What are the sizes and dimensions of commonly available material stock you can work with as a design starting point as a mechanical design engineer?
Pipe material stock sizes?
Tubing sizes?
Material variations?
Grades of Steel?
Chemistry of steel?
Grades of castings?
Mechanical properties of various grades of material?
Drill sizes?
Tap size?
How machinable are different grades of material? Can you easily produce the design?
Find out some of the materials and tools you can use by exploring material grade, chemistry, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. These are a useful guideline, but always remember to do your own research as well.
Why You Need This Table Working with international suppliers or drawings from outside the US? The same steel has different names in different countries. This table maps the most common structural and engineering steels across seven national standards. Carbon & Alloy Steel Cross-Reference EN (Europe) SAE/AISI (US) UNS DIN (Germany) BS (UK) UNI (Italy) JIS … Read more
Decoding Steel Numbers Every time you see a steel callout like “4140” or “1018,” there’s a system behind those digits. The AISI/SAE numbering system tells you the steel’s composition at a glance — once you know how to read it. How the System Works Steel designations are typically 4 digits: XXYY First digit (X) — … Read more
What is Sheet Metal Gauge? Sheet metal thickness in the US is specified by gauge number rather than direct measurements. Confusingly, the gauge-to-thickness relationship is different for different metals. A 16-gauge sheet of steel is not the same thickness as 16-gauge aluminum. The tables below give you the actual thickness in inches and millimeters for … Read more
NPS Pipe Dimensions NPS (Nominal Pipe Size) is the North American standard for pipe sizing. Like NPT threads, the “nominal” size doesn’t match the actual dimensions — it’s a naming convention that’s been around for over a century. The OD is constant for a given NPS size. The schedule (40, 80, etc.) determines wall thickness … Read more