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Iron vs. Plywood Compare Iron vs. Plywood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
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Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Iron Wrought Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Plywood Natural Try it on a partA sample part to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser Open in LessCAD Open in LessCAD Mechanical Yield strength 186 MPa source typical (0.2% YS), hot rolled + SRA/recrystallization anneal not given (tensile used) Ultimate tensile strength 290 MPa source typical, SRA/recrystallization anneal 41.4 MPa source modulus of rupture (no direct tensile value) Flexural strength not sourced 41.4 MPa source static bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across species Elongation at break 38 % source typical, gauge 4D0 not sourced Young's modulus (stiffness) 207 GPa source typical, after SRA/recrystallization anneal 7.45 GPa source static bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species Density 7,860 kg/m³ source typical not sourced Strength to weight 23.7 kN·m/kg not sourced Stiffness to weight 26.3 MN·m/kg not sourced Poisson's ratio 0.282 source NIST critically evaluated best value (polycrystalline iron) not sourced Shear modulus 80.7 GPa not sourced Bulk modulus 158 GPa not sourced Speed of sound 5,132 m/s not sourced Thermal Thermal conductivity 73.2 W/m·K source typical at 20 °C 0.12 W/m·K source APA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL Thermal expansion 13.7 µm/m·K source mean, 20-399 °C 3.1–4.5 µm/m·K source base material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing 68.5 µm growth 19 µm growth 3.61x less Specific heat 450 J/kg·K source typical 1,700 J/kg·K source base material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C Heats up and cools (diffusivity) 20.7 mm²/s not sourced Thermal shock resistance 3,447 W/m not sourced Melting point 1,532 °C source typical not sourced Values for Cleveland-Cliffs / AK Steel ARMCO Pure Iron Product Data Bulletin (07/2022): Table 1 typical physical properties, Table 2 typical mechanical properties after SRA/recrystallization anneal. Douglas-fir plywood sheathing (construction plywood per PS 1), static bending properties from USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 Ch. 12 Table 12-2 (Biblis 2000)
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Questions Is Iron stronger than Plywood? Iron is stronger: its yield strength is 186 MPa against tensile strength 41.4 MPa for Plywood (4.5x).
Which is stiffer, Iron or Plywood? Iron is stiffer: Young's modulus 207 GPa against 7.45 GPa for Plywood, so the same part in Iron deflects less under the same load.
Which conducts heat better, Iron or Plywood? Iron conducts heat better: 73.2 W/m·K against 0.12 W/m·K for Plywood.
Which expands less with temperature? Plywood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 13.7 µm/m·K for Iron.
Among 59 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Iron Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Rubber Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Brick Iron Strength against density