Sheet metal weight calculator
Thickness, sheet size and quantity — the mass of one sheet, of the whole batch and of a square metre. For steel, stainless, aluminium and the rest; density follows from the material you choose.
The "width" field is the sheet width, "length" its other edge in metres. For a 1250×2500 sheet enter width 1250 and length 2.5.
Short answer
Mass per square metre of steel sheet is thickness in millimetres
times 7.85 kg. The mass of a sheet is that figure times its area
in square metres. The whole calculation fits on one line:
m = t · 7.85 · a · b, with t in mm and a
and b in metres.
Mass of 1 m² and of standard sheets — steel
| Thickness, mm | 1 m², kg | 1000×2000, kg | 1250×2500, kg | 1500×3000, kg | 1500×6000, kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 3.9 | 7.8 | 12.3 | 17.7 | 35.3 |
| 0.8 | 6.3 | 12.6 | 19.6 | 28.3 | 56.5 |
| 1.0 | 7.9 | 15.7 | 24.5 | 35.3 | 70.7 |
| 1.5 | 11.8 | 23.6 | 36.8 | 53.0 | 106.0 |
| 2.0 | 15.7 | 31.4 | 49.1 | 70.7 | 141.3 |
| 2.5 | 19.6 | 39.3 | 61.3 | 88.3 | 176.6 |
| 3.0 | 23.6 | 47.1 | 73.6 | 106.0 | 211.9 |
| 4.0 | 31.4 | 62.8 | 98.1 | 141.3 | 282.6 |
| 5.0 | 39.3 | 78.5 | 122.7 | 176.6 | 353.3 |
| 6.0 | 47.1 | 94.2 | 147.2 | 211.9 | 423.9 |
| 8.0 | 62.8 | 125.6 | 196.3 | 282.6 | 565.2 |
| 10 | 78.5 | 157.0 | 245.3 | 353.3 | 706.5 |
| 12 | 94.2 | 188.4 | 294.4 | 423.9 | 847.8 |
| 15 | 117.8 | 235.5 | 368.0 | 529.9 | 1059.8 |
| 20 | 157.0 | 314.0 | 490.6 | 706.5 | 1413.0 |
| 25 | 196.3 | 392.5 | 613.3 | 883.1 | 1766.3 |
| 30 | 235.5 | 471.0 | 735.9 | 1059.8 | 2119.5 |
| 40 | 314.0 | 628.0 | 981.3 | 1413.0 | 2826.0 |
1000×2000 and 1250×2500 are the thin sheets, usually cold rolled; 1500×3000 and 1500×6000 are hot rolled plate from 3 mm upwards. Thickness tolerance is set by EN 10051 for hot-rolled strip and EN 10131 for cold-rolled: on thin sheet the deviation reaches several per cent of the mass, so a weighed sheet rarely comes to exactly what the table says.
Other materials
Just change the multiplier. Mass per square metre at 1 mm thickness is as many kilograms as the density in g/cm³:
| Material | ρ, g/cm³ | 1 m², 1 mm | Relative to steel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structural steel | 7.85 | 7.85 kg | 1.00 |
| Stainless steel 304 / 316 | 7.90 | 7.90 kg | 1.01 |
| Cast iron | 7.20 | 7.20 kg | 0.92 |
| Copper | 8.96 | 8.96 kg | 1.14 |
| Brass | 8.50 | 8.50 kg | 1.08 |
| Titanium | 4.51 | 4.51 kg | 0.57 |
| Aluminium | 2.70 | 2.70 kg | 0.34 |
What sheet mass tells the welder
Sheet thickness decides everything that follows: electrode diameter, current, whether preparation is needed and whether it can be welded at all without burning through. Sheet up to 2 mm is short-arc and stitch-weld work; from 3 to 8 mm a normal weld with no preparation or a single bevel; above 10 mm several layers with heat input under control.
Sheet mass is at the same time the question of how to lift and turn it. A 1500×3000 sheet 6 mm thick weighs 212 kg — that is slings and magnetic lifters, not hands. The same sheet at 10 mm is 353 kg, so the station has to be laid out to avoid moving it a second time.
Setting parameters by thickness — welding current calculator; thin sheet without burn-through — welding thin sheet; the mass of sections and bars — metal weight calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does 1 mm sheet weigh per square metre?
7.85 kg. Hence the rule you can do in your head: mass per square metre in kilograms is the thickness in millimetres times 7.85. 3 mm sheet — 23.6 kg/m², 5 mm — 39.3 kg/m², 10 mm — 78.5 kg/m².
How much does a 1250×2500 sheet 4 mm thick weigh?
98 kg. The sheet is 3.125 m², so 4 × 7.85 × 3.125 = 98.1 kg. That is about the limit above which two people no longer carry a sheet.
What do stainless and aluminium sheet of the same thickness weigh?
Austenitic stainless (304, 316) has a density of 7.90 g/cm³, practically the same as structural steel — under one per cent apart. Aluminium is 2.70 g/cm³: aluminium sheet weighs 2.9 times less than steel of the same thickness.
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