A M E R I C ANNA T I O N AS LT A N D A R D

PREFERRED THICKNESSES
for Uncoated Thin Flat Metals

ANSI B32.1- 1952 (Under 0.250 In.)

(REAFFIRMED 1972)

SPONSORS

Society of Automotive Engineers

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

~~

P U B L I S H E D BY

THE A M E R I C A NS O C I E T Y OF M E C H A N I C A LE N G I N E E R S
UnitedEngineeringCenter . 3 4 5 E a s t 47th StreetNewYork, N. Y. 1 O 0 1 7

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-

ASME B32.L 52 W 0757670 0073796 T W

FOREWORD
NNovember,1925, theSociety AutomotiveEngineersrequestedtheAmericanStandards
IAssociation to take
sheet metal in order to arrive
of
up theunification of thevarioussystems-employed in gagingwireand
an American standard system of designating diameters
at metal of
wires and the thicknesses of metal sheets.
The ASA called a conference on Wire and Sheet Metal Gages for March 18, 1926, to study the
diversity of gagesystems.Representatives of governmentdepartments,tradeassociations,
manufacturers,andusersparticipatedintheconference.whichapprovedtheinitiationofthis
projectandappointedaspecial committee to frame the scope and to recommend the sponsors.
This special committeerecommendedthatTheAmericanSociety of Mechanical Engineers and
theSociety of Automotive Engineers beappointedjointsponsorsfortheproject,andthatthe
scope of the work cover the standardization of a method of designatingthediameter of metal
and metal alloy wire, the thickness of metals and metal alloys in sheet, plate, and strip form,
and the wall thickness of tubing, piping, and casing made of these materials; and the establish-
ment of a standard series, or a number of standard series,. of nominal sizes.
TheSociety of AutomotiveEngineers asadministrativesponsorissuedinvitationstothe
cooperatingbodiesandtheorganizationmeetingofthesectionalcommitteewasheld on No-
vember 27, 1928.
TheNationalBureau of Standards a s wellasseverallargeindustrialorganizationshave
preparedandpublisheddataoveraperiod of years in an effort to coordinate existing gaging
practice. Design engineers and fabricators of material had begun to use thousandths of an inch
where previously they expressed thickness .interms of gage numbers. Preferred numbers were
suggested to replace existing gage systems as a means of unifying the practice. The sheet and
strip steel and the steel wire industries had met the situation of unification by listing decimals
of an inch in a prominent way in their extra tables and by using them to set up lines of demarca-
tion.
After a period of committeeinactivity,the American Society of MechanicalEngineerstook
over the administrative leadership in September, 1939, and a meeting of the sectional committee
*as held on November 3, 1939. A t that meeting the committee accepted the scope as defined by
the previous committee and elected a subcommittee to study this subject in detail and to pre-
pare recommendations for action by the sectional committee.
Several meetings of the subcommittee were held culminating in a report which was duplicated
in May, 1940, for criticism and comment. A revised draft, dated January, 1941, was approved by
the sectional .committee, the sponsors, and the ASA. It was approved a s a n American Standard
in August, 1941, with the designation ASA B32.1-1941.
At a meeting of the sectional Committee on April 12, 1950, it was voted to modify the standard
by expanding the 20-series to the 40-series of preferrednumbers,and to add an appendix con-
taining the 80-seties for use in special caseS.This was changedupon motion made at the October
25, 195 1, meeting of thesectionalcommittee,andsubsequentapproval by letterballot, ‘Ihe
appendix covering the 80-series was deleted from the proposal but reference to it was retained
in the body of the specification.
Approval of the sectional committee on the July, 195 O, draft followed, together with that of
the sponsors and the ASA. Final designation a s an American Standard was granted on September
30, 1952.
‘Ihe proposed change in the title of the B32 project from “Wire and Sheet Metal Gages” to
“Wire Diameters and Metal Ihicknesses” w a s also approved by the sectional committee, spon-
sors, and ,$SA.

Copyright, 1952, by
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Printed in U.S.A.
Reprinted 1972

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 Sectional
Committee
onStandardization of
Wire
Diameters
and
Metal
Thicknesses

SECTIONAL COMMITTEE B32

STANDARDIZATION OF WIRE DIAMETERS AND METAL THICKNESSES
PERSONNEL
F. F. Aloi, Metallurgical Engineer, Bethlehem Steel Company, Bethlehem, Penna.
G. M. Aron, Lockheed Missile Systems, Dept. 62-22, Box 504, Sunnyvale, Calif.
Bureau of Ships, Code 6 2 1 ~ Technical
, Societies Section, U. S. Navy Dept., Washington 25, D. C.
A. S. Burgoyne, Pratt & Whitney Company, Charter Oak Blvd., West Hartford 1, Conn.
J. W. Caum, (Alternate), American Society for Testing Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia 3, Penna.
W. S. Doxey, President, American Steel Warehouse Association, 442 Terminal Tower, Cleveland, Ohio
P. V. Faragher, Metallurgical Dept., Aluminum Co., of American, Alcoa Bldg., Pittsburgh, Penna.
L. E. Fogg, The Okonite Company, Kennecott Wire & Cable Div., Phi!lipsdale, (Rumford), R. I.
M. L. Fruechtenicht, Ordnance Corps, Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia 37, Penna.
I. H. Fullmer, Chief, Engineering Metrology Section, National Bureau of Standards, Washington 25, D. C.
J. P. Guerard, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, N, J.
J . Gurski, Manufacturing Engineer, Ford Motor Company, Dearbotn, Michigan
M. S. Hancock, (Alternate), Asst. Manager, Motor Engineering Dept;, Westinghouse Electric Corp.,
P.O. Box 2025, Buffalo S, N.Y.
G.H. Harnden, Supervisor, Materials & Processes, General Electric Company, Standards Service Dept.,
Schenectady S, N.Y.
M. D. Helfrick, Western Electric Company, Hawthorne Station, Chicago 23, Illinois
J. F. Howe, Construction Engineer, 323 June Street, Worcester 2, Mass.
A.H. Johnson, Pratt & Whitney Company, Charter Oak Blvd., West Hartford 1, Conn.
A. A. Jones, (Alternate), Manager of Engineering Dept., Anaconda Wire & Cable Co., Hastings-on-the
Hudson, N. Y.
C. B. Keane, (Alternate), Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia 37, P e n n a , ATT: ORDBA-GC
F. V. Kupchak, Standards Dept. 2-F, Westinghouse Electric Corp., East Pittsburgh, Pa.
R. Neprud, Sylvania Electric Products, Inc., 175 Great Arrow Avenue, Buffalo 7, N. Y.
H. C . Pratt, Fisher Body Division, General Motors Corp., Detroit 2, Michigan
L. D. Price, (Alternate), Executive Secretary, Engineering & Safety Regulations Dept., National
Electrical hianufacturers Association, 155 East 44th Street, New York, N.Y.
F. Sehn, Press Automation Systems, Inc., 25418 Ryan Rd., Warren, Michigan
H. H. Smith, Asst. Manager, Metallurgical Dept., American Steel & Wire Div., U. S. Steel Company,
1446 Rockefeller Bldg., Cleveland 13, Ohio
C . J. R. Taylor, Office Engineer, C o m . & Signals, Erie Railroad, Republic Bldg., Cleveland 15, Ohio
E. C . Treisbach, Sales Engineer, John Wood Mfg. Co,, Inc., Conshohocken, Penna.
T. E. Veltfort, Manager, Copper & Brass Research Association, 420 Lexington Ave., New York 17, ~ . y .
C . F. Wolters, Chief Engineer, Remington Rand, Inc., Wilson Avenue, s u t h Norwalk, Corm.

Any part of this standard may be quoted. Credit lines should read: “Extracted from
American National Standard Preferred Thicknesses for Uncoated Thin Flat Metals, .ANSI
B32.1-1952 (Reaffirmed 1972), with the permission of the publisher, The American Society
of Mechanical Engineers,UnitedEngineeringCenter, 345 East 47th Street, New York
N. Y. 10017.”

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 American National Standard

PREFERREDTHICKNESSES
for Uncoated Thin Flat Metals
(Under 0.250 ln.)

General.Thepreferred
thicknesses
in
this selection of thickness,thesimplifiedpreferred
standard provide a simplified.system for designa- thicknessesgiven in thetablewillfacilitate
ting the thickness of uncoated, thin, flat metals interchangeability of different metals in design,
andalloys by decimalparts of aninch,thus reduceinventory,andincreasetheavailability
eliminatingtheconfusioncaused by the various inwarehousestocks of thicknesses commonly
gagenumbersystems.Requirements of industry required for general-purpose applications.
permit leeway in the choice of thickness in some The thicknesses in the cable are applicable to
instances,but it is recognizedthat formany uncoated,thin,
flat
metals
andalloys.
Each
applications,particularly the tonnage require- thickness is approximately the same percentage
ments of themassproductionindustries,thick- greaterthanthenextsmallerone.Based upon
nesses, more frequently than not, are determined the
40-series of American Standard
preferred
by criticalengineeringdesignormanufacturing numbers,theyprovideacoverageequivalentto
considerations.Forthesespecialreasons,all previoussystems,andshould meet mostofthe
decimalthicknesses of metals,contingent on general purpose needs of industry.
application,shallcontinuetoberecognized as

c commercialandin
standard.
no way be construed a s non- If intermediate thicknesses
selectionsshallbemade
are
required,
for allmetalsand

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 PREFERRED THICKNESSES
FOR UNCOATED METALS AND ALLOYS
..... 0.125
0.063
0.032
0.016 0.0080.004
0.2360.1180.0600.0300.015
0.224
0.112 0.056 0.028 0.014 0.007
..........
.....
0.2120.1060.0530.0260.013
0.200 0.100 0.050 0.025 0.012 0.006
..........
.....
0.190 0.095 0.0480.024 ...............
0.180 0.090 0.045 0.022 0.011 ..........
0.170 0.0850.0420.021 ...............
0.160 0.080 0.040 0.020 0.010 0.005 .....
0.150 0.075 0.0380.019
0.140 0.071 0.036 0.018
...............
0.009 ..........
0.1320.0670.0340.017 ...............
A l l dimensions are given in inches.
20-aeries numbers are in bold-face type.

September, 1952

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