Metal fabrication is a crucial aspect of the welding industry that often confuses newcomers. Knowing the difference between welding and fabrication is crucial: welding involves joining metals using intense heat, while fabrication involves shaping metals, preparing them for welding, cutting with flames, drilling holes, and assembling component pieces before welding.
Different Types of Fabrication
Fabrication occurs in various industries and with different methods, with many firms offering both fabrication and welding services. It can be categorized into two main types: sheet metal fabrication and heavy gauge fabrication.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
This type deals with metals that are less than 1/8th of an inch thick. It is for converting flat plates into cylindrical goods such as cans, cutting shapes out through plasma for specific parts, bending a metal for supports and chests, as well as for punching openings. Some of them are manufacturing automobile exhaust pipes, industrial molds, and small boilers, as well as being used in the customized industries where the parts are subjected to frequent replacements because of their wear and tear.
Heavy Gauge Fabrication
Focusing on working with more massive materials, this type covers such a peculiar service as creating excavator booms, ceiling joists, industrial stairs, bridges, and pieces of structure with holes and brackets. Tending to be heavy because of the thickness of materials, heavy gauge fabrication entails making use of equipment like hydraulic brake presses and assembling and moving of parts entails the use of hoists or forklifts.
More Details on Metal Fabrication
While both types of fabrication involve processes like bending and welding, heavy gauge work demands sturdier equipment capable of handling thicker and stronger metals. For instance, hydraulic brake presses are used to bend thick metals. Working with thick metals often requires heating them to enhance malleability, whereas thin sheets are more susceptible to distortion during welding and may need restraints or heat sinks.
Final Thoughts
The processing of metals is highly specialized; many firms are small and often have a narrow specialty because of the nature of the work. Large companies tend to focus on the development of a single product niche. Smaller firms, on the other hand, tend to: undertake a larger number of projects of a smaller size in an effort to take advantage of every opportunity that clients offer them.
If you want to know more about metal fabrication, feel free to contact Bhullar Welding & Fabrication. We look forward to working with you on your custom fabrication design.