Stainless steel sizes, thickness, finish

Standard plate sizes

The standard sizes for most metals, whether stainless steel, aluminium, iron, galvanised or zinc-plated are:
• 2000 x 1000 mm
• 2500 x 1250 mm
• 3000 x 1500 mm

Stainless steel, steel and aluminium are also available in 4000 x 1500 and 4000 x 2000 mm, although not all sizes are available in all thicknesses. Stainless steel sheets 3000 x 1000 and 3000 x 1250 mm are fairly common.

ST37 or S235JR in 4-metre sheets are commonly used, but are generally only available in 3 mm thickness. St52 or S355J2 are not available in sheet format and are only available in 3 mm. Sheet can be unrolled from a coil for larger for larger pieces, although this also depends on the material quality. Sometimes you have to take a minimum 5 tonnes and sometimes this can only be in sheets.

Important note: polished, sand-blasted or brushed sheet is always ground lengthways, and has a maximum horizontal grinding direction of 2 metres.

Finish 2b

Finish 2b refers to blank, cold-rolled sheet. The standard finish for sheet at Alinco is limited to a thickness of 6 mm. An industrial sheet with a very low surface roughness, it is ideal if quality is more important than appearance. If the appearance is important, it is better to opt for polished or brushed sheet.

Polished stainless steel

The most currently available plate in brushed/polished/sanded finish is probably “good old” K320. The post-treatment applied to the stainless steel creates a visually uniform appearance.

Mirror - super mirror 8

Mirror stainless steel comes in 2 grades: BA (bright annealed) and super mirror or super mirror 8.
Bright Annealed is a high-gloss factory finish achieved by rolling. The plate is certainly bright but it has too many imperfections such as blemishes, dull areas and colour differences for aesthetic purposes or to be used as a mirror.
Super mirror 8 is an expensive, high-gloss sheet of very high quality and comparable to a mirror. The price is almost double that of BA quality.

Unless BA quality is requested specifically, Alinco always uses super mirror 8 quality for mirror stainless because this is the only quality we know customers are happy with. It is used, for example, in mirror finishes for food products and also as mirrors in places such as toilets, sports facilities and the like, where glass is preferably avoided.

Checker plate

Checker plate is sheet material in which drop-shaped protuberances have been rolled for anti-slip reasons. It is used for example to create a safe walking surface in places such as stairs that can become slippery. The slightly uneven surface provides grip and prevents slipping.

Checker plates exist in stainless steel, aluminium or steel and can be used for example as (door) matting or flooring in a boat, as well as an ornamental wall element.