Custom Fabrication Is The Best Option

Custom fabrication is a process of manufacturing or inventing unique and tailored products or components that can't be made with off-the-shelf parts. Often, this is a necessity in industries such as construction, automotive or aerospace where the right equipment or part can make all the difference. Custom fabricated items are usually constructed from metals or plastics and are engineered to meet specific dimensions, specifications and end-use requirements that off-the-shelf options simply cannot offer.

The Process

Custom Material, Inc is often a multi-step process that involves several processes, including cutting, bending, welding and finishing. The cutting stage uses a variety of machines to cut the metal to a desired size or shape, including band saws, laser cutters, shears and guillotines. The finished product can then be welded together or fastened with nuts and bolts, requiring welding techniques like MIG, TIG or spot welding. Alternatively, the workpiece can be bent into a new shape using press brakes or other bending machines. Bending metal is also known as forming and unlike forging, it doesn’t require blows to the material to create the new shape. This is a relatively slow process but allows the fabricator to create complex shapes that would be impossible or impractical to achieve with cutting alone.

Stamping is another common method used in forming metal, which uses a die to stamp a pattern into the surface of the workpiece. Logos, names, numbers and other images can all be stamped into the finished piece using this process. The workpiece can also be etched or engraved in this way, which gives the finished metal a more refined and professional look and feel.

As the final step in custom fabrication, the resulting workpiece is either buffed or polished to give it a glossy finish. It is then passed through a series of inspections to ensure it meets the required standards and specifications before being delivered to the customer.

Metal Fabrication

The primary materials for fabricated metal are sheet and structural metal. Sheet metal is available in flat rectangular sheets of a specified thickness, while structural metal comes in predetermined shapes like channels, beams, pipes and hollow structural sections (HSS) with circular cross-sections.

In addition to these forms, custom fabrication can also use plastics and a variety of other metal-free materials such as polycarbonate, fiberglass and plexiglass. The fabrication of a wide range of custom-designed products is possible, from intricate prototypes to large-scale industrial parts and machinery.

The need for a bespoke solution may arise from a number of reasons. Businesses sometimes have to produce products with unusual dimensions or specific design features that are impossible to accommodate with off-the-shelf products, and they can also benefit from a high-quality finished product that's designed to optimise functionality in their intended application. In these cases, custom fabrication is the best option.