Description
Aluminum sheets
Aluminum sheets, also known as aluminium plates, are the
result of basic raw-form aluminium being pressed and rolled into
panel form under high pressure
Aluminium sheeting is characteristically manufactured to be
very thin and lightweight, yet sturdy enough to offer extreme
versatility alongside inherent ease of installation and
maintenance. It also boasts numerous other unique and useful
properties that make it very widely deployed today across an
enormous variety of industrial, agricultural, home DIY and
manufacturing/production applications.
A range of additional coatings applied to aluminium sheets can
help create a long-lasting material for use in outdoor settings or
other challenging environments, such as for exterior cladding. The
extremely lightweight nature of very thin sheet aluminium makes it
ideal for use in drinks cans, food containers and other everyday
products suitable for high-volume storage, transport and
retail.
Types Available
There are numerous types of aluminium sheets available to buy
on todays market. In this section, well look briefly at some of the
more common aluminium sheet products youll find for sale from
various suppliers and manufacturers. The types we have available
include: perforated sheet, Aluminium chequered plates, anodized
sheets, composite and brushed aluminum sheets.
Properties
Aluminium sheets are arguably among the most widely used types
of abrasives and engineering materials today. This is largely due
to some key aluminium sheet metal properties which, when viewed in
combination, set it apart from other metal plate types for ideal
use in a broad array of environments and applications.
Its most valuable properties include:
Lightweight (around 1/3 the mass of steel by volume), so an
extremely cost-effective solution in transport and logistics-based
operations
Strong enough to be suitable for various building and
structural applications
Resistant to corrosion in outdoor and moisture-exposed
applications
Easily formable, with a relatively low melting point (**0
celsius) even at thicker gauges
Suitable for food-grade uses, including direct contact
packaging, due to being non-reactive and completely impermeable to
smells and flavours (even at extremely lightweight foil
thicknesses)
Fireproof - will not burn except in very thin films, and
releases no toxic gases when melted
Highly reflective, making it suitable for use in
energy-efficient heating and lighting systems
Excellent conductive properties for both heat and electricity
(roughly twice that of copper), again making it suitable for
economical heat and power systems
Easily recyclable, with low loss rates during breakdown
(around three-quarters of all the sheet aluminium ever made is
still in active circulation today)
Long-lasting and low maintenance, for reduced replacement
rates and lower environmental impact
Available in a practically unlimited range of thicknesses and
sheet sizes
Sizes
There are a wide variety of aluminium sheet, plate and foil
sizes sold around the world. Generally speaking, any aluminium
panel between about 0.2mm to 6.5mm thick is usually considered an
aluminium sheet, whereas thinner gauge products than this would
typically be classified and sold as foils. Thicker gauges than
6.5mm (roughly a quarter of an inch) are most often referred to as
aluminium plate.
The right choice for a given application will depend entirely
on the degree of flexibility/rigidity required for the sheet to
perform its intended function.
Thickness (mm) Common uses
*9 3mm 3mm aluminium sheet is often found on slightly thicker
panels, such as interior wall coverings or perforated privacy
screens.
6 6mm Often selected for walkways and floor coverings intended
for use in high traffic areas, particularly when sold as chequered
or durbar plates.
***0 Thicknesses of *0mm and above is often manufactured to
***2 alloy specifications, making it suitable for more robust
applications such as in heavy duty or military environments, panels
for heavy machinery and large-scale transport, skips, construction
and industrial waste management, or larger sterile/food-grade
containers for the agricultural and production sectors.
