Gauge Definition Sheet Metal

Unit of thickness of a metal sheet or wire.

Gauge definition sheet metal.

Sheet metal thickness gauges for steel are based on a weight of 41 82 pounds per square foot per inch of thickness. In most of the world sheet metal thickness is consistently specified in millimeters. How gauge thickness works. For example 18 gauge steel according to a gauge conversion chart is 0 0478 inch or 1 214 millimeter.

A measure of thickness for sheet metal. In the u s the thickness of sheet metal is commonly specified by a traditional non linear measure known as its gauge. Commonly used steel sheet metal ranges from 30 gauge to about 7 gauge. Sheet metal gauge size chart 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.

Why gauge thickness matters. As the gauge number increases the material thickness decreases. 1 for sheet metal a retrogressive scale higher numbers mean lower thickness that starts with 10 gauge representing a thickness of 3 416 millimeters or 0 1345 inches. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material.

Metal decking is most commonly 16 18 20 and 22 gauge in thickness. The larger the gauge number the thinner the metal. As the gauge number increases the thickness drops by 10 percent for example a 12 gauge sheet is 2 732 millimeters thick and a 13 gauge sheet is 2 391 millimeters thick. The larger the gauge number the thinner the metal.