Dimensions & Thickness Tolerance

plywood thicknessThe plywood thickness and dimensions are subject to a tolerance by international standard. Besides the standard, buyer and sellers can define the thickness tolerance in a specific sales contract. So it is important to define the plywood thickness tolerance in sales contract, otherwise you should follow below standards.

Sanded Plywood Thickness Tolerance

Nominal No. of plies Tolerance Minimum Actual Thickness
3.0 mm 3-ply +0.3/-0.4 2.6 mm
4.0 mm 3-ply +0.3/-0.5 3.5 mm
6.5 mm 5-ply +0.4/-0.5 6.0 mm
9.0mm 7-ply +0.4/-0.6 8.4 mm
12.0  mm 9-ply +0.5/-0.7 11.3 mm
15.0 mm 11-ply +0.6/-0.8 14.6 mm
18.0 mm 13-ply +0.8/-1.0 17.0 mm
21.0 mm 15-ply +0.9/-1.1 19.9 mm

Thickness Formula

Sanded Plywood – maximum/minimum thickness tolerance may be determined by the following formula.
1. Maximum: Thick * 0.03 mm + 0.2 mm
e.g. (12 mm*0.03 mm + 0.2 mm) = 12 mm + 0.5 mm
2. Minimum: Thick * 0.03 mm + 0.4 mm
e.g. (12 mm*0.03 mm + 0.4 mm) = 12 mm – 0.7 mm

Standard Dimensions Tolerance (milimeters)

Length/Width of Plywood Tolerance in mm
1200, 1220, 1250 +/- 3.0
1500, 1525, 1800, 1830 +/- 4.0
2100, 2135, 2440, 2500 +/- 4.0
2700, 2745, 3050, 3600, 3660 +/- 5.0