Metal weight and cost calculator
Pick the metal and its form, enter the size and the number of pieces, and the calculator gives the weight of each piece and of the whole order. Add your supplier's price per pound or kilogram to get the material cost, and a stock length to see how many bars to buy.
The calculator
How is the weight of metal calculated?
Weight is volume times density. Work out the volume of the piece from its dimensions, then multiply by the density of the metal.
Sheet, plate and flat bar: thickness × width × length
Round bar: 0.7854 × diameter² × length
Round tube: 0.7854 × (outside diameter² − inside diameter²) × length
With the dimensions in inches and the density in pounds per cubic inch, the answer is in pounds. A 2 inch round bar of 6061 aluminum, 6 inches long, is 18.85 cubic inches, which weighs 1.84 lb.
How dense is each metal?
These are the densities the calculator uses. Grades in the same family are close to each other, so the figure for 304 also serves for most 300-series stainless.
| Metal | lb/in³ | g/cm³ |
|---|---|---|
| Mild steel (A36, 1018) | 0.2836 | 7.85 |
| Alloy steel (4140, 4340) | 0.2836 | 7.85 |
| Stainless 304 | 0.2890 | 8.00 |
| Stainless 316 | 0.2890 | 8.00 |
| Stainless 17-4 PH | 0.2818 | 7.80 |
| Aluminum 6061 | 0.0975 | 2.70 |
| Aluminum 5052 | 0.0968 | 2.68 |
| Aluminum 7075 | 0.1015 | 2.81 |
| Aluminum 2024 | 0.1004 | 2.78 |
| Aluminum 3003 | 0.0986 | 2.73 |
| Brass C360 | 0.3071 | 8.50 |
| Copper C110 | 0.3219 | 8.91 |
| Bearing bronze C932 | 0.3219 | 8.91 |
| Titanium grade 2 | 0.1629 | 4.51 |
| Titanium grade 5 (6Al-4V) | 0.1600 | 4.43 |
| Tool steel A2 | 0.2840 | 7.86 |
| Tool steel D2 | 0.2782 | 7.70 |
How do you get from weight to material cost?
Multiply the weight you have to buy by your supplier's price per pound. The weight to buy is more than the weight in the finished parts: every saw cut loses a kerf, the end of a bar is a drop, and a sheet leaves a skeleton. Enter a stock length and the calculator prices the whole bars the job takes.
For sheet, the sheet metal cut calculator gives the number of sheets and the scrap. The guide to how metal is priced covers what a supplier's price includes and how to put it on a quote.
Questions about metal weight and cost
How much does a 4 × 8 sheet of 16 gauge steel weigh?
About 78 lb. A 48 × 96 inch sheet of 16 gauge carbon steel is 0.0598 inches thick, which is 275.6 cubic inches of steel at 0.2836 lb per cubic inch.
How much lighter is aluminum than steel?
About a third of the weight. 6061 aluminum weighs 0.0975 lb per cubic inch and carbon steel weighs 0.2836 lb, so the same part in aluminum weighs about 34% as much.
How do I work out how many bars to buy?
Add the saw kerf to the length of one piece, and divide the stock length plus one kerf by that figure, rounding down. That is the number of pieces from each bar. Divide the number of pieces you need by it and round up. The calculator does this when you enter a stock length.
Where do the prices come from?
From you. Metal prices change with the grade, the size, the quantity and the month, so the calculator uses the price per pound or kilogram on your supplier's latest quote. The guide to how metal is priced explains what moves it.
Need a thickness for a gauge? See the sheet metal gauge chart. More calculators are on the tools page.
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