In order to make a metal usable, manufacturers turn to fabricators. They take it and shape it into the desired form or design. This process takes experience skill and specialized equipment to achieve the desired goals. While aluminum is a favorite, another popular metal is steel. Stainless steel fabricators work, using specific techniques to turn this metal into the specified result.
Common Areas of Application
Stainless steel fabrication embraces three large categories of application. These are:
- Commercial
- Industrial
- Decorative
Stainless steel produces various components such as pipes, bolts, lugs, fittings and other parts for the automotive, aerospace, electronics, medical, mining, construction and military industries.
Stainless Steel Fabricators: Basic Processes
The malleability of this metal, available in several grades, opens it to diverse fabrication techniques. These all form part of the basic processes that prepare and create the desired application of the metal. Stainless steel fabricators use powerful equipment to achieve their goals. The most commonly employed techniques are:
- Cutting: After designing the desired shape and size, cutting is the first step to producing the specified shape or work piece.
- Shearing: Is also another way of producing a basic workpiece
- Punching and Piercing: This is required if the workpiece must feature holes
- Bending: This is a part of the forming process. It alters the shape and even the dimensions of a workpiece. Press brakes can accomplish bending.
- Rolling: Either hot or cold, this can produce a curve in the workpiece
- Machining: In metal fabrication, this is one of the last or even finishing stages and involves the removal of any excess and undesirable material
- Welding: This joins diverse parts together. MIG, TIG or spot welding methods are common
After the conclusion of the above stages, stainless steel fabricators will finish the workpiece off with some form of protective coating. While electro or electroless plating is possible, other options include electro-polishing, powder coating or galvanizing.
