Metal Fabrication
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IQS Newsroom Articles on Metal Fabrication
About Metal Fabrications and Metal Fabrication Services Including: Aluminum Fabricators, Custom Metal Fabrication, Fabricated Metal Products, Heavy Fabrication, Laser Fabrication, Metal Bending, Metal Forming, Metal Welding, Metalworking, Robotic Welding, Stainless Steel Fabricators & Steel Fabricators.
Metal fabricators manufacture custom metal housings, storage containers and components that make up larger assemblies or fabricated netal products. Fabrication encompasses a wide variety of operations that are performed on comparatively thin sheets of metal or metal plates. Metal fabricators have an understanding of metal structures, are able to read and interpret engineering drawings and can fabricate shapes using geometric development techniques. While some fabricators, such as steel fabricators, aluminum fabricators and stainless steel fabricators, specialize in one type of material, most types of metal sheets and plates can be fabricated. Structural steel fabricators working in contract construction use fabricated structural steel materials and structural steel beams provided by metal fabricators. Metal fabrication processes involve metal bending, metal forming, metal machining, stamping, cutting, laser cutting and metal welding, often done by the fully automated robotic welding process. Metal fabrication services typically fall into two categories: heavy fabrication such as bridge, crane and ship structures, and light fabrication, such as automobile bodies, water tanks, electronic enclosures and metal cabinets. Other custom metal fabrication products include frames, brackets, panels, grills, outdoor sculptures and automotive parts.
Metal fabrications start with metal stock plates or sheet 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 mechanical force applied through presses, typically brake presses. Hydraulic brake presses with v-shaped dies are commonly used for forming corners and 90° angles, while wing brakes, hand powered brakes, tube bending machines, punches, rolling and wheeling machines are used for other types of bending and forming. 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.
Joining parts, plates and edges together is an essential part of the fabrication process, and metal fabricators use various processes to accomplish this. 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, and some products - particularly in consumer industries - are given a final powder coat finish.Metal Fabrication Types
- 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.
- Metal bending is a metal forming process in which metal can be deformed through plastically deforming the material and then changing its shape.
- is the act of creating or modifying a metal product. Examples of metal fabricating include welding, bending, laser cutting, etc.
- Metal forming encompasses a wide variety of manufacturing processes that are performed on comparatively thin sheets of metal or metal plates and are used to fabricate metal components.
- Metal welding is the joining of two metals through coalescence, which is accomplished through heating the metals enough to melt into one another.
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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.
