Metal Fabrication Industry

Metal fabrication involves various processes to shape, cut, and assemble metal into finished products. Because all raw metal will oxidize or rust, metal products require some metal finishing such as plating, oxide, passivation, anodize, chem-film or other coatings depending on their end use. High-volume, commercial metal fabricators make up a substantial percentage of Reliable Plating’s monthly business.

Here are some of the most common metal fabrication processes that our industrial manufacturing customers do.

• Cutting: This is one of the most fundamental processes, involving splitting metal into smaller sections. Techniques include sawing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, and plasma arc cutting. We’ll often put a rust preventative coating on this raw material.

• Casting: Molten metal is poured into a mold and allowed to cool and harden into the desired shape. Types of casting include die casting, permanent mold casting, and sand casting.

• Drawing: This process uses tensile force to pull metal through a die, stretching it into a thinner shape. It’s often used to create cylindrical or box-shaped vessels.

• Folding: Metal is bent at an angle, typically using a brake press. This process is common for shaping sheet metal.

• Forging: Metal is shaped by compressive force, usually with a hammer or die. Forging can be done at room temperature (cold forging) or at high temperatures (hot forging).

• Extrusion: Metal is forced through a die to create objects with a fixed cross-sectional profile, such as pipes or wiring. Reliable finishes hundreds of extruded aluminum or steel channels that hold glass, such as those for shower doors and office building separators. ( Check out all the finishes on glass channels industry page.)

• Machining: This involves removing material from a workpiece to shape it, using tools like lathes, mills, and drills. We process thousands of CNC machined aluminum parts every week through our anodizing department.

• Punching: A punch press is used to create holes in metal by applying a high force.

• Shearing: This process cuts straight lines on flat metal stock, often used to trim edges.

• Stamping: Similar to punching, but the metal is not cut. Instead, it is deformed or embossed to create a shape or pattern.

• Welding: Metal pieces are joined together by melting their edges and adding a filler material to form a strong joint. ( Check out some stainless-steel weld dressing and polishing here.)

Each of these processes has its own applications and is chosen based on the specific requirements of the project, such as the type of metal, the desired shape, and the intended use of the final product. Reliable can provide plating, anodizing, or polishing services for all your metal finishing needs.