The Three Types of Metal Fabrication

November 11, 2021 9:11 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The metal fabrication industry employs over 1.4 million Americans and is a vital component in the manufacturing process. Metal fabricators work on everything from car frames to building panels or even fuselages for planes. So, every metal piece you see has been fabricated in one way or another.

While it’s a huge industry and we use a variety of different tools, you may be surprised to know that there are three main types of sheet metal fabrication: cutting, bending and assembling. This post from our team at N.W. Metal Fabricators, Inc. will cover all three in more detail.

Cutting

The first of the three types of sheet metal fabrication is cutting. Metal fabricators use a variety of specialized tools for cutting all different types of metal. Pros can cut the pieces by hand with torches or use computer numerical control (CNC) machines that utilize lasers or water jets. Today’s advanced CNC machines cut the pieces to the desired size while leaving smooth edges for the next steps.

Bending

Once the piece has been cut, it moves along to the bending stage. There are a few different ways to bend a piece into the desired shape during these types of metal fabrication. The fastest way to bend metal is with a punch press. A punch press essentially clamps the metal between a punch and a die and forces it into the desired shape.

Assembling

The final step in the process is assembly. This involves assembling all of the fabricated parts together to create a final product. The metal pieces are usually welded during assembly, but they can also be crimped or screwed together. After assembling everything, the finishing touches are put on the product and it’s sent to the customer.

What to look for in a metal fabrication partner

While there are 1.4 million metal fabrication workers to choose from, they’re not all created equal. These are a few things to look for when searching for someone to work on your metal pieces:

  • Experience: Even if the professionals use computers or other automated tools for metal fabrication, the profession still requires years of experience to master. So, the first thing to look for is a fabricator and a company with years of experience. We’ve been in the business since 1986, so you can trust that your pieces are in good hands with us.
  • Services offered: There’s no point in taking your metal to one company for cutting, another for bending and a third for assembly. Many metal fabricators perform all three steps, but you’ll want to double-check to ensure that’s the case before agreeing to work with a company.
  • Customer service: At N.W. Metal Fabricators, Inc., we believe our customers come first. Be sure you’re working with a team that accomplishes your metal fabrication while providing high-quality customer care.

Talk to our team today

For the best metalwork, look no further than N.W. Metal Fabricators, Inc. Contact us today to learn more about the different types of metal fabrication or to get a free estimate for our services.

Categorised in:

This post was written by Writer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *