Sheet metal fabrication is a highly versatile manufacturing process that creates complex parts and structures from metal sheets. From cellphones and kitchenware to submarines and rockets, numerous industries utilise this process to create a wide range of products and technologies that shape our daily lives and facilitate technological advancement. This sheet metal fabrication guide comprehensively explores sheet metal fabrication, exploring everything you need to know about the process.
What is sheet metal fabrication?
Sheet metal fabrication is the process of creating parts, components, assemblies, and structures out of sheet metals, encompassing multiple operations. As the name implies, this manufacturing process is exclusive to metals, with the raw materials being flat metal sheets of various sizes, thicknesses, and metal types, depending on the project and the final product’s application.
In this manufacturing process, flat metal sheets undergo various processing stages to achieve desired sizes, shapes, patterns, and geometries. Sheet metal fabricators cut, form, and assemble pieces of flat metal sheets to create various parts and structures. These include containers, chassis, enclosures, frames, brackets and mounts, barricades, vents, and panels.
Sheet metal fabrication stages
Sheet metal fabrication comprises various processes and operations. These processes can be classified into the following manufacturing stages:
- Design
- Fabrication
- Post-processing and finishing
How to 3D print parts. The 3D printing manufacturing steps
While there are many types of 3D printing, They all follow the same broadly defined steps to create a part. The actual printing is just one step, with the complete 3D printing manufacturing process from conceptualisation to the final product involving five steps.
- Creating a 3D digital model of the object
- Slicing the model and converting it to G-code
- Setting up the 3D printer
- 3D Printing the object
- Post-processing and finishing
Design
The sheet metal design stage involves creating 3D models of the structures or parts to be fabricated. In this stage, designers use CAD (Computer-Aided Design) modelling software to create digital replicas of the final product. These may be single models of standalone parts or entire assemblies. Designers meticulously apply dimensions, tolerances, and surface finishes to the model, accounting for part features and position, materials, and potential fabrication processes.
Post time: Nov-01-2024
