Custom Metal Fabrication: Know Your Options

Iowa’s economy continues to recover. You want to put your business in the best position possible. Are you ready for growth?  If you’re in one of the many industries that rely on metal parts, tools, and components, custom metal fabrication can give you a competitive edge.  Keep reading to find out the options that custom metal fabrication can give you.

Benefits of Custom Metal Fabrication

Custom metal fabrication gives you several advantages over off-the-shelf products. A metal fabrication shop will build your components specifically for your project. The parts will be better able to withstand the stresses of the application. They will also be perfectly compatible with the other components you’re using.

You can make your processes more efficient by optimizing the design of your parts with custom metal fabrication. For example, if a sanitation chamber had internal dimensions of 12″ x 36″, a tray that was as close to those dimensions as possible would let you maximize the number of parts you could sanitize in each load.

You can also gain efficiency by designing components to work in multiple processes. For example, you could keep parts in the same baskets or trays instead of losing time transferring them from one single-application tray to another.

Working with a custom metal fabrication shop helps ensure that your end product will be high quality and meet all of your specifications. You can expect excellent customer service during and after the fabrication of your parts.

Different types of metal fabrication give you a variety of options for possible applications.

Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication

Sheet metal fabrication is a set of manufacturing processes that turn flat sheets of metal into products like panels, brackets, and enclosures. It incorporates many different processes. These processes can involve cutting the sheet metal, forming it, or joining pieces of it together.

Common metals include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, zinc, and copper.

Sheet metal fabrication is an important type of metal fabrication. Its applications continue to grow along with its market size.

Cutting

One of the common ways to work sheet metal is to cut it. Metal fabricators can use several different methods for cutting sheet metal.

One of the most versatile methods is laser cutting. A laser cutter uses a focused beam of light to cut through the material. Laser cutters are efficient, cost-effective, and very precise.

Water jet cutting is another sheet metal fabrication method. It uses a high-pressure stream of water mixed with a powdered abrasive. Water jet cutters generate very little heat, so you avoid distortion from a heat-affected zone in the sheet metal.

Plasma cutting is another possibility for conductive sheet metal. Plasma cutters use superheated ionized gas to create a jet of hot plasma. They can cut through thick material, but they’re less precise than laser or water jet cutters.

Punching is a cutting technique exclusively for sheet metal. It makes holes in the sheet metal with a punch and die.

Forming

Sheet metal formation shapes the sheet metal without cutting it. One of the most common techniques is bending.

Stamping is another versatile technique. It uses a stamping press with a tool and die surface. The press forms the sheet metal into the shape you want.

Stamping is similar to punching except that it doesn’t go all the way through the sheet metal.

Assembly

Assembly uses fasteners or other methods to join sheet metal parts together. Welding is a common way of joining sheet metal components when fasteners aren’t an option. Several different kinds of welding are available depending on your application.

Custom Components

Custom metal fabrication is ideal for making non-standard or unique metal products. An experienced metal fabrication company can work with you through all stages of the product development process.

Design

Whether you have a CAD drawing, a sketch, or an idea, you want to be sure that everything is in place to turn your design into reality. A full-service fabricator will collaborate with you during the design process. Their engineers can advise you about metal fabrication processes and what will work best for your project.

Fabrication

Once you’re satisfied with your design, the manufacturing and machining processes can start. A custom metal fabrication company can offer you more advanced fabrication methods. They should have modern equipment and highly-trained workers.

The fabrication method depends on the geometry of the part, its intended purpose, and what it’s made of.

Finishing and Assembly

Post-fabrication treatments are sometimes necessary to bring a product to its design specifications. Finishing services include deburring, blasting, and painting.

Assembly services combine two or more components into a functional whole. Some common methods include adhesive bonding, bolting, and riveting.

Architectural and Decorative Elements

Parts and components are usually the first things that come to mind in connection with custom metal fabrication. A full-service fabricator can also create ornate custom items like metal railings.

These types of projects require creativity and skill on the parts of the designers, machinists, and engineers. An experienced team will ensure your custom items are durable as well as pleasing to the eye.

Fabricated Buildings – Custom Metal Fabrication

Metal fabricated buildings are an option you may not have considered from a custom metal fabrication company. Custom fabricated buildings have come a long way from their origins in cast iron. Modern materials are stronger, lighter, and easier to work with.

You have more design flexibility as well. Many configurations are possible by using a variety of basic molds assembled into modules. You can choose the height of your building, the slope of the roof, how many windows, and other details.

The building frame is metal, but you can have the shell in any number of materials including metal, wood, and rock. Buildings range in size from a kit that an individual could assemble to kits that require a construction contractor.

Many different types of buildings are possible, such as:

• Barn
• Shed
• Storage facility
• Workshop
• Mechanic shop
• Aircraft hangar
• Gym or fitness center

Fabricated metal buildings are more cost-effective than traditional construction. They’re versatile and easy to maintain. They’re modular, so you can expand the building later as your needs change.

Finding the Best Custom Metal Fabrication Shop

When you need a custom metal fabrication company in southeast Iowa, look no further than Schaus-Vorhies Manufacturing. We have over 20 years of experience in fabrication services for commercial, industrial, and manufacturing.

You’ll see our core values of honesty, integrity, reliability, and respect in every project. Contact us today for more information. Let us show you the difference working with a top-quality fabricator can make.