Standard Tolerances For Cold Rolled Steel

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.

Cold Rolled Steel	Specified Thickness	Tolerance
11 Gauge	0.120" | 3.05 mm	± 0.006" | 0.15mm
12 Gauge	0.105" | 2.67 mm	± 0.006" | 0.15mm
13 Gauge	0.090" | 2.29 mm	± 0.005" | 0.13mm
14 Gauge	0.075" | 1.91 mm	± 0.005" | 0.13mm
16 Gauge	0.060" | 1.52 mm	± 0.005" | 0.13mm
18 Gauge	0.048" | 1.22 mm	± 0.004" | 0.10mm
20 Gauge	0.036" | 0.91 mm	± 0.003" | 0.08mm
22 Gauge	0.030" | 0.76 mm	± 0.003" | 0.08mm