Metal Weight Calculator (Plate, Pipe, Bar)
Work out the weight of steel, stainless, aluminium, copper or brass plate, bar, pipe, tube and angle. Enter the sizes in inches or millimetres, or pick a pipe by NPS and schedule, and get the weight per piece, per foot or metre, and for the whole order.
How to Use
- Pick the shape: plate or sheet, round bar, square or flat bar, round pipe, square or rectangular tube, angle, or any section by its area.
- Choose the material. The densities are typical values for each alloy; choose Your material to type a density from a mill certificate or data sheet.
- Enter the sizes with a unit beside each one. For pipe, pick NPS and schedule from the ASME B36.10M table, or switch to OD and wall for tube and metric pipe.
- Enter the length of each piece and how many pieces, and choose kilograms or pounds.
- Read the total, the weight per piece, and the weight per foot or metre (per square foot or metre for plate). Show Work has the area and every conversion.
Worked Example
A sheet of plate. A 1/4 in × 48 in × 96 in carbon-steel plate has a volume of 0.25 × 48 × 96 = 1,152 in³. Steel at 7.85 g/cm³ is 0.2836 lb/in³, so it weighs 1,152 × 0.2836 = 326.7 lb, or 10.21 lb per square foot.
A length of pipe. NPS 2 Schedule 40 is 2.375 in outside diameter with a 0.154 in wall. Its steel area is π × (2.375 − 0.154) × 0.154 = 1.0745 in², so a foot weighs 1.0745 × 12 × 0.2836 = 3.657 lb and a 21 ft random length 76.79 lb.
The common mistake: using the nominal size as the diameter. NPS 2 is not 2 in across. Working the same pipe with a 2 in outside diameter gives 63.83 lb for 21 ft, 17 % short of the real 76.79 lb. Up to NPS 12 the outside diameter is always larger than the nominal size; from NPS 14 up they are equal.
Show Work
Formulas
Densities and Pipe Sizes Used
The densities are typical values, and a particular heat of metal can differ by a per cent or so. Carbon steel is taken as 7.85 g/cm³, the 490 lb/ft³ behind the 40.8 lb per square foot per inch used in plate weight tables (Engineering ToolBox); the same density gives the plain-end pipe weights in ASME B36.10M, whose constant 10.69 is π × 12 × 0.2836. Type 304 stainless is 8.00 g/cm³ on thyssenkrupp’s 1.4301 data sheet and MW Components’ 304 sheet (Rolled Alloys gives a slightly lower 0.285 lb/in³). 6061 aluminium is 2.70 g/cm³ (MW Components, citing the Aluminum Association), and the Copper Development Association lists C11000 copper at 0.322 lb/in³ (specific gravity 8.91) and C26000 cartridge brass at 0.308 lb/in³ (8.53).
Nominal Pipe Size dates from 1927, when the American Standards Association set up a committee to standardise wrought steel pipe. By 1939 schedule numbers were meant to replace the older standard, extra-strong and double extra-strong walls, but STD, XS and XXS are still in everyday use. The NPS and schedule list here covers NPS 1/2 to 24 in Schedules 10, 40, 80 and 160, taken from the ASME B36.10M tables reproduced in Wikipedia’s Nominal Pipe Size article and checked against Engineering ToolBox’s ASME B36.10/19 tables, which agree to within 0.03 mm up to NPS 8 and for Schedule 40 up to NPS 24. Stainless pipe in the “S” schedules (B36.19M) can differ: use OD and wall for those.
About This Tool
This calculator weighs plate, sheet, round, square and flat bar, pipe by NPS and schedule or by OD and wall, square and rectangular tube, angle, and any section from its area, in five common metals or any density you enter. It gives the total, each piece, the weight per foot or metre and the cross-section area, and draws the section with its sizes. Weights are nominal: mill tolerances on thickness and the corner radii of tube and angle shift them by a few per cent, so use a supplier’s weight table for lifting limits and wear gloves when handling sheared edges.
Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Related tools: Pipe Weld Calculator, Welding Cost Estimator, and Welding Amperage Chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a 4 × 8 sheet of 1/4 inch steel plate weigh?
About 326.7 lb. Its volume is 0.25 × 48 × 96 = 1,152 in³, and carbon steel at 7.85 g/cm³ is 0.2836 lb/in³, so 1,152 × 0.2836 = 326.7 lb. That is 10.21 lb per square foot, from the familiar 40.8 lb per square foot per inch of thickness.
What does 2 inch Schedule 40 pipe weigh per foot?
NPS 2 is 2.375 in outside diameter, and Schedule 40 has a 0.154 in wall (ASME B36.10M). The steel area is π × (2.375 − 0.154) × 0.154 = 1.0745 in², which weighs 3.657 lb per foot, or 5.442 kg/m. A 21 ft length is 76.79 lb.
What density should I use for steel, stainless and aluminium?
Typical figures are 7.85 g/cm³ (0.2836 lb/in³, 490 lb/ft³) for carbon steel, 8.00 g/cm³ for 304 stainless, 2.70 g/cm³ for 6061 aluminium, 8.91 for C11000 copper and 8.53 for C26000 brass. Aluminium weighs 34 % as much as the same steel part, so the 326.7 lb plate would be 112.4 lb in aluminium.
How do I work out the weight of square tube?
The steel area of a square or rectangular tube with sharp corners is 2t(a + b) − 4t². For 50 × 50 × 3 mm that is 2 × 3 × 100 − 36 = 564 mm², so a 6 m length of 6061 aluminium weighs 0.000564 × 6 × 2,700 = 9.14 kg. Real tubes have rounded corners and weigh a little less.
Why is my pipe weight wrong when I use the nominal size?
Because NPS is a name, not a measurement: NPS 2 pipe is 2.375 in across, not 2 in. Using 2 in as the diameter for 21 ft of Schedule 40 gives 63.83 lb instead of 76.79 lb, 17 % light. Pick the NPS from the list and the calculator uses the real outside diameter.
How do I use the Metal Weight Calculator (Plate, Pipe, Bar)?
Simply type your numbers and read the result, which refreshes the instant you change something. There is nothing to submit and nothing to wait for.
Do I need to install or sign up for anything?
Not at all — it runs in the browser with nothing to install and no account. After it loads once, it even works without an internet connection.
Is my information private?
Yes. Everything happens in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved anywhere.
Common Use Cases
Ordering steel
Ten 21 ft lengths of NPS 2 Schedule 40 pipe weigh 10 × 76.79 = 767.9 lb, for planning a delivery or a rack.
Lifting and rigging
A 6 m length of 75 × 75 × 8 mm steel angle weighs about 53.5 kg (8.92 kg/m), so two people or a hoist.
Quoting a job
Material for a frame of 24 m of 50 × 50 × 3 mm aluminium tube is 24 × 1.523 = 36.55 kg of 6061.
Sheet for a cabinet
A 2 × 1,250 × 2,500 mm sheet weighs 50 kg in 304 stainless and 49.06 kg in carbon steel.
Busbar and bar stock
A 3 m copper busbar 100 × 10 mm weighs 0.1 × 0.01 × 3 × 8,910 = 26.73 kg.
Last updated: