Metal plays a major role in everyday life, but it has only come to be this way thanks to advances made in the metal fabrication industry. From fences to catwalks and range hoods to vehicles, here are a few common metal fabrication methods used to create products and components for everyday use:
1. Welding—One of the most popular metal fabrication processes used today, welding involves joining two separate metal parts. These can be sheets, bars, shapes, or panels – as long as they are made of metal, they can be welded. Within the category of welding, there are many different methods and tools used.
2. Cutting—One of the most common metal fabrication processes used today is cutting, where a sheet of metal is cut into smaller sections. In many cases, the metal being cut is brand new and has yet to be cut or shaped into any useable product. Cutting can be performed using many types of machinery, from plasma torches to lasers.
3. Machining—Machining is a process that involves using a machine to remove portions from a single piece of metal. Typically performed using a lathe, this device will rotate the piece of metal against other tools that will trim the edges and corners of the sheet.
4. Punching—Just as it sounds, punching is a process that refers to forming holes in a piece of metal. To do this, a piece of metal is put underneath a die, where it is punched through at certain spots by a drill.