About Metal Fabrications and Metal Fabrication Services
Including: Aluminum
Fabricators, Metal
Fabricators, Stainless
Steel Fabricators, Steel
Fabricators & Structural
Steel Fabricators.
Metal fabrication services manufacture custom components
that make up larger assemblies or end products. Fabrication encompasses a wide
variety of operations that are performed on comparatively thin sheets of metal.
Metal fabrication services typically fall into two categories: heavy fabrication
(e.g. bridge, crane and ship structures) and light fabrication, such as automobile
bodies, water tanks and metal chairs. Metal fabrication operations include stamping,
cutting, bending, forming, laser
cutting and welding. Metal
fabricators have an understanding of
metal structures, are able to read and interpret engineering drawings
and
can fabricate
shapes using geometric development techniques. Other products manufactured
by metal fabricators include enclosures, frames, brackets, panels,
grills, cabinets, etc.
Metal fabrications start with metal stock that is cut to the required
size through shearing, power hack, band or circular sawing or acetylene
torch cutting. The metal stock is then formed into the desired geometries
through the application of mechanical force. Common types of metal
shaping equipment include press brakes, rolls, spinners and punches.
The workpiece is given its final shape through machining operations,
such as broaching, boring, twist drilling, turning, counterboring,
spotfacing, countersinking, reaming, milling and grinding. Non-traditional
machining methods are slower and require higher energy but are necessary
for applications in which traditional methods are not effective. Non-traditional
machining methods cover a broad range of mechanical, electrical, thermal
and chemical processes.
Metal fabrications are capable of joining metal parts together through
various processes. Welding is nearly always used in metal fabrications
processes. Types of welding differ by heat source, pressure and filler
metals. Heat and filler metals are used to connect metal surfaces in
brazing and soldering operations. These joining processes do not melt
the base materials as welding does. Metal parts may also be joined
by applying adhesives and then curing or setting the adhesive.
Finishing processes are used by metal fabrication services to protect
the metal workpiece from cracking, to improve machinability, relieve
stresses, enhance mechanical properties, provide impact resistance
or alter the electrical or magnetic properties of the surface of the
material (substrate). Parts may be heat-treated at various stages of
the fabrication process in a type of furnace
that may be a salt-bath, vacuum, fluidized-bed, induction, laser or electron
beam furnace. Case hardening, similar to heat treating, is a process
in which the parts are heated with a thermochemical treatment that alters
the chemical composition of the steel surface in order to impart certain
surface characteristics. Quenching is a cooling process that a metal
workpiece undergoes after heat-treating. Cooling media, which include
air, oil, polymers, water and molten salts, may be applied in streaming
gaseous form, liquid baths, fog or mist, in order to cool the metal workpiece
at varying rates and to varying degrees. Polishing and buffing lathes,
high-speed polishing machines or off-hand buffing and polishing pads
are used to smooth and shine the substrate. Wet or dry tumbling and vibratory
finishing processes use media, such as ceramics, stone, glass beads,
metal shot, etc.. For cleaning purposes, oxide removal/descaling, brightening
or edge-breaking and burr removal are used.
Types of Metal Fabrication
- manufacture components for industrial machinery or other products.
-
utilizes a device that produces a bright and intense light beam. The
high-powered laser
beam, depending on the total power output and beam diameter, is
capable of cutting, marking and welding a metal.
-
is the act of creating or modifying a metal product. Examples of metal
fabricating include welding, bending, laser cutting, etc.
-
create custom-shaped or molded goods from metal sheets. Sheet metal
fabricators are responsible for making body panels for automobiles,
aerospace and aviation parts.
-
is the process of creating custom parts using various grades of stainless
steel. Stainless
steel offers excellent corrosion resistance, high strength and attractive
aesthetic characteristics.
-
make or modify products made of steel. A steel fabricator offers varying
services including steel bending, welding and cutting.
- manufacture steel components for the construction industry.
Metal Fabrication Terms
-
A steel to which one or more alloying elements-with the exception
of carbon and the commonly accepted amounts of manganese, silicon sulfur
and phosphorus-have been added to attain specific physical properties.
Common alloys include chromium, nickel, molybdenum, etc.
- A nonferrous metal
that is commonly used in the creation of light, strong and corrosion-resistant
alloys. Aluminum is an element that is primarily found in bauxite.
- A process that involves
the heating and cooling of a cold-rolled substrate, making it softer and
easier to form.
- The changing of the
shape of sheet metal by utilizing pairs of forming rollers in succession.
Bending changes the thickness of the metal only at the bend radius, at
which point a slight thinning occurs.
- A high-heat, metal-linking
method that uses a filler material to make a bond between two metals.
The filler is melted to a temperature just below the melting points of
the materials being joined.
- A solution
of chemicals often applied to various metals in order to inhibit corrosion.
- A manufacturing process that automatically
shapes or forms metals or other materials into highly precise parts. CNC machines utilize specialized software in conjunction with CAD/CAM
software systems to instruct the tooling to execute the exact movements
necessary to create the part.
- A flat-rolled
metal sheet whose final thickness was achieved by rolling it at room temperature.
- A chemical
film that is applied to a metal prior to the painting process.
- The deterioration
of a metal due to a chemical reaction or oxidation. Rust is a common form
of corrosion.
- A process in which
a metal is penetrated or opened using a sharp edge. Metal sheets are almost
always cut from a larger source prior to fabrication.
- The application of a powerful die to a metal blank. Pressure from
the stamping device is often applied by a mechanical or hydraulic
press.
- The ability of a
metal to endure change without fracturing. Hardness and the tensile strength
of the metal often determine its ductility.
- A term that encompasses
many processes, which are used to shape or mold a metal piece into a desired
configuration.
- A metal sheet
processed to its absolute thickness by rolling on a specialized hot-rolling
machine.
- Eliminating distortions
of a rolled sheet by flattening the material.
- The process of applying a powder consisting of solids to a material
surface and then heating the powder above its melting point to create
a uniform film.
- A process in which sheet metal is continually deformed by passing
it through a series of rolls.
- A wide variety of corrosion-resistant steel that contains at least
10% chromium and to which varying amounts of other elements, such as nickel,
molybdenum, titanium and niobium, have been added.
- Also referred
to as "ultimate strength," it is the maximum amount of stress
a material can endure.
- The joining of two
metals accomplished by heating them enough to melt into one another. Welding
differs from brazing in that it does not require a filler material to
create the actual bond.