Metal fabrication is essential to any modern-day manufacturing process. It is both an art and a science, expertly undertaken by skilled workers. Raw metal materials in various forms are taken and transformed into structures, shapes, or products that are used across the globe.
What does metal fabrication involve?
Metal fabrication involves the creation of structures by cutting, bending, or assembling raw metal material. It is a critical part of the process when making anything from metal, which may include steel, welding wire, plate metal, rods, and cast metal.
Metal fabrication is crucial for a number of products, meaning it is a process that is of great importance to a number of sectors and industries worldwide.
What are the stages?
The metal fabrication process usually has three stages, the first of which is the initial design phase. This is followed by the fabrication phase, where components are bent, cut, and assembled. The final stage is installation, where the final product is assembled or put together.
Fabricators often work in designated metal fabrication or machinery workshops.
The process of metal fabrication is generally segmented into industrial, commercial, or structural. From the creation of components of the world’s largest towers to automotive parts and elements of infrastructure, metal fabrication is an essential and booming trade.
Metal fabrication machinery
The metal fabrication process relies on high-quality machinery such as bending machines to create structures or products.
Bending machines are used in the fabrication stage to bend metals at any angle whilst minimising breakage and damage to the structural integrity of the raw material.
Other machinery that may be involved in the metal fabrication process includes presses and tapping machines.
Investing in machinery allows for a long-term reduction in production costs in addition to giving metal fabricators the flexibility to programme specific functions and change tools quickly and easily when required.