication now moving into something that will be more specific to each customer and each sheet metal project. First we choose the option to use a gauge table.