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About Sheet Metal Fabrication
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.
Featured
Articles
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9911/Hosford-9911.html
http://archive.metalformingmagazine.com/1998/12/proto/rapidpro.htm
Types of Sheet Metal Fabrication
- 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.
- 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.
-
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.
-
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.
- 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.
- is the
process of forming a hot or cold metal into a different shape by hammering
or pressing.
-
involve all those that use a high temperature to lower a metal’s
resistance to shape change, such as hot rolling and hot stretching.
-
is any process that puts pressure on metal with hammers, rolls or presses
for altering the shape or physical characteristics of the metal material.
- are storage units made from various types of sheet metal.
- 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.
-
is any sheet metal forming tooling process that uses a mechanical hydraulic
press.
- involves
die shearing in sheet metal so that the resulting material is scrap.
-
(http://www.rollformedparts.com)
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.
- involves
the separation of material from a blade that forces the material past
another opposing blade.
- is flat, usually rectangular-shaped metal used in the manufacturing of various metal products.
- is the process that uses large rollers to make the large sheets of metal commonly used in metalworking.
- is the process of stretching, compressing, and shaping sheet metal into various products.
- is the metalworking process that forms products from various types of sheet metal.
- is
the cold forming process of cutting a sheet of metal into smaller pieces
to meet specifications.
- (http://www.metalstamper.net)
is the procedure of impressing three dimensional designs, lettering
or surface definitions through pressurized tools like presses or dies.
- 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.
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