Choosing Sheet Metal Gauge

The gauge number 18 holds no relevance to the actual measurements.

Choosing sheet metal gauge.

For sheet metal parts 5052 is preferred as the metal can bend to a tighter radius than 6061 without cracking. 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. For cnc machined parts panels and enclosures 6061 aluminum is ideal because the material is softer and is easily milled. For example 18 gauge steel according to a gauge conversion chart is 0 0478 inch or 1 214 millimeter.

A gauge conversion chart can be used to determine the actual thickness of sheet metal in inches or millimeters. The thicker the piece of sheet metal the heavier in weight the material is for building. Selecting sheet metal thickness requires familiarity with material gauges. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material.

Choose the check mark to use a gauge table. First we choose the option to use a gauge table. The manufacturers standard gage provides the thicknesses for standard steel galvanized steel and stainless steel. With custom sheet metal fabrication always note that the higher the number of the gauge the thinner the metal.

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.