Standard Tolerances For Aluminum

Usually, choosing material thickness is one of the first steps a designer takes when starting a project. We work with nominal thicknesses, so it's important to know the thickness tolerance on the material you chose, in order to know if the final product will be suitable for your application. It's also important when working with sheet metal that you factor in finish tolerances. For example, if you add a finish such as powdercoat, you add more thickness - this should be factored into your design at the beginning.

5052 Aluminum - H32

Aluminum	Specified Thickness	Tolerance
	0.250" | 6.35 mm	± 0.014" | 0.35mm
	0.188" | 4.78 mm	± 0.009" | 0.23mm
8 Gauge	0.1285” | 3.26mm	± 0.007" | 0.18mm
10 Gauge	0.102” | 2.59mm	± 0.006" | 0.15mm
11 Gauge	0.091" | 2.31mm	± 0.0045" | 0.11mm
12 Gauge	0.081" | 2.06 mm	± 0.0045" | 0.11mm
14 Gauge	0.064" | 1.63 mm	± 0.0040" | 0.10mm
16 Gauge	0.051" | 1.30 mm	± 0.0035" | 0.04mm
18 Gauge	0.040" | 1.02 mm	± 0.0035" | 0.09mm
20 Gauge	0.032" | 0.81 mm	± 0.0030" | 0.08mm

6061 Aluminum - T6

Aluminum	Specified Thickness	Tolerance
	0.1285" | 3.26 mm	± 0.007" | 0.18mm
	0.188" | 4.78 mm	± 0.009" | 0.23mm
*	0.250" | 6.35 mm	± 0.014" | 0.36mm
*	0.375" | 9.53 mm	± 0.017" | 0.43mm
*	0.500" | 12.7 mm	± 0.023" | 0.58mm