Aluminium sheets as mounting plates – precise, robust, accurately fitting

Aluminium sheets have established themselves as the preferred material for mounting plates in industrial applications. The combination of low weight, high stability and excellent machinability makes aluminium the ideal solution when precise and permanently load-bearing carrier plates are required.

Why aluminium as a mounting plate?

Low weight

Aluminium sheets offer an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. This makes them the ideal choice for constructions where dead weight must be reduced – for example in mobile machines, enclosures or plant.

Corrosion resistance

Aluminium is naturally corrosion-resistant. Particularly indoors or in lightly stressed environments, no additional coating is needed. For more demanding applications, the surface can be anodised.

Good machinability

Aluminium sheets can easily be drilled, milled, sawn or tapped. This enables individual adjustments directly in the workshop or during assembly, without complex special tools.

Dimensional stability

Despite their low weight, aluminium sheets retain their shape even under mechanical stress. They are torsionally rigid and provide a precise and durable mounting base – even at higher temperatures.

In addition, aluminium sheets allow very tight manufacturing tolerances, which is crucial for the exact positioning of assemblies and fastening elements.

Typical areas of application

Mounting plates made of aluminium are used wherever components must be securely fastened, precisely positioned or cleanly separated from one another. Typical fields of application are:

• Mechanical engineering (control and drive units)
• Electrical engineering (control cabinet construction, connection plates)
• Automation technology (mounting supports for sensors, actuators)
• Special-purpose machinery and fixture construction

In many of these applications, high mechanical load capacity is just as important as ease of further processing.

Formats, thicknesses and machining options

Aluminium sheets for mounting applications are available in numerous dimensions and material grades. The choice of the right format depends on the specific area of application, the planned machining steps and the required stability.

Common thicknesses range from 3 mm for simple cover plates up to 25 mm for highly load-bearing carrier plates in machine enclosures or fastening systems. Intermediate sizes such as 6 mm, 10 mm or 15 mm are also frequently requested in order to achieve an ideal balance between weight and stability.

As regards formats, both standard sizes such as 1000×2000 mm or 1500×3000 mm are available as well as special dimensions to measure. Many suppliers offer individual cut pieces from a single unit – precisely to customer specification or directly based on CAD data.

In addition to length, width and thickness, more complex machining requirements can also be realised: milled contours, recesses, hole patterns or threads can be integrated directly into the sheet. This enables rapid further processing and saves effort during assembly.

Surfaces

Depending on the application, various surface finishes are available:

• Blank or ground for indoor use
• Anodised for improved corrosion resistance and appearance
• Film-coated for protection during machining or assembly

CNC machining

Precisely fitting holes, countersinks, threads or milled contours can be machined directly in the cut piece. This saves time during assembly and significantly reduces tolerance deviations.

Modern CNC technology allows the precise implementation of even complex geometries – accurate to the millimetre and reproducible. In this way, prefabricated mounting plates can be supplied in which all fastening points, feed-throughs or recesses are provided exactly as planned.

Depending on requirements, multi-stage machining steps can also be combined, for example holes with different diameters, countersinks with a defined angle or threads in various standards. This enables direct further use without additional reworking. 3D contours or millings for the integration of assemblies can also be implemented precisely.

Differences from steel and plastic sheets

Compared with steel, aluminium sheets offer significantly easier handling – both in cutting and in further processing. Compared with plastic, they score with higher temperature resistance, lower expansion and greater dimensional stability.

Property	Aluminium	Steel	Plastic
Weight	Light	Heavy	Very light
Corrosion protection	High	Only with coating	Depends on type
Machinability	Very good	Good	Very good
Temperature resistance	High	Very high	Limited
Recyclability	Excellent	Excellent	Limited

Ordering aluminium sheets cut to size

For industrial applications, the exact adaptation of the mounting plate is crucial. Professional suppliers therefore offer:

• CNC cut pieces to CAD data
• Custom-made items from a single unit
• Short delivery times thanks to modern manufacturing

With online cut-to-size ordering, length, width, thickness and machining options can be selected directly. Large series with consistent quality are also feasible.

Conclusion

Anyone looking for a long-lasting, dimensionally stable and precisely machinable mounting plate will find the optimal solution in aluminium. Aluminium sheets can be cut individually, are easy to further process and are available in a wide variety of versions – perfect for technical applications with high demands on precision and robustness.