Sheet Metal Fabrication

About Sheet Metal Fabrication and Sheet Metal Fabricators Including: Metal Cabinets, Sheet Metal, Sheet Metal Fabricating, Sheet Metal Forming & Sheet Metal Work.

Sheet metal fabrication includes any process that fashions useable parts from previously manufactured sheet metal. These sheets are occasionally the final product, but more commonly go on for further manufacturing processes that ready the material for its specific application. Sheet metal fabrication describes many related processes that form sheet metal into finished products. The benefits of sheet metal fabrication are far and wide because so many different industries depend on custom fabricated metal parts to function.
 
Sheet metal fabricators utilize three main processes – forming, cutting and finishing. Forming procedures mechanically apply deformation forces to alter the form of a flat sheet of flexible metal. Different forming processes include annealing, bending, cold rolling, drawing, forging, mechanical working, press forming, roll forming and welding. Cutting processes include stamping, shearing, sawing, drilling, blanking and punching and are used to physically alter the shape of a metal by removing some of the material. Sheet metal fabricators use finishing methods to finalize the work of a product, such as deburring, sanding and vibration techniques. Aesthetic considerations like painting and visual design applications are also included in finishing methods. Other machining procedures that can be incorporated into sheet metal fabrication are laser cutting, electrical discharge machining and waterjet cutting.
 
Technology is constantly evolving, and many sheet metal fabricators are making new advances in ways to improve and enhance old methods. Some companies use CNC machining, which utilizes a central computer to control fabrication processes. These computers have to be programmed for the specific task, and often use CAD/CAM system software to help design precisely what needs to be done. Overall, this technology reduces labor cost and provides a simple solution to many sheet metal fabrication problems.
 
Examples of products created during sheet metal fabrication include metal cabinets and enclosures. Others are ventilation shafts, hoods, exhaust systems, tanks and prototypes. Many industries need sheet metal fabrication for their equipment: military, food dispensing and storage, communications, automotive, computer, medical, electronics, aerospace, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, residential and construction. Factors like size, strength, number of parts needed and materials, as well as the specific applications, are important considerations to keep in mind when looking into sheet metal fabrication services.

Sheet Metal Fabrication and Sheet Metal Fabricators Image Provided by Will-Mann

Sheet Metal Fabrication and Sheet Metal Fabricators Images Provided by Johnson Bros. Metal Forming Co.

Types of Sheet Metal Fabrication

• Annealing is a heating and cooling process used to soften metal. Annealing processes change the physical and mechanical characteristics of metal in order to create a specific microstructure.
  
• Bending involves straining metal material by moving it about a linear axis on a neutral plane, typically from strip metal or flat sheets. Flow of metal occurs within the range of plasticity for the metal so the bent portion remains permanently set after the stress is removed.
  
• Cold forming processes involve all those that occur at room temperature, such as bending, rolling and drawing. Cold Forming Processes are generally done to increase a metal’s hardness and strength.
  
• Cold rolling is the process of shaping sheet metal through rollers by compression and squeezing. The degree of strain establishes the hardness, along with the other characteristics of the completed material.
  
• Drawing is a process of forming sheet metal into a cup-like shape by forcing the material into a die with a punch, which stretches the metal into shape. The shape of the drawn part can be rectangular, circular, etc. depending on the cross section.
  
• Forging is the process of forming a hot or cold metal into a different shape by hammering or pressing.
  
• Hot forming processes involve all those that use a high temperature to lower a metal’s resistance to shape change, such as hot rolling and hot stretching.
  
• Mechanical working is any process that puts pressure on metal with hammers, rolls or presses for altering the shape or physical characteristics of the metal material.
  
• Metal cabinets are storage units made from various types of sheet metal.
  
• Piercing is the process of punching or shearing holes and slots in sheet material. Piercing is similar to blanking, except that the resulting piece from piercing is scrap and the resulting piece from blanking is useful.
  
• Press forming is any sheet metal forming tooling process that uses a mechanical hydraulic press.
  
• Punching involves die shearing in sheet metal so that the resulting material is scrap.
  
• Roll forming is a metal forming method for creating long parts with a variety of cross sections. This process forms sheet metal by passing it through a series of powered contoured rolls.
  
• Shearing involves the separation of material from a blade that forces the material past another opposing blade.
  
• Sheet metal is flat, usually rectangular-shaped metal used in the manufacturing of various metal products.
  
• Sheet metal fabricating is the process that uses large rollers to make the large sheets of metal commonly used in metalworking.
  
• Sheet metal forming is the process of stretching, compressing, and shaping sheet metal into various products.
  
• Sheet metal work is the metalworking process that forms products from various types of sheet metal.
  
• Slitting is the cold forming process of cutting a sheet of metal into smaller pieces to meet specifications.
  
• Stamping is the procedure of impressing three dimensional designs, lettering or surface definitions through pressurized tools like presses or dies.  
  
• Welding is a procedure for permanently bonding two or more metal components by melting both materials. Two common methods for sheet metal are spot welding and seam welding.

Sheet Metal Fabrication Terms

Adhesive – A substance that bonds the inner and outer panels of metal.
 
Age Hardening – Heating a metal to a uniform heat and then rapidly cooling it with air or oil to harden it.
 
Alloying Element – A metallic element that is added to another metal to produce an alloy in order to increase properties, such as hardness, strength and corrosion resistance.
 
Bend Test – A test that is used to determine the ductility and malleability of various metals.
 
Blank – A piece of sheet metal that has been cut for further press operation.
 
Bloom – A semi-finished piece of metal that needs further processing.
 
Brazing – The process of joining solid metals together by using a fusible filler metal with a melting point below that of the base metal.
 
Burr – A leftover ridge on the edge of metal caused by cutting operations, such as trimming, slitting and shearing.
 
Cavitation – The rapid formation and depletion of air bubbles within a metal during the solid/liquid interface. Cavitation can cause permanent damage to the material.
 
Cladding – The application of a thin coat of stainless steel to another metal in order to increase corrosion resistance.
 
Corrosion – The gradual deterioration of metals caused by harsh chemical and environmental conditions.
 
Corrosion Rate – The speed at which corrosion occurs on a particular substance.
 
Creep – The slow strain on metals, caused by stress, that occurs over time.
 
Cup – A sheet metal part that is cylindrical or shell-shaped with one end closed.
 
Deburring – The process of smoothing the rough-cut edges of metal.
 
Descaling – A process that involves removing the oxide layer, which forms on metal after hot forming processes.
 
Ductility – The amount of deformation a metal can withstand before failure.
 
Embrittlement – The loss of malleability in a metal after a physical change or due to chemical treatment.
 
Fatigue – The state of a metal after repeated stress, leading to an eventual fracture.
 
Finish Form – Forming a panel metal shape into a completed product.
 
Flange – A projection from the edge or rim of a metal part, typically narrow and of uniform width for fastening.
 
Grinding – Removing parts of the metal by using abrasives.
 
Oxidation – Corrosion of a metal due to oxygen.
 
Pitting – Localized corrosion on a metal surface.
 
Plastic Deformation – The application of stresses, which strain a metal material past its elastic boundary, resulting in a permanent distortion.
 
Plasticity – The capability of metal to undergo permanent deformation without breakage.
 
Strip – A very thin, flat-rolled metal product.
 
Yield Strength – Stress point beyond which a metal undergoes important permanent flow.