Scope of this guide. Published costs, savings and schedules are indicative examples, not a project quotation or guarantee. Compare the same location, specification and scope. Structural supply, civil works, building services, finishes and logistics must be confirmed separately; permit and engineering requirements depend on the site.
In short
- NewCon Steel® makes five families of cold-formed steel (CFS) profiles: studs, tracks, hat channels, C-sections, and Z-purlins, from 0.85 to 2.5 mm thick.
- A stud is the vertical member of a wall, and a track is the U-shaped piece that receives it at the top and bottom.
- Hat channels fasten roofing, cladding, and ceilings to the structure, while C- and Z-sections work as joists, truss chords, purlins, and girts.
- Thickness is specified in millimeters of sheet rather than by gauge, because gauge conversion charts differ from one specifier to the next.
- The project’s calculations to AISI S100-16 (R2020) and AISI S240-20 decide which profile and thickness each member gets.
- NewCon Steel ships every piece CNC-cut, punched, and labeled to a ±0.5 mm fabrication tolerance.
NewCon Steel® manufactures five families of cold-formed steel (CFS) profiles, also called light-gauge steel (LGS): studs, tracks, hat channels, C-sections, and Z-purlins, in thicknesses from 0.85 to 2.5 mm (0.033–0.098 in). Studs form the wall, tracks cap and anchor it, hat channels carry cladding and roofing, and C- and Z-sections work in floors, trusses, and purlins. The project’s structural calculations decide which profile and thickness each member gets.
This guide maps the names used in different markets, explains what each profile does, and shows how to order by family, thickness, and length.
Regional glossary: one profile, several names
CFS framing reached Latin America with vocabulary from several markets, so the same member can appear under three names in one bid package. If you are a US or Canadian developer building in Colombia or Panama, you will see these Spanish terms on local drawings:
- Stud (paral in Colombia, montante in Panama, PGC in Argentina): the vertical member of a wall.
- Track (canal in Colombia, riel in Panama, PGU or solera in Argentina): the U-shaped member that receives studs at the top and bottom.
- Hat channel (omega; also called furring channel): a hat-shaped section that fastens cladding or roofing to the structure.
- C-section (perfil C): a lipped channel used as a joist, header, truss chord, or purlin.
- Z-section (perfil Z; Z-purlin): a section with flanges pointing in opposite directions, used as a roof purlin or wall girt.
Geometrically, a stud is also a lipped C-section. Catalogs tell them apart by function and dimensions, so name both the family and the section when you order. In floor framing, C-sections set horizontally are called joists, and the track that caps their ends is called a rim track. US drawings often call out members with the SFIA designator, such as 600S162-54. It gives web depth and flange width in hundredths of an inch, a style letter (S for lipped studs and joists, T for tracks), and minimum base-metal thickness in mils. If your drawings use designators, include them in your request for quote (RFQ). The project data sheet issued with the quote gives each section’s dimensions and properties, so the engineer of record can check them against the designator.
What each profile does
The table summarizes each family’s job, where it goes, and which standard governs its design or its loads. The applications match those NewCon Steel publishes on its LGS/CFS profiles page: bearing walls and floors, trusses and purlins, and partitions and facade framing.
Table 1. Cold-formed steel profile families: function, typical use, and governing standard.
| Profile | Function | Typical use | Reference standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Vertical member that carries wall loads and supports sheathing or cladding | Bearing walls and shear walls; interior partitions and facade subframing | AISI S100-16 (R2020) for the member; AISI S240-20 in bearing walls |
| Track | Unlipped U-section that receives stud ends and anchors them to the slab, floor, or roof | Top and bottom of bearing walls and partitions | AISI S240-20 in bearing walls, as part of the framing system |
| Hat channel | Hat-shaped section that spaces and fastens cladding over the structure | Light roof purlins and battens; facade and ceiling subframing | Wind loads to ASCE/SEI 7-22 on roofs and facades |
| C-section | Lipped channel working in bending or as a truss member | Floor joists, truss chords and webs, headers, and purlins | AISI S100-16 (R2020); AISI S240-20 in floors and trusses |
| Z-section | Section with opposed flanges working in bending between supports | Roof purlins and wall girts | AISI S100-16 (R2020); loads to ASCE/SEI 7-22 |
In purlin design, two Z-sections are commonly nested and lapped over a support to make the purlin line continuous; if your project uses laps, show them in the takeoff. Every family is roll-formed from Zn-Al-Mg 275 g/m² coil (ZM275 to EN 10346 / ZMM275 to ASTM A1046), with 275 g/m² total across both faces (0.90 oz/ft²). A partition stud carries the same coating as a bearing-wall stud.
Thickness in millimeters, not gauge
NewCon Steel specifies thickness in millimeters of sheet, within a range of 0.85 to 2.5 mm, rather than by gauge number. The reason is practical: gauge-to-millimeter equivalents vary with the chart your specifier uses, so the same gauge number can mean different thicknesses in two offers. NewCon Steel therefore issues the equivalence in writing on the project data sheet.
When you review an offer, also confirm what the figure measures: base steel without coating or total thickness, and nominal or minimum. AISI S100-16 (R2020) requires that the uncoated minimum steel thickness delivered to the job site be at least 95% of the thickness used in design, except at bends. You can check that against the mill certificate (mill test report, MTR) for the lot.
A bearing wall’s thickness does not come from a catalog. It depends on wall height, stud spacing, the site’s gravity, wind, and seismic loads, and the local code. The engineer of record sets it in the structural calculations.
Cut, punched, and labeled from the model
NewCon Steel profiles do not arrive in stock lengths for cutting on site. NewCon Steel roll-forms each piece on its line and processes it by CNC. Each piece is cut to the takeoff length, punched with its service penetrations and connection holes, and marked and labeled with its shop-drawing identifier. The CNC fabrication tolerance is ±0.5 mm (±0.02 in).
On site, the crew locates each piece by its mark, aligns it, and screws it down. Field cutting, hole layout, and coating touch-up on saw-cut edges drop out of the schedule. If you want the framing labor off the job site too, the same profiles ship as pre-assembled structural panels: walls, floors, and trusses built in the plant, numbered, and sequenced to the model.
Traceability follows the same logic. Each label ties the piece to its shop drawing and to the steel lot it came from, and the material ships with the mill certificate for that lot. When a reviewer asks for the certificate, the piece label leads straight to it. Export shipments also carry the Panamanian certificate of origin (HS 72.16); import treatment is decided by the destination customs.
Load-bearing versus non-load-bearing
A load-bearing member is part of the system that holds up the building. It carries dead load, live load, wind, and seismic forces down to the foundations. A non-load-bearing member sits outside that system. It supports cladding or finishes and the loads acting on them, as in an interior partition or facade subframing. The difference lies in the member’s role in the design: the same stud can be load-bearing in a bearing wall and non-load-bearing in an office partition.
For load-bearing members, the framing system is designed to AISI S240-20, with seismic design to AISI S400-20 when the project’s seismic design category requires it. Loads come from ASCE/SEI 7-22 and the local code: REP-2021 in Panama, NSR-10 in Colombia, or the IBC edition adopted in each Caribbean jurisdiction. Ask for drawings that mark which walls are load-bearing, because that changes the section, the thickness, and the connections. Details are on our engineering and standards page.
How to order profiles by family, thickness, and length
A well-defined profile order gets quoted without a second round of emails. Send NewCon Steel these five items:
- Takeoff or model: drawings, the structural model, or a quantity list by family, thickness, and length. If you do not have a takeoff yet, send the geometry, and the NewCon Steel team will turn it into a piece list.
- Family and section: stud, track, hat channel, C, or Z, with dimensions or SFIA designators.
- Thickness in mm: within 0.85 to 2.5 mm. If you are not sure, state the structural use.
- Coating: Zn-Al-Mg 275 g/m². If your specifier requires a different coating mass, say so before the quote.
- Destination and code: country, city, port or delivery point, and the applicable design code.
NewCon Steel quotes loose profiles by linear meter (3.28 ft) or by metric ton (1,000 kg), with a formal quote within 48 hours covering quantities, thicknesses, coating, and shipping terms. Section dimensions and properties for each family are issued on the project data sheet. Available sections and thicknesses can vary by production run, so confirm them before you issue the purchase order. Our buying guide and FAQ cover the rest of the process.
NewCon Steel manufactures and supplies the steel and does not build buildings. If you need a finished building, SmartBrix Construction builds it with its Steel Framing line.
Request a profile quote by linear meter or metric ton → Include family, thickness, quantities, and destination country. Reply within 24 business hours · technical proposal / quote in 48 h.