Sheet metal fabrication is the process of altering sheet metal by joining and shaping metal together to form different metal sections or an entire structure. Structural steel fabricators use various techniques to do this.
Sheet steel fabrication is a complex process and it involves two main sub-processes- metal shaping and metal fusion. Each of these two processes has their own corresponding techniques.
Metal Shaping
Forming or metal shaping is the process of bending, cutting, shrinking, and stretching metal to shape it. These processes are done using various techniques such as form bending, metal brake, power shears, hand shears, tucking metal, shrinker, Hammer & Dolly, stretcher and English wheel.
Metal Brake-This is the most common technique of bending sheet metal with precision. In this technique, sheet metal is placed on a flat surface and then bent by clamping a flat bar on top of the metal and lifting the gated portion to bend the metal to the desired angle.
Hand Shears- This tool enables cutting metal manually. These are also known as snips and are the basic tools for metal cutting
Heat Shrinking- This technique of shrinking metal requires a lot of practice. It involves heating an overstretched area with a torch which is red hot, which then shrinks as it cools down.
Hammer & Dolly- This is the most basic way of stretching sheet metal. This technique involves firmly holding an object behind the metal and hitting the other side with a hammer.
Metal fusion or Joining
This is the last step in the fabrication process where different metal sections are fused together by welding. There are different types of welding such as Oxy-Acetylene welding, TIG welding, and a few others.
Oxy Acetylene Welding – Oxygen and acetylene gas are mixed together to create a flame which can melt steel. This is one of the oldest methods of welding. It requires great skill and the welds produced are the softest and flexible. Oxy-acetylene welds are the easiest to smooth out using a dolly and hammer.
TIG Welding- This type of welding requires a lot of skill. It uses a torch that has a non-consumable electrode that creates a small, precise electric arc which melts the sheet metal. TIG welding is more precise than oxy-acetylene welding, which is why most fabricators prefer this technique.
Sheet metal fabrication is widely used to build industrial equipment and metal structures. It is imperative that you opt for well trained, highly experienced structural steel fabricators for all your fabrication requirements.
