Different Processes in Sheet Metal Fabrication

Sheet metal fabrication services are a central part of any well-equipped machine shop’s duties. If a casual observer gets the chance to safely see these different processes in action, what’s he likely to observe? To answer that question, imagine the equipment on the floor. Capable of carrying out sophisticated tasks, the machines are bending sheet metal and processing the parts so that they take on geometrically complex form factors.

An Aptitude for Bending and Cutting 

The services described here begin with simple cuts and bends. There are giant shearing stations and abrasive saws cutting the larger sheets into smaller rectangles. Further down the line, skilled workers are adding more refined outlines by running the smaller sheets through bench saws. They’re still flat and featureless, though, the smaller sheets. A press brake gets in on the action. It bends the metal and adds several angled sections to the part. At the higher end of things, laser cutters and bend radius tables supplement the operation.

Drilling and Punching Services 

Not only are the openings dimensionally accurate, they’re also perfectly clean and layered with additional design accents. Ragged edges are removed, countersunk profiles replace the burred edges, and then the punches get to work. Different from the drilling station, the punches stamp plain centre scoring marks or elevate the procedure so that complex stamp marks can be added to the fabricator’s box of tools. Comprehensive punching services subtract exactly shaped metal slugs and quickly dispose of those waste pieces. Alternatively, the operation can be as basic as a centre punched score mark, maybe an array of marks that’ll prep the piece for rows of vent holes.

Calling the Assembly Experts 

Here’s the heart of the operation. All of the discrete parts are cut and bent, and they’ve amassed their various drill holes and punch marks. From here, it’s time to put the parts together. Like a giant puzzle, the separate pieces are fastened to one another. Clearly, we’re not just referring to standard fasteners. Sure, screws, nuts, bolts, washers, rivets, all of these surface anchoring parts are included in workshop assembly operations, but what about welding? Expert fabricators hire expert welders, team members who are trained to utilize MIG and TIG arc welding equipment and any other project-required welding gear.

From sourcing the raw alloy coils and billets to assembling machine processed sheet metal parts, fabrication workshops do it all. From here, there’s still much to process. There’s the sandblasting and post-finishing work, the polishing and coating stages, and more. Even when the assembly work is concluded, the project might not be over, not if there’re maintenance and site installation tasks to address.

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