Suitable for manufacturing medium to low-cost sheet metal structural parts that require basic rust prevention capability, including chassis, electronic and electrical housings, equipment panels, brackets, mounting plates, protective covers, and more.
Cold-rolled electroplated sheet—SECC—is a sheet metal material made from cold-rolled steel sheets as the base material, formed by electro-galvanizing to form a zinc layer on the surface. It combines the good surface quality, dimensional accuracy, and basic rust prevention capabilities of cold-rolled sheets. It is commonly used in chassis, cabinets, electronic and electrical housings, equipment panels, brackets, mounting boards, electrical control boxes, communication equipment housings, and general industrial sheet metal parts. Compared to SPCC cold-rolled plate, SECC has better corrosion resistance; Compared to stainless steel, SECC is less expensive, but its long-term corrosion resistance remains limited.
By focusing on application scenarios, boundaries of advantages, and non-recommended scenarios, it helps sales, customer service, and quoting staff quickly determine whether the material meets current part requirements.
It has good surface quality, high dimensional accuracy, better rust prevention than SPCC, suitable for bending stamping, powder spraying, painting, electronic and electrical sheet metal, lower cost than stainless steel, suitable for batch sheet metal fabrication, balancing appearance and structure.
Chassis, cabinets, electrical control boxes, communication equipment housings, electronic and electrical housings, instrument enclosures, equipment panels, mounting boards, brackets, connectors, protective covers, partitions, base plates, sheet metal frames, computer cases, power supply enclosures, internal structural parts of industrial equipment, and standard appearance sheet metal parts.
Parts in highly corrosive environments, long-term coastal salt spray environments, parts exposed outdoors for long periods without additional protection, food direct contact parts, medical implant parts, high-end stainless steel appearance parts, parts with very high lightweight requirements, high-strength load-bearing parts, highly wear-resistant moving parts, high-temperature long-term use parts, and metal parts requiring maintenance-free corrosion resistance.
The following parameters come from product information and material knowledge fields, used for design review, quotation communication, and preliminary judgment before material selection.
| Material positioning | Suitable for manufacturing medium to low-cost sheet metal structural parts that require basic rust prevention capability, including chassis, electronic and electrical housings, equipment panels, brackets, mounting plates, protective covers, and more. |
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| Precision performance | SECC is suitable for laser cutting, CNC punching, bending, riveting, spot welding, and general sheet metal fabrication. The cutting profile and hole position accuracy are relatively good, and the overall bent dimensions are affected by plate thickness, bending radius, bend springback, number of bendings, and equipment precision. Multi-bend parts, welded parts, and large-size housing components require control of cumulative errors and deformation. Precision hole positions, positioning surfaces, and assembly surfaces are recommended to have separate tolerance control. |
| Dimensional tolerances | Dimensional tolerances for standard laser cutting can be referenced as ± 0.10mm to ±0.30mm; the overall dimensional tolerance after bending can be referenced as ±0.30mm to ±1.00mm; welded structural parts can be evaluated at ±0.50mm-±2.00mm. Small-sized simple bent parts are usually easier to control, while large, multi-bend, welded, and sprayed parts may have greater deviations. These values are standard reference ranges and do not guarantee absolute tolerances for all structures. Actual values should be confirmed based on plate thickness, dimensions, number of bendings, welding methods, and surface treatment. |
| Minimum Wall Thickness | SECC is usually selected based on board thickness, with common thicknesses including 0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0mm, etc. For ordinary enclosures, the recommended board thickness should be no less than 0.8mm-1.0mm; for small panels, 0.5mm-0.8mm can be used; for areas requiring welding, riveting, tapping, bearing assembly forces, or structural support, it is recommended to increase thickness appropriately. |
| Recommended wall thickness | For ordinary electronic and electrical enclosures, equipment panels, and protective covers, 0.8mm-1.5mm is recommended; for chassis, cabinets, communication equipment housings, brackets, and mounting plates, 1.0mm-2.0mm is recommended; for positions bearing assembly force, screw locking, riveting, or medium loads, 1.5mm-3.0mm is recommended, and rigidity is enhanced through folding, flanging, pressing, reinforcing ribs, or welded frameworks. |
| Minimum aperture | For laser cutting or CNC punching, the recommended hole diameter should be no less than one of the plate thickness, and for stable design, the hole diameter should be no less than 1.0mm-1.5mm. Small holes, dense holes, and holes near bending lines in thick plates are prone to deformation, burrs, or slag accumulation. Screw holes, positioning holes, pressure rivet holes, and assembly holes should be reasonably allowable according to plate thickness, fastener specifications, spraying thickness, and processing method. |
| Assembly clearance | For ordinary sheet metal assembly, it is recommended to reserve 0.20mm-0.50mm on one side; for insertion, flanging, slots, and multi-bend combination structures, it is recommended to appropriately increase the gap according to plate thickness, bending error, and spraying thickness. Welded structural components should reserve greater assembly adjustment space based on welding deformation. If powder spraying, painting, electrophoresis, or other coating treatments are needed later, additional consideration should be given to coating thickness to avoid over-tight assembly, paint scraping, or interference with hole positions. |
| Detailed performance | SECC sheet metal is suitable for making holes, grooves, folded edges, flanges, pressed ribs, counterbores, louver holes, reinforcing ribs, welded structures, stamped structures, and ordinary sheet metal markings. Passing through small holes, sharp corners, and narrow bridges requires consideration of burr cutting, stamping deformation, bending cracking, and processing costs. Text, logos, and labels are recommended to be achieved through laser marking, stamping, silkscreen printing, inkjet printing, etching, or nameplates; it is not recommended to design overly fine mechanical cutting text on thin plates. |
| Surface effect | The original SECC surface is usually light gray, silver-gray, or galvanized with a slight metallic sheen, providing better rust protection than ordinary cold-rolled sheets. The surface is suitable for direct use as internal structural components of equipment, and also suitable for use as exterior parts after powder spraying, painting, or electrophoresis. If used directly exposed, the surface may have slight color differences, zinc layer textures, scratches, or oxidation marks; If you want a consistent appearance, it is recommended to apply powder spraying, painting, or electrophoresis treatment. |
Based on material characteristics and suitable product ranges, customer needs are broken down into easier application directions to determine.
Chassis, cabinets, electrical control boxes, communication equipment housings, electronic and electrical housings, instrument enclosures, equipment panels, mounting boards, brackets, connectors, protective covers, partitions, base plates, sheet metal frames, computer cases, power supply enclosures, internal structural parts of industrial equipment, and standard appearance sheet metal parts.
Suitable for manufacturing medium to low-cost sheet metal structural parts that require basic rust prevention capability, including chassis, electronic and electrical housings, equipment panels, brackets, mounting plates, protective covers, and more.
SECC is a sheet metal material formed by electrozincizing the surface of cold-rolled steel plates to form a protective layer. The surface is relatively flat, suitable for stamping, bending, cutting, riveting, and spraying. It is less prone to rust than ordinary SPCC cold-rolled sheets, making it suitable for electronic and electrical casings and internal structural components of equipment. However, the zinc layer in SECC is usually thin, and rust may still occur at cut edges, welding locations, bending cracks, and scratch areas. Therefore, if used for exterior parts or in humid environments, powdering, painting, electrophoresis, or other protective treatments are still recommended.
Based on wall thickness, hole position, assembly clearance, dimensional tolerances, and material usage risks, determine in advance whether the part structure is suitable for SECC Electrogalvanized Steel Sheet.
Post-processing of SECC Electrogalvanized Steel Sheet affects appearance, dimensions, hole position, assembly clearance, and usage validation results, and should be explained in advance during quotation, DFM review, and sample confirmation stages.
Post-processing should focus on appearance display, dimensional fitting, connection assembly, and testing verification. Parts involving assembly positions need to be reserved in advance for machining, coating, and trial assembly allowances.
For common issues such as threads, snaps, strength, temperature resistance, and weather resistance, identify in advance whether the material needs to be replaced or if another processing method should be used.
When customer demand exceeds SECC Electrogalvanized Steel Sheet material boundaries, it is necessary to combine strength, temperature resistance, toughness, long-term stability, and mass production goals to promptly recommend alternative materials or processing technologies.
If lower costs are needed and powder and paint will be applied later, SPCC cold-rolled sheet can be chosen; If stronger corrosion resistance is required, hot-dip galvanized sheets (SGCC), aluminized zinc sheets, or 304 Stainless Steel can be chosen; If long-term outdoor weather resistance is needed, stainless steel or aluminum alloy powder coating sheets or higher-grade galvanized sheets can be chosen; If lightweight design is needed, 5052 aluminum alloy or 6061 aluminum alloy can be chosen; If higher strength is required, Q235, Q345, or high-strength steel plates can be chosen.
If customers need ordinary chassis, cabinets, electronic and electrical enclosures, equipment panels, and internal structural components, and want better basic rust prevention than SPCC, SECC is a more suitable choice. If the product is exposed to outdoor environments for a long time, in humid conditions, salt spray, or corrosive environments, it is not recommended to rely solely on the zinc layer of SECC itself. Instead, surface protection such as powder spraying, painting, or electrophoresis should be added, or materials such as SGCC, stainless steel, or aluminum alloy should be used for better suits.
After uploading 3D/2D drawings and supplementing materials, quantities, tolerances, surface treatments, and delivery requirements, XPartsLab will provide next steps in 3D printing manufacturability, cost, and delivery pathways.
