Cut-to-Length Aluminium Sheets: Custom Length Blanks That Cut Waste

Cut-to-length (CTL) sheet is cut from coil to the exact length a job needs, instead of from a fixed stock size such as 1,220 × 2,440 mm. Aluminium is sold by weight, so every offcut left on a standard sheet is metal you paid for and do not use. Cutting blanks to length removes that offcut from the order.

How cut-to-length works

A CTL line turns coil into flat sheets in four stages:

• Uncoiling: the coil is mounted on a decoiler and the strip is fed into the line.
• Levelling: a roller leveller flattens the strip, removing the curvature it held on the coil.
• Shearing: the strip is measured and sheared to the set length.
• Stacking: finished sheets are stacked and packed.

The sheet width is the coil width. Only the length is set at the line. Dinco cuts from coil in 1,220 mm and 1,500 mm widths, to any length from 1,000 to 6,000 mm.

Where the savings come from

• Material: a part length that does not divide evenly into a stock sheet leaves an offcut. On a custom length blank there is no length offcut, so you buy only the weight you use.
• Cutting: blanks arrive at the finished length, which removes the cross-cutting step from your own shop.
• Long parts: parts longer than a stock sheet can be cut in one piece, up to 6,000 mm, instead of being joined from two sheets.

Worked example: stock sheet vs custom length

A 1,220 × 2,440 × 1.0 mm aluminium sheet weighs about 8.04 kg (at a density of 2.70 g/cm³). Cutting parts that are 1,220 mm wide from that sheet leaves the following offcut per sheet; cut to length from coil, the offcut is zero.

Offcut weight scales with thickness: at 2.0 mm each figure doubles. Whether an offcut has value depends on whether it fits another job; if not, it is sold back as scrap at a lower price per kg than you paid for the sheet.

Tolerances

Cut-to-length aluminium sheet is cold-rolled sheet, so the same dimensional standards apply as to stock sheet:

• EN 485-4 (Europe) sets tolerances for cold-rolled aluminium sheet, strip and plate, including thickness, width, length, lateral curvature, flatness and squareness.
• ASTM B209/B209M (US) is the standard specification for aluminium and aluminium-alloy sheet and plate.

Name the standard on your order so the dimensional limits are agreed before cutting.

Ordering custom length sheets from Dinco

Dinco stocks aluminium coil in 1,220 mm and 1,500 mm widths and cuts it to any length from 1,000 to 6,000 mm. For a quote, send:

1. Alloy and temper
2. Thickness
3. Width: 1,220 or 1,500 mm
4. Length of each blank (1,000 to 6,000 mm)
5. Quantity per length
6. Tolerance standard, if your project specifies one

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