By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-09-04 01:38:45 | Word Count: 664
When it comes to measurements and calculations, the United States uses specialized numbers and systems, different from those in Europe, and specifically, the United Kingdom. In the United States, the standard gauge for sheet metal is known simply as the Manufacturers Gauge for Sheet Metal.
The U.S. Standard gauge was developed in 1893 as a way to measure tax costs for sheet metal. Other gauges developed over the years, but the U.S. Standard gauge remained dominant. Throughout the years, the U.S. Standard gauge evolved to become the Manufacturers Standard Gauge, which is more commonly used today. Some still refer to the gauges as though they are interchangeable and for the most part, they are.
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The U.S. standard gauge for sheet metal measures the most common forms of metal used in manufacturing. Those metals include: standard steel (sometimes known as mild steel), stainless steel and galvanized steel. Different sheet metal gauge charts are used for other metals. As a result, each gauge chart is relative to particular metals.
To clarify, a gauge is the standard measurement for determining the thickness and weight of certain types of metal without having to measure each. A person can consult a sheet metal gauge chart to see how different sheet metal stack up against each other.
Thicknesses vary upon the metals are cut. With the U.S. standard gauge for sheet metal, a person can understand whether a sheet is like foil, indicating a thin thickness, or a plate, indicating a thickness over .25 inches. The higher a gauge, the thinner the metal is. Gauges vary from 36 gauge to 3 gauge and sometimes higher or lower depending on the specific purposes. Deviations are rare in the U.S. standard gauge. Additionally, a U.S. Standard gauge will usually be translated into inches. The gauges are based upon the basic measurements of 41.82 pounds per square-foot being equal to 1 inch of thickness for a piece of sheet steel.
The U.S. Standard gauge for sheet metal does more than ascertain a thickness, but also provides the inherent weight properties of the metals mentioned above. In doing so, a manufacturer can best understand how the metals properties will impact weight and placement in certain manufacturing processes.
The U.S. Standard serves a vital purposes that creates a relative uniformity among sheet metal manufacturers. Though manufacturers processes vary and affect the outcome, sheet metal manufacturing processes remain very similar. To that end, the U.S. Standard gauge for sheet metal allows consumers to know, within a small range of error, the properties (weight, thickness and gauge) of sheet metal being purchased.
With accuracy and precision, the U.S. Standard gauge for sheet metal allows manufacturers to have a trust and reliability in the product they buy. Manufacturers needed and continue to need the U.S. Standard gauge because manufacturing needs to be as close to an exact science as possible. Sheet metals are used in automobiles, airplanes, newspaper production and home manufacture. Whether big or small, fractions of an inch matter for quality, durability and cost. The U.S. Standard gauge helps protect all by giving a uniformity and equality among manufacturers.
