Measurements and Metrics of Shims

Phoenix Specialty is equipped to meet your specifications for custom-designed shims on time and on budget. We use a century’s worth of production expertise to precisely fabricate parts for the aerospace industry, the military, and many manufacturing sectors.

As the leading manufacturer of shims in the USA, Phoenix Specialty offers custom shims produced to your exact specifications to match your needs whether you are in the agriculture, steel, defense, marine, medical, or aerospace industries. There are many choices you have when it comes to finding an OEM for your parts. We offer a variety of materials and have the equipment needed to provide you with the exact measurements you need.

Shims Have Many Applications

Shims have limitless applications. One example would be in the construction industry: they are tapped into a space between a joist and subfloor. Shims are commonly used in combination with washers for adjusting clearance for gears and other moving parts.

Shims also help to modify loads, act as a protection against magnetic fields, and prevent materials from interacting chemically with one another. Shim packs create flexibility in couplings that connect axial flow compressors and motors, just to name a few common industrial applications.

Common Materials for Adjustable Shims

With over 300 raw materials in stock, we are prepared to fabricate any type of shim you need, whether it is in one of these common materials or something more unique:

• 18/8 stainless steel
• 302  stainless steel
• 304/304L stainless steel
• 316/316L stainless steel
• 410 stainless steel
• Carbon steel
• Spring steel
• Nickel
• Brass
• Aluminum

Measurements of Standard Industry Shim Sizes

When you need standard sizes, we are a great source for quality and quantity. Our large stockroom has millions of parts ready to shim. Standard measurements of shim sizes include the following:

• Size A: 2″ X 2″ with a 5/8″ slot
• Size B: 3″ X 3″ with a 13/16″ slot
• Size C: 4″ X 4″ with a 1-1/4″ slot
• Size D: 6″ X 5″ with a 1-5/8″ slot
• Size E: 6″ X 6″ with a 2.00″ slot
• Size G: 7″ X 7″ with a 1-3/4″ slot
• Size H: 8″ X 8″ with a 2-1/4″ slot

Slotted Shim Measurements

Industries that use predictive maintenance programs with laser alignment and vibration analysis prefer to use precut slotted shims to save time and money.

Precut slotted shims decrease production time and labor costs by reducing machinery downtime. This is one of the main reasons many industries use this variety. Most precut shims are made from noncorrosive stainless steel. Precut shims eliminate work involved in hand-cutting, flattening, and de-burring. If using a precut slotted shim for vertical machinery alignment, there are common dimensions and thicknesses associated with those parts:

Arbor Shim Measurements

Arbor shims are used for milling cutters, saws, grinding tools, and other machinery for accurate spacing. These shims made in low-carbon steel and full hard temper range in sizes from 0.0015” x 1-3/8” to 0.200” x ¾”.

Keyway Broach Shim Measurements

Keyway Broach shims fill the space of a removed cutting pass. This type of shim will move the Broach forward until it reaches the standard finished cutting depth. They range in size, thickness, style, length, and width according to customer specifications.

Body Shim Measurements

Body shims are commonly used in the automotive industry. A zinc-plated shim resists corrosion and rush, which is very important when it comes to keeping car parts together. Body shims can come in round or slotted varieties and sizes can range from 1/64” to 1/8” and beyond.

Our Capabilities

We have the equipment, expertise, and capability to meet any current critical custom shim needs: standard measurements, complex designs, short runs, large production reorders, or prototype reproductions. We can keep our costs low because of our abrasive water jet and laser-cutting technologies.

Our capabilities for custom shim fabrications include the following:

• Bending
• Laser cutting (up to 4,000-watt capacity)
• CNC punching
• Wire EDM machining
• Circle shearing
• Die design and production
• Abrasive water jet cutting
• Grinding
• Nibbling
• Sawing
• Shearing
• Forming
• Heat treating and plating

We have invested in cutting equipment with the capabilities to cut shims in varying thicknesses for flat and 3D parts. Typical thicknesses of materials used for water jet and laser cutting include the following:

• Nylon: .002″ – 3/8″
• Plastic: .002″ – 3/8″
• Aluminum: .001″ – 1/4″
• Stainless steel: .001″ – 1/2″
• Carbon steel: .001″ – 1.00″

You will find that our shims meet the toughest OEM standards in today’s marketplace for all industrial sectors. We are also an inventory leader for shims, which allows us to provide you fast shipping.

Phoenix Specialty has ISO 9001:2008/AS9100 Certification to guarantee precision, quality, and reliability with every shipment of pre-cut, in-stock, or custom shims you order from our qualified team. Contact us at (855) 546-5233, or find us online at www.phoenixspecialty.com, for your next high-quality product order.