By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-09-04 03:09:28 | Word Count: 664
A sheet metal gauge chart is a chart that converts, compares and measures various types of sheet metal.
The way the chart measures sheet metal is in gauges, sometimes referred to as a gage. A gauge is a collection of numbers that identify how thick a particular piece of sheet metal is relative to other sheet metals.
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Sheet metal gauge charts are relative to the type of sheet metal. Therefore different charts are required for different types of metal. The chart formats vary depending on the qualities of the metal and the purposes they are used for. When using a sheet metal gauge chart, a person would be wise to note that a higher number indicates the sheet metal is thinner, except where noted.
* The Brown and Sharp Gauge is used for metal such as aluminum and brass. The Brown and Sharp Gauge is also known as the American Wire gauge because the metals utilized are commonly used in electricity conduction and wires. The Brown and Sharp Gauge is sometimes referred to as non-ferrous sheet metal gauges.
* The Manufacturers Standard Gauge measures the thickness levels for the most common forms of steel used in manufacturing: traditional steel (also known as standard or mild steel), stainless steel and galvanized steel
* The Birmingham Gauge, primarily used in the United Kingdom, is used for a variety of metals, especially strip metals and those used for tubing. The Birmingham gauge starts at 0000000, or 0.6666 inches thick.
A sheet metal gauge chart commonly displays comparisons for several similar metals. For example, standard steel, stainless steel and galvanized steels are common to the same gauge.
A sheet metal gauge chart ranges from 3 and up, exceeding 36, indicating the thinnest layers of sheet metal per inch.
In the American conversion style, a chart would show a gauge level, such as 9, then the conversion in a piece of standard steel, which would be .1495 inches. Two more columns will show results for galvanized steel, .1532 inches, and stainless steel, .1562. Certain charts may also detail aluminum.
Certain metals require specialized gauges that do not take the traditional form. Zinc would be an example. On a gauge for the zinc standard, the higher the number the thicker the sheet. The zinc gauge starts at 28, or 1 inch, then goes down to 1, or .51 inches.
Sheet metal gauge charts are essential to manufacturing and usage of sheet metals. In addition to being used for size measurements, weight, in the form of pounds-per-square-foot is used to ascertain the metals properties and suitability for use.
The last detail about sheet metal gauge charts to remember is their relativity. Though many advances have occurred in the industry of sheet metal manufacturing, measurements are still not perfect. In short, sheet metal measurements are not an exact science and depend on many factors. Those factors will make gauge thicknesses relative to the manufacturing processes. The processes include who manufactured the metal and which manufacturing cycle the metal was in. The sheet metal gauge chart numbers may appear similar from metal to metal and should be similar, but are not always.
Still sheet metal gauge charts eliminate much of the guess work and create what is as close as possible to uniformity among varying manufacturers.
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