Thickness and usage vary.

The thickness of the thin aluminum sheet is between 0.2mm and 6.0mm, while the thickness of the thick aluminum plate is above 6.0mm. Because of its relatively thin thickness, the thin aluminum sheet is often used in applications that require lightweight, high strength, and good electrical conductivity, such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, and construction.

The thickness of the thick aluminum plate is relatively thick, and it is usually used in applications that require high strength and stable performance, such as ships, construction, railways, and transportation.

In addition, the production process and application of thin aluminum plates and thick aluminum plates are also very different. Thin aluminum sheets are usually produced by rolling and cold drawing processes, while thick aluminum sheets are usually produced by casting and forging processes.

Casting vs Forging Process

The casting process involves heating metal to a liquid state, then pouring it into a mold to cool and solidify it. Casting can produce parts of various shapes and sizes at relatively low cost, but is usually not as strong and tough as forging, and has lower accuracy and surface quality. The casting process is often used to produce large, complex-shaped metal parts, such as automobile engine blocks, aircraft engine casings, etc.

The forging process uses pressure to shape metal into the desired shape. The parts produced by the forging process have high strength, good toughness, high precision, and surface quality, and are suitable for the production of high-quality and high-performance parts. The forging process is commonly used to produce small, medium, and large metal parts such as machine parts, marine parts, aerospace parts, etc.

Rolling VS Cold Drawing Process

The rolling process is to pass the metal billet through the roller table and press it multiple times on a continuous rolling mill to gradually deform it and obtain the desired thickness and shape. The rolling process is commonly used to produce thicker sheet metal, bars, etc., such as automotive bodies, construction materials, etc. The rolling process has the advantages of high production efficiency and low cost, but the surface quality is relatively poor and the precision is low.

The cold drawing process is to heat the metal blank and then stretch it to make it gradually thinner and get the desired shape and size. The cold drawing process is usually used to produce thin metal sheets, bars, etc., such as electronic components, precision mechanical parts, etc. The cold drawing process has the advantages of high production precision, good surface quality and stable mechanical properties, but the production efficiency is low and the cost is relatively high.