Aluminum sheet, also known as aluminum plate, is the result of the basic raw material aluminum being pressed and rolled under high pressure into panel form.
Aluminum panels are characterized as being very thin and lightweight, yet strong enough to provide extreme versatility and have the inherent property of being easy to install and maintain. It also has many other unique and practical properties that make it useful in a wide variety of industrial, agricultural, home DIY, and manufacturing/production applications.
Aluminum panels can be coated with a range of additional coatings to create durable materials in outdoor environments or other challenging environments such as exterior trim. The extremely lightweight nature of very thin aluminum sheet makes it ideal for use in beverage cans, food containers and other everyday products suitable for high volume storage, transportation and retail.
Surface size and thickness are the main factors to consider when thinking about purchasing aluminum sheet. While overall surface area is a key aspect to consider first and foremost when you are planning a job with this sheet metal, the various material finishes available will also play an important role in helping you choose the ideal type of aluminum sheet for your needs and intended application.
For example, anodized aluminum panels offer both strong protection against corrosion and a more aesthetically pleasing looking exterior surface, while raw or unfinished aluminum panels can be coated or protected in a variety of other ways after the initial forming and fabrication is complete. Suitable for riveting and sheet fixing as well as welding purposes, aluminum sheet is considered a particularly user-friendly sheet metal, highly formable and easy to cut to size for a variety of applications.
Typically cut to a thickness of 1mm - 2mm, at this weight it can be easily formed by hand or with smaller hand held tools. Thicker plates may require manually operated forming machines or more industrial type pneumatic presses to produce the desired shape.