SpecBase

Rigid PVC (Type I) Hexagonal Bar Weight

Mass per metre and per foot for rigid pvc (type i) hexagonal bar at 1,400 kg/m³ (ASTM D1784 Cell Classification 12454). Every figure is for the section as drawn. A 6 m length of this size weighs 4.2 kg (9.4 lb per 20 ft).

Mass / length
0.698kg/m
0.469 lb/ft
Cross-section
498.8mm²
0.7732 in²
Reference size
24mm
AF
Density
1,400kg/m³
0.0506 lb/in³
6 m / 20 ft length
4.2kg
9.4 lb

At the reference dimensions (AF = 24 mm) this section has a cross-sectional area of 498.8 mm², giving 0.698 kg/m (0.469 lb/ft). Against carbon steel's 7,850 kg/m³ that is -82.2 % — the same section in steel would be 3.916 kg/m.

Calculate your own dimensions → Pipe and hollow sections

Hexagonal Bar — formula and derivation

Area of a hexagonal bar

A = (√3/2) · AF² ≈ 0.8660 · AF²

A = (√3/2) × AF², where AF is the distance across flats (the wrench size), not across corners

Worked through with the default dimensions:

A = (√3/2) × AF²A = 0.866025 × 24²A = 0.866025 × 576.0A = 498.8 mm²
AF
Across flats (AF) — Distance between opposite flats — the size a spanner grips. Hex bar is ordered by AF, not by corner-to-corner.

Weight follows from the area with no further geometry: m = A × 10⁻⁶ × ρ, where A is in mm², ρ in kg/m³ and m in kg/m. At 1,400 kg/m³ that is 0.6984 kg/m for the reference size above.

PVC hexagonal bar — size series

Rigid PVC (Type I) hexagonal bar — by across flats (af)
Across flats (AF) Cross-section Mass / length
5.0 mm 21.65 mm² · 0.0336 in² 0.030 kg/m · 0.020 lb/ft
6.0 mm 31.18 mm² · 0.0483 in² 0.044 kg/m · 0.029 lb/ft
8.0 mm 55.43 mm² · 0.0859 in² 0.078 kg/m · 0.052 lb/ft
10 mm 86.60 mm² · 0.1342 in² 0.121 kg/m · 0.081 lb/ft
12 mm 124.71 mm² · 0.1933 in² 0.175 kg/m · 0.117 lb/ft
14 mm 169.74 mm² · 0.2631 in² 0.238 kg/m · 0.160 lb/ft
17 mm 250.28 mm² · 0.3879 in² 0.350 kg/m · 0.235 lb/ft
19 mm 312.64 mm² · 0.4846 in² 0.438 kg/m · 0.294 lb/ft
22 mm 419.16 mm² · 0.6497 in² 0.587 kg/m · 0.394 lb/ft
24 mm 498.83 mm² · 0.7732 in² 0.698 kg/m · 0.469 lb/ft
27 mm 631.33 mm² · 0.9786 in² 0.884 kg/m · 0.594 lb/ft
32 mm 886.81 mm² · 1.3746 in² 1.242 kg/m · 0.834 lb/ft
36 mm 1,122.37 mm² · 1.7397 in² 1.571 kg/m · 1.056 lb/ft
41 mm 1,455.79 mm² · 2.2565 in² 2.038 kg/m · 1.370 lb/ft
46 mm 1,832.51 mm² · 2.8404 in² 2.566 kg/m · 1.724 lb/ft
50 mm 2,165.06 mm² · 3.3559 in² 3.031 kg/m · 2.037 lb/ft

Computed for PVC at 1400 kg/m³ (0.0506 lb/in³). ASTM D1784 Cell Classification 12454.

How to read this table

Each row is one nominal size. Because the area is computed from your dimensions rather than read from a mill table, a non-standard size is just as accurate — put it into the calculator above rather than interpolating between rows.

Imperial sizes

Hexagonal Bar is also bought in inch sizes. The conversions below are exact (1 in = 25.4 mm by definition), so the metric equivalents are the true millimetre dimensions rather than a rounded nominal figure.

PVC — common inch hex bar (across flats)
Stock size Metric equivalent mm Cross-section Mass / length
1/4 in 6.35 34.92 mm² · 0.0541 in² 0.049 kg/m · 0.033 lb/ft
5/16 in 7.94 54.56 mm² · 0.0846 in² 0.076 kg/m · 0.051 lb/ft
3/8 in 9.52 78.57 mm² · 0.1218 in² 0.110 kg/m · 0.074 lb/ft
7/16 in 11.11 106.94 mm² · 0.1658 in² 0.150 kg/m · 0.101 lb/ft
1/2 in 12.70 139.68 mm² · 0.2165 in² 0.196 kg/m · 0.131 lb/ft
9/16 in 14.29 176.78 mm² · 0.2740 in² 0.247 kg/m · 0.166 lb/ft
5/8 in 15.88 218.25 mm² · 0.3383 in² 0.306 kg/m · 0.205 lb/ft
3/4 in 19.05 314.28 mm² · 0.4871 in² 0.440 kg/m · 0.296 lb/ft
7/8 in 22.22 427.77 mm² · 0.6631 in² 0.599 kg/m · 0.402 lb/ft
1 in 25.40 558.72 mm² · 0.8660 in² 0.782 kg/m · 0.526 lb/ft
1-1/4 in 31.75 873.01 mm² · 1.3532 in² 1.222 kg/m · 0.821 lb/ft
1-1/2 in 38.10 1,257.13 mm² · 1.9486 in² 1.760 kg/m · 1.183 lb/ft
2 in 50.80 2,234.90 mm² · 3.4641 in² 3.129 kg/m · 2.102 lb/ft

Stock sizes in inches, converted exactly at 25.4 mm per inch. Material: Rigid PVC (Type I) at 1400 kg/m³.

The same hexagonal bar in every material

Geometry is fixed and only density changes, so this table is the whole material-selection question in one view. Rigid PVC (Type I) is highlighted. The percentage column is against carbon steel, which is the figure most quotations are built on.

Hexagonal Bar at AF = 24 mm — mass in every material
Material Density kg/m³ lb/in³ Mass / length kg/m lb/ft vs carbon steel
Carbon Steel 7,850 0.2836 3.916 2.631 +0.0 %
Stainless Steel 304 8,000 0.2890 3.991 2.682 +1.9 %
Stainless Steel 316 8,000 0.2890 3.991 2.682 +1.9 %
Stainless Steel 316L 8,000 0.2890 3.991 2.682 +1.9 %
Stainless Steel 430 7,700 0.2782 3.841 2.581 -1.9 %
Aluminum 6061-T6 2,700 0.0975 1.347 0.905 -65.6 %
Aluminum 5052-H32 2,680 0.0968 1.337 0.898 -65.9 %
Aluminum 7075-T6 2,810 0.1015 1.402 0.942 -64.2 %
Copper C11000 8,940 0.3230 4.460 2.997 +13.9 %
Brass C36000 8,500 0.3071 4.240 2.849 +8.3 %
Bronze C93200 8,800 0.3179 4.390 2.950 +12.1 %
Titanium Grade 2 4,510 0.1629 2.250 1.512 -42.5 %
Gray Cast Iron 7,200 0.2601 3.592 2.413 -8.3 %
Lead 11,340 0.4097 5.657 3.801 +44.5 %
Rigid PVC (Type I) 1,400 0.0506 0.698 0.469 -82.2 %
HDPE (PE 100) 960 0.0347 0.479 0.322 -87.8 %

Same geometry throughout, so the only variable is density. Carbon steel is highlighted as the baseline.

A note on using this table for costing: mass is not price. Aluminium is roughly a third of steel's mass here, but per kilogram it costs several times more, so a straight swap rarely saves money — what it buys is reduced load on a structure or a vehicle.

About rigid pvc (type i)

Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride, the standard solvent-welded pipe and duct material. At 1,400 kg/m³ it is 82 % lighter than carbon steel — the single biggest mass saving available in the catalogue — which is why PVC pipe is specified for drainage, irrigation and fume ducting where nothing structural is asked of it. The figure assumes rigid, unplasticised compound; flexible PVC contains plasticiser and runs 1,200–1,500 kg/m³, and foamed PVC is far lower again.

Density
1,400 kg/m³ = 0.0506 lb/in³ · 0.1783× carbon steel · typical spread ±3 %
Specification
ASTM D1784 Cell Classification 12454
Equivalents
EN PVC-U · JIS PVC · GB PVC-U
Typical uses
Drainage and soil pipe · Irrigation and fume duct · Chemical process pipework · Electrical conduit
Weight-relevant caution

Density is formulation-dependent: rigid compound 1,380–1,450 kg/m³, plasticised grades are lighter and foamed grades much lighter. Strength falls sharply above about 60 °C.

About hexagonal bar

Hex bar is the one shape where the ordering dimension is not the dimension the formula wants. Stock is sold by across-flats (AF) because that is what the wrench grips, but the area formula needs AF as well — and the two are easy to confuse once a drawing quotes across-corners instead. Across-corners is a factor of 2/√3 (1.1547) larger than AF, so mixing them up inflates the calculated weight by 33 %. Always check which one the drawing calls out.

When ordering

Specified by across-flats. Say so explicitly on the order — "across corners" gives a different bar.

Download this data

PVC hexagonal bar — CSV

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All materials (CSV · 16 × 10 pages)

Fields are quoted per RFC 4180, with a UTF-8 byte-order mark so Excel reads the mm² and · characters correctly. Blank lines separate the weight matrix from the area matrix.

Frequently asked questions

How much does rigid pvc (type i) hexagonal bar weigh?

At the reference dimensions (AF = 24 mm) a rigid pvc (type i) hexagonal bar of this size weighs 0.698 kg/m, or 0.469 lb/ft. The table above lists the figure for every standard size so you can read your size directly instead of scaling.

How is the weight of hexagonal bar calculated?

Weight is cross-sectional area × length × density. For this shape the area is A = (√3/2) · AF² ≈ 0.8660 · AF². At the reference dimensions that gives 498.8 mm², and multiplying by rigid pvc (type i)'s density of 1,400 kg/m³ gives 0.698 kg/m. Nothing is looked up in a table — which is why a non-standard size is calculated just as accurately as a standard one.

Why does rigid pvc (type i) weigh more or less than steel?

It is lighter than carbon steel for the same section — about 82 % lighter at 1,400 kg/m³. Density is the only variable: the cross-sectional area depends purely on geometry, so a hexagonal bar of the same dimensions has the same area in every material and the mass simply scales with density. In this case the ratio is 0.1783× carbon steel.

What is the cross-sectional area of a hexagonal bar?

The area depends only on the dimensions, not on the material, so it is identical whichever material you select: at the reference dimensions it is 498.8 mm² (0.7732 in²). That is the number you would enter into a stress or deflection calculation, and it is why changing material on this page never changes the area column.

Does a pvc hexagonal bar weigh the same as a pvc part of a different shape?

No, and the difference is larger than most people expect. At equal nominal size, a square bar is 27.3 % heavier than a round bar, and a hollow section is typically 60–80 % lighter than the solid bar it replaces. Weight follows area, and area changes faster than dimensions do — which is exactly why this needs calculating rather than estimating.

Should I use PVC weight or carbon steel weight for costing?

Use the material you are actually buying. At 1,400 kg/m³ against carbon steel's 7,850 kg/m³, the same hexagonal bar differs by 82.2 % in mass. On a per-metre quote that is invisible; on a fabricated tonnage it is the difference between a margin and a loss. This page computes the steel figure as 3.916 kg/m for comparison.

Other materials, same hexagonal bar

The same geometry in every material, so the only variable is density.

Other PVC sections

The same density applied to every shape the site covers.

Reference data and tools

Data source and method

Hexagonal Bar area from A = (√3/2) · AF² ≈ 0.8660 · AF². Mass computed as area × length × density at 1,400 kg/m³ (ASTM D1784 Cell Classification 12454). No weight on this page is copied from a published table — which is why figures can differ in the last significant digit from a mill's chart calculated at a nominal density.

  • Elementary plane geometry. The circle, polygon and hollow-section area formulas.
  • ASTM material specifications for each grade named in the material entry (A36, A240/A276, B209/B211/B221, B152/B16/B505, B265/B348, A48, B29, D1784, D3350).
  • BIPM / NIST definitional constants: international inch = 25.4 mm, foot = 0.3048 m, pound = 0.45359237 kg.

Dataset version 2026.09.1 · dimensions last verified against source 2026-09-21. Found an error? Report it — corrections are issued with a version bump.