Custom sheet metal fabrication is vital for manufacturing with a huge list of methods and usable metals. In addition, metal is essential in how people operate in every household and working area.
Metal is a stabilizing component that makes all of today’s conveniences possible, from light fixtures and appliances.
Despite its popularity, it is vital to understand how this steel metal manufacturing process works. Here’s a detailed look at the sheet metal custom fabrication method and how it’s used in various industries.
What is Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication?
Custom sheet metal fabrication forms a flat metal sheet into the parts. You can make metal sheets using advanced machinery. This equipment can form, bend, cut, and assemble metal into any shape you need.
Many metals work well for sheet metal custom fabrication. These include steel, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and zinc.
The gauges of the custom sheet metal range from about 0.006 to 0.25 inches. For heavy-duty tasks, thicker gauges are better. Thinner gauges are more malleable, which is useful in some cases.
Steps Involved in Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication
The steps involved in sheet metal custom fabrication are below:
Designing & Drawing:
Making a design for the final product is the first step in the manufacture of custom sheet metal. Engineers are the ones who produce the design.
Today, many engineers rely on CAD (computer-aided design) software like AutoCAD or Solidworks. But some fabricators still choose hand-drawn designs. These methods can be fine for simple jobs.
Pro-production testing ensures the product’s quality. It also lets the client test it in real situations.
Metal Fabrication:
This is how metal is made. Raw materials go through several processes to become the finished product. This product is manufacture through the design guidelines and budget.
Assembly:
The final step in custom sheet metal fabrication is assembling all components from the previous step.
After the metal has been shaped or cut to fit an application, it may need to be fused or joined together with adhesives, welding, brazing, or riveting.
Product Finishing:
The final product is sent to the finishing process after the sheet metal parts have been assembled. The features and components go through finishing techniques to improve the final product.
Depending on the final product, the components may also be brushed, polished, or shined. After that, safety mechanisms, decals, and other finishing touches are applied.
Shipping:
The last step of the steel metal manufacturing process. The final product is packing and sent to the client or whoever will use it.
When creating packages, it’s important to think about the entire logistics cycle. You should also keep shipping requirements in mind.
Steps of Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication Processes
Sheet metal can be shaped and manipulated using a variety of methods. Certain applications are better suited to some of these processes than others.
1. Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication Cutting Process:
Sheet fabrication uses rolled metal sheets. These sheets are flat and rectangular. Therefore, custom sheet metal cutting is the first step in any sheet fabrication. This procedure uses a solid force to cut or remove a metal sheet.
They are cut into two pieces without shear. This includes:
Plasma cutting
Waterjet cutting
Laser beam cutting
Shear cutting (like punching, shearing, and blanking)
We will explain each technique in detail in this section.
Cutting with Shear:
The techniques used in cutting with shear are the following below:
Shearing:
Shearing works well for large projects. It cuts soft materials like mild steel, brass, and aluminum. It’s useful when clean finishes aren’t required.
It makes straight lines on sheet metal with a flat surface. The cutting point splits the flat metal material. We applied a shear force to the surface in the shearing method.
Punching:
Shear force is also used when punching to make holes in sheet metal. In this case, the scrap material removed from the hole is the final piece. The material left on the die is the scrap.
It can make various sizes and shapes of cutouts and holes with the help of punching. This method is quicker than blanking, resulting in clean and precise parts in a short amount of time.
Blanking:
Blanking is a cost-effective method for making sheet metal. Using a blanking punch and die, a small amount of sheet metal is cut out of a more extensive stock material.
During the process, the die holds the sheet metal while the punch exerts a “blanking force” on it.
Cutting without Shear:
Many processes enable custom sheet metal cutting without shear force.
Laser Beam Cutting:
Laser-cutting sheet metal involves melting in specific locations with focused laser beams.
Laser cutters are compatible with many metals, including mild steel and non-ferrous metals. This method is comprised of two concurrently running sub-processes.
Concentrating a powerful laser beam on the sheet metal is the first method. Then, the material vaporizes from absorbing the laser beam’s thermal energy.
Plasma Cutting:
Plasma is used in this thermal cutting process to cut metal. The metal is subjected to a lot of heat and gradually melts away.
The cut is rough, with many burrs and an oxidized area around the cut. This technique is great for cutting medium-thick custom aluminum sheet metal.
Waterjet Cutting:
A high-pressure water stream is used in this cutting procedure to cut metal sheets. Waterjet cutting is flexible and can cut a large range of hard and soft materials.
It cuts well through rubber, fabrics, soft materials, metal foils, and other materials.
2. Sheet Metal Custom Forming Process
The process for forming sheet metal reshaping materials while preserving the solid states.
However, the applications of these methods for custom sheet metal fabrication are distinct
. This section will discuss the fundamental forming methods utilized in sheet metal engineering.
2.1 Bending:
Custom sheet metal bending provides great value when done on a small to medium scale. It involves using force to deform the metal’s surface and bend it at the right angle to get your desired shape.
You can finalize this operation using rolling machines and press brakes. This method works for spring steel, copper, and aluminum 5052.
2.2 Hemming:
Hemming is a custom sheet metal method in which a sheet metal edge is rolling over to form a two-layered area. There are typically two stages to it.
The first step is to blend the sheet metal before lowering it into a V-die. On the other hand, in stage two, the material was isolated and put in a flattening die.
2.3 Rolling:
A metal piece is rolled by passing it through a pair of rollers to reduce or achieve a balanced thickness gradually.
To generate compressive forces, these rollers continuously rotate at a high-efficiency rate.
2.4 Stamping:
Sheet metal stamping is a cold-forming process that uses stamping presses and dies to shape raw materials.
This method works well for sheet metals such as:
Stainless steel
Low-carbon steel
High-carbon steel
Aluminium
Laiton
Cuivre
And others.
3. Sheet Metal Custom Fabrication Joining Process
Here are the custom joining techniques for sheet metal in the fabrication process:
3.1 Welding:
Welding combines two pieces of metal into a one-piece through heat and pressure. The face metal melts using high heat, and typically filter material is added.
Welding can be done in a variety of ways and with a variety of tools. For example, heat is applied to the points where the two pieces are frequently used to create a weld.
3.2 Riveting:
The process of riveting entails first drilling a hole in the metal sheets that will be joined and then putting in the rivet.
Next, you squash the rivet’s tail to deform it after inserting it. The rivet’s tail will be flattened, preventing it from falling off. Additionally, non-ferrous metals like copper and aluminum can be riveted.
Why is Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication Important?
Custom sheet metal fabrication needs exact measurements, layouts, and plans to make the final product. This sets it apart from other manufacturing methods.
It is use in numerous industries like automotive, aerospace, construction, and medical.
Many products can use for sheet metal custom fabrication, such as plastic, carbon steel, brass, and many others.
We need manufacturing to use electrical systems. It helps us make items for kitchens, bathrooms, businesses, homes, and cars. And that’s just the beginning.
It’s hard to picture modern life without these manufactured items. They are made quickly and effectively by industries.
Design Tips for Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication
Here are design tips for sheet metal custom fabrication.
1. Wall Thickness:
Each component must have the same density. This is because sheet metal custom fabrication parts come from a single sheet of metal.
Generally, you can sheet metal manufacture parts with a thickness of at least 0. 9 mm to 20 mm. However, different methods of sheet metal custom fabrication work with different densities.
Sheet metal bending, on the other hand, can work with metal sheets with thicknesses ranging from 0.5 mm to 6 mm.
2. Holes and Slot Orientation:
When creating parts for custom sheet metal fabrication, keep in mind the diameter of holes and slots.
Additionally, there should be sufficient space between the holes. Opening dispersing should be twice the thickness of the sheet metal when bending or forming. Closing gaps can cause breakage or deformation.
3. Bend Allowance:
The additional material length that must be added to the real parts is known as the bend allowance.
Measurements to create a flat pattern. First, however, we must remove the bend deduction from the flange size to achieve a balanced design.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication
Sheet metal custom comprises many methods to help create components for many industries. Therefore, the pros and cons depend on the process that you can choose.
The advantages and disadvantages of custom sheet metal fabrication are below:
Advantages of Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication:
Efficiency and accuracy
Easy to transport.
Sheet metal is very lightweight.
Wide variety of materials and finishing options.
Numerous shapes can form with custom sheet metal. In addition, it makes a very durable surface.
Disadvantages of Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication:
Complex bending operations.
Minimal design
Some applications don’t require metals.
Sheet metal custom fabrication requires a high cost for tools and equipment.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed the Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication processes. So, a sheet metal manufactured application is a good choice.
Understanding the processes in sheet metal fabrication is crucial. You also need to know the basic design guidelines, materials, and finishes. Each of these components significantly increases the potential of your project.
We hope the information in this article will guide you to make a good decision.