WHICH ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS SHOULD YOU CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT?

Aluminium sheet is a material used throughout manufacturing, engineering, design, architecture, art and more! This is because it has a highly desirable mix of characteristics – strength, flexibility, light weight, corrosion-resistance, formability and a bright appearance.

Rapid Metals is your leading supplier of aluminium sheet metal for all these applications and more. We make getting the aluminium sheet you need simple, with our powerful online store, quick nationwide delivery and dedication to customer service.

One of the many elements you can set in the Rapid Metals online store is the aluminium sheet thickness. You can specify the length and width to your exact bespoke requirements (down to the millimetre!), but, like all metal suppliers, we sell our aluminium sheet in a range of standard thicknesses.

Why is this? And which aluminium sheet thickness should you choose for your project? We will answer these questions in this blog.

ALUMINIUM SHEET FROM RAPID METALS

All of Rapid Metals’ aluminium sheet is 1050 grade aluminium. This is a ‘commercially pure’ aluminium product, composed of 99.5% aluminium and minimal amounts of other elements.

Our aluminium sheet starts life as large ingots of aluminium, perhaps weighing many tons each. These are heated and passed through a rolling mill to produce large, flat billets. Stretching and straightening in this way relieves internal stresses and work-hardens the metal, giving it greater strength and much more consistent structure and finish. The billet of aluminium is heated again and put through a finer continuous mill to flatten further and thin it. This is then coiled into a roll of thick sheet or plate, for storage or transport.

The final sheet is produced by unrolling this metal and passing it through a further, finer set of rollers when cold. Cold-rolling produces more consistent and precise dimensions than hot rolling, allowing the aluminium sheet thickness to be finely adjusted and controlled, right down to 0.5mm thick aluminium sheet in some cases. Aluminium foil can be rolled (often with pairs of sheets) down to just 0.015mm, or even less for specialist materials.

This is why metal suppliers can only offer certain aluminium sheet thicknesses – they are produced by the manufacturer, and aluminium sheets are made in large quantities on rollers set to specific thicknesses.

If the thickness of the piece is greater than 6mm, the product is considered to be aluminium plate rather than aluminium sheet

While it’s practical to cut aluminium sheet to bespoke lengths and widths, it isn’t practical to cut or grind large sheets to specific thicknesses. It’s also very unusual to find applications where the aluminium sheet thickness is vital enough that it has to be made bespoke, while there is great benefit to specifying the other dimensions exactly, from creating panels that fit a particular space to minimising wastage.

However, you do still need to know which standard aluminium sheet thickness is the most suitable for your project – foil-thin aluminium sheet and thick structural sheet are not interchangeable!

ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESSES

One of aluminium’s primary characteristics is its good strength-to-weight ratio. But the ultimate strength of a sheet of aluminium depends to a great extent on its thickness. The aluminium sheet thickness will also largely determine the durability, flexibility and weight of the sheet.

The thinnest standard aluminium sheet thickness that Rapid Metals supplies is 1mm. As a thin sheet, this is easily bent, folded and formed into shapes, as well as having good malleability and ductility. It can be made into strong load-bearing forms to compensate for its relative lack of inherent strength.

1MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

1mm aluminium sheet is used for making packs and containers where hygiene and security are important, such as the food and pharmaceutical industries. Vehicle body structures and panels can also be made from 1mm aluminium sheet. So can parts of electronic items, whether that is the external case or internal parts like armatures or heat sinks. This thickness of aluminium sheet can also be used to make engraved signs or placards.

1.2MM AND 1.5MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

If you need the formability and minimal weight of 1mm aluminium sheet but need more of a margin for strength or durability, 1.2mm and 1.5mm aluminium sheet thicknesses can be a suitable choice. Aluminium sheet of 1.2mm or 1.5mm is a common choice for making kitchen cabinets, drawers and cupboards, with a good balance of light weight, low cost and durability. Many prefab buildings such as workshops, industrial units and utility sheds, use aluminium panels of 1.2mm or 1.5mm thickness as the curtain walls between load-bearing beams.

2MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

2mm aluminium sheet boasts better strength, durability and fatigue resistance while still having good formability characteristics. The greater mass of the sheet can also be a benefit when you are making use of aluminium’s heat transferring properties, such as making heat sinks, sockets, mounts and armatures for electronic components. It can also be used for making enclosures, battery trays and non-structural architectural parts such as cladding and sunshades.

3MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

A 3mm aluminium sheet thickness brings a great deal of versatility, with a very useful blend of strength and formability. This thickness is the minimum legally permitted for pressure vessels made of aluminium. The extra thickness gives products made from 3mm aluminium sheet greater resistance to flexing, bending and fatigue, and can bear moderate or intermittent loads. Liquid tanks, such as industrial storage tanks or the outer cases of vehicle fuel tanks, are often made of 3mm aluminium. 3mm aluminium sheet is also a recommended minimum for making floors, so long as the sheet itself is well supported. It can be especially useful where weight has to be minimised, but you want a corrosion-resistant material, such as in boats, trailers, caravans and horse boxes.

This is also a common thickness for kitchen work surfaces and splashbacks, combining durability with a hygienic and easily-cleaned finish. Staying in the kitchen, 3mm is also the minimum recommended thickness for the base of cookware made of aluminium, since this presents enough mass to evenly distribute the heat.

4MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

This is the thickness found in the base of heavy-duty kitchenware intended for professional use. You’ll also find this thickness of aluminium sheet used to make interior fittings such as handrails, kick plates and door handles that must be strong and resilient. It can also be used as cladding for buildings, and is strong and resilient enough to be used as a roofing material.

5MM AND 6MM ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS

Very thick aluminium sheet (which may be available as large as 10mm thick aluminium sheet) is mainly used for forming structural load-bearing parts, or specialist applications like heavy-duty pressure vessels.

CHOOSING ALUMINIUM SHEET THICKNESS – A SUMMARY

There simply isn’t room to list all the potential applications for aluminium sheets of different thicknesses. When selecting metal for your project, bear the following guidance in mind:

• Up to 1.5mm:Lightweight and easily formable. For precision, crafting and non-structural or load-bearing functions.
• 1.5mm to3mm: Medium-duty, a good combination of low weight, formability and durability. Can bear moderate loads.
• Above 3mm: Heavy taskswhere durability and strengths trump formability. Good for structural or protective purposes.

Whatever you need aluminium sheet for, contact Rapid Metals. We can advise you on the right grade and thickness of aluminium sheet for your project. If you require a specific type of metal, we can work with our suppliers to source it. No order is too difficult, too large or too small!