If you want to use a stainless steel plate, material thickness plays an important role. On the one hand, load capacity depends on it; on the other, with every millimetre the demands on the tools with which a stainless steel plate can be worked increase.
What is 6 mm stainless steel typically used for? Can a hobbyist cut 6 mm stainless steel plates to size themselves? We will also show you a very convenient, safe way to obtain a stainless steel plate in individual dimensions: you can order it directly from us and have it made.
What are the advantages of stainless steel plates?
It is obvious why stainless steel plates are in high demand both in industry and in private use: it is the material properties of stainless steel that make it usable in so many places - although there can be differences depending on the alloy.
Stainless steel is generally rustproof and can therefore also be used in places with high humidity. Cleaning surfaces made of stainless steel plate is also easier, because you can work generously with water. Stainless steel is furthermore resistant to temperature fluctuations, which is why many industrial plants are made of high-quality stainless steel.
Which grades of stainless steel are there?
You have surely heard that there are various grades of stainless steel. The terms V2A stainless steel and V4A stainless steel are very common, covering groups of particularly corrosion-resistant stainless grades.
V2A is the common umbrella term for a group of rustproof stainless steel alloys and is also popular for stainless steel plates 6 mm thick. The name goes back to 1912, when this stainless steel was discovered during "Versuchsschmelze 2, Austenit" (trial melt 2, austenite) - V2A for short. All alloys in this group are characterised by a very low carbon content of less than 0.1%. The best-known representatives of this group are stainless steel 1.4301 and stainless steel 1.4307.
The term V4A covers stainless steel that also exhibits high resistance to chlorides. This is achieved by adding a good 2% molybdenum. The best-known representative of this stainless steel group is alloy 1.4401. For particularly high corrosion resistance, stainless steel 1.4571 is an option.
What are 6 mm stainless steel plates best suited for?
A steel plate 6 mm thick is a robust workpiece and is therefore used primarily where a stable structure is required. If only for cost reasons, nobody will choose a plate of this thickness just to make cladding or for model making.
But if you want to build an easy-to-clean, load-bearing shelf out of stainless steel, 6 mm stainless steel is a good choice. You will find such shelves in many commercial kitchens: they can be loaded with heavy crockery or food crates, and once cleared, they can be cleaned quickly and thoroughly - saving a great deal of time compared with other materials.
Full flexibility in assembly
Because a 6 mm steel plate is a sturdy sheet, various assembly options are available to you. In industry, connections between workpieces are primarily made by welding. If you are not familiar with that, you can also rely on a brazed joint: stainless steel plates can generally be brazed to a second plate permanently and stably.
If you prefer, you can also use screws for assembly. When drilling into stainless steel, however, make sure to use the right drill bits - and be aware that considerable heat can develop.
Caution when cutting a stainless steel plate
Unlike thin sheets, which can be brought to the desired dimensions with tin snips, you need the right tools for a 6 mm stainless steel plate. Whether you want to use a special hacksaw or an angle grinder, you must work very carefully.
You must always take the kerf width of the respective tool into account, otherwise you get an unwanted deviation and may not be able to use your workpiece at all. When cutting a steel plate, you must also watch out for the latent risk of injury: it comes firstly from the sharp edges created by every cut in stainless steel sheet, and secondly from the temperatures that arise in the cutting area, both when sawing and when using an angle grinder.
The following speaks against cutting a 6 mm stainless steel plate yourself:
- You can easily injure yourself in the process
- It is not easy to purchase a 6 mm stainless steel plate for cutting
- You need special tools used exclusively for stainless steel
We are there for all customers
If you do not want to expose yourself to the risk of an inaccurate cut or an injury at the cutting edge, you can leave the millimetre-precise cutting to the professionals. We are happy to take it on for you and can assure you that we work quickly and exactly to your specifications.
We have designed our production so that we can process both key-account orders and orders from private customers efficiently and economically. As a service provider for everything stainless steel, we work exclusively to customer order and hold no stock of finished sheets.
Individual sheets instead of standard dimensions
If you are looking for 6 mm stainless steel, simply give us a call without obligation. Our sales staff will work with you to find out which alloy and which size are the best choice for your project. As mentioned, there are differences between the alloys, and we want to sell you exactly the stainless steel plate your project needs.
We only need a few simple answers to find out whether you need V2A or V4A stainless steel. Once we know which alloy we can offer you, you receive an individually calculated price in no time. No customer has to wait long for a quotation with us, because we take a large number of orders for individual sheets every day.
Nor do we need long for production: almost every time, we manage to hand our customers' orders over for dispatch within 48 hours of order receipt. If you choose us as your service provider for a 6 mm stainless steel plate, you will only have to wait a few days for your product.
+49 3921 72-0