Rolling mill calculator: how much metal your sheet or wire takes
Enter the shape, the width, thickness or diameter and the length you need. You get the grams of metal to put through the rolling mill or drawplate, how much ends up as edge trim and what that metal costs at today's price, in dollars or pesos.
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Rolling mill calculator
Finished sizes in millimetres. Rolling does not change volume.
Trimmed off edges and ends. Typically 3–10 %.
26.17 g
1 × 100 mm gives 24.86 g of Sterling silver .925; 1.31 g ends up as edge trim.
- Weight of the pieces
- 24.86 g
- Edge trim (recoverable)
- 1.31 g
- Weight per centimetre
- 2.486 g
- Metal cost today
- USD 45.03
How to work out the metal to roll
- 1.Choose the shape: sheet, round, square or rectangular wire, or tube.
- 2.Enter the size in millimetres and the length of each piece.
- 3.Set how many pieces you need and the metal, for its density.
- 4.Adjust the edge loss: what is trimmed off the edges and ends.
- 5.Read the grams to melt, the edge trim and the cost.
How sheet and wire weight is worked out
Weight is volume times the metal's density. Sheet is a prism: width by thickness by length. Round wire is a cylinder: pi times the radius squared times the length. Tube is the outer cylinder minus the hole.
Example: a 30 × 0.8 × 100 mm sheet of .925 silver is 2.4 cm³ and weighs 2.4 × 10.36 = 24.9 g. With 5 % edge loss, put 26.2 g through the mill.
Rolling does not change volume: what the metal loses in thickness it gains in length and width. So you can work from the finished size, whatever the ingot you start from.
Densities are those of the most common alloys. A copper-rich 14K weighs slightly less than a silver-rich one, so the result is a very close estimate, not an exact weight.
Frequently asked questions
How much does 1 mm silver wire weigh?
Round .925 silver wire 1 mm across weighs about 0.081 g per centimetre, or 8.1 g per metre.
How much gold does a 14K sheet take?
Multiply width × thickness × length in centimetres, then by 13.1, the typical density of 14K yellow. A 20 × 1 × 50 mm sheet is 1 cm³, about 13.1 g, plus the edge trim.
What is edge loss and how much is it?
It is what is trimmed off cracked edges and the ends when rolling or drawing. It usually runs 3 to 10 % depending on the metal and how carefully it is rolled. It is not lost: it is collected and remelted.
Does it work for the drawplate?
Yes. For drawn wire, work from the finished size; the volume is the same as the ingot or rod you start from.
What is the density of 18K gold?
Around 15.6 g/cm³ for yellow, 15.9 for white and 15.2 for rose. 24K gold is 19.32 g/cm³ and .925 silver 10.36.