How do you calculate the weight of a steel plate?
Plate weight is length × width × thickness × density. Working in metres for length and width and millimetres for thickness, a carbon steel plate weighs length × width × thickness × 7.85 kilograms.
Key Takeaways
- The formula is length × width × thickness × density — a plain rectangular volume.
- Carbon steel shortcut: length (m) × width (m) × thickness (mm) × 7.85 = kg per sheet.
- A standard 2500 × 1250 mm carbon steel plate at 6 mm weighs about 147 kg.
- The same plate in 316 stainless weighs about 150 kg; in titanium Grade 2 about 85 kg.
- Thickness tolerance on hot-rolled plate is the main source of variance between calculated and weighed figures.
- Cut-to-size service avoids paying freight on offcuts that will be scrapped.
The formula and a standard-size example
Plate is a rectangular solid, so the calculation is length × width × thickness × density with no geometry to allow for. Working in millimetres throughout gives volume in cubic millimetres; divide by one billion and multiply by density in kg/m³.
The practical shortcut mixes units deliberately, because that is how plate is actually specified: length and width in metres, thickness in millimetres. Carbon steel plate weight in kilograms = length × width × thickness × 7.85.
Worked example. A 2500 × 1250 mm plate at 6 mm thick: 2.5 × 1.25 × 6 × 7.85 = about 147 kg. In 316 stainless the same plate is about 150 kg, and in titanium Grade 2 about 85 kg.
Standard plate sizes and cutting
Common stock sizes are 2000 × 1000 mm, 2500 × 1250 mm and 3000 × 1500 mm, with widths to 3,000 mm available on order. Thickness runs from 0.5 mm sheet through to heavy plate.
Where a component is smaller than a stock sheet, cut-to-size is usually the cheaper route once freight is included, because the buyer stops paying to ship material that will be scrapped. Send the cutting list with the enquiry and the quotation will show both options.
Frequently Asked Questions
About 147 kg in carbon steel, calculated as 2.5 times 1.25 times 6 times 7.85. The same plate in 316 stainless weighs about 150 kg.
Multiply length in metres by width in metres by thickness in millimetres by 7.85 for carbon steel. Substitute 8.0 for 316 stainless and 4.51 for titanium Grade 2.
Yes. Plates are cut to a supplied cutting list, which usually reduces landed cost because freight is not paid on material that will be scrapped.
From 0.5 mm sheet through to heavy plate, in carbon steel, stainless, duplex, alloy steel, nickel alloys and titanium, to ASTM A240, A516 and the applicable grade specification.