What is Metal Fabrication and Why is it Important?
Metal Fabrication is the process of creating structures and products by altering and assembling metal materials.
Metal fabrication is a major industry. In fact, according to the U.S. Economics and Statistics Administration, steel fabrication makes up 12% of all manufacturing employment opportunities in the U.S. Many companies across the United States, and the rest of the world, rely on metal fabrication companies for their products. A few major markets that utilize metal fabrication services would be automotive, aviation, infrastructure, and construction.
What does a metal fabricator do?
Metal fabricators do many different things all the way from interpreting engineering drawings and blueprints, plan well to reduce waste, set up and/or run metalworking machinery which may include rollers, presses, shears, lathes, lasers, milling machines, polishing equipment and more.
There are a few types of metal fabrication processes including:
- Subtractive processes: Removing material from a raw material sheet to create the desired shape. An example of this would be laser cutting a metal sheet, followed by the removal of those shapes. Machining is another example due to the process of trimming and chipping away from a piece of solid material, to create desired components or tooling.
- Non-subtractive processes: Altering materials by utilizing heat or pressure instead of removal from the raw material. An example of this would be deep drawing with a hydraulic press, or metal spinning on a lathe to form the desired shape by using both heat and pressure.
- Finishing processes: Applying a finish to the finished product. Finishes could include powder coats, electropolishes, or sanitary finishes for medical or food processing purposes.
With this being said, these are not the only techniques for metal fabrication. There are many different processes that fabricators use that can range from manual processes that are performed by hand, or extremely efficient and highly technologically advanced or automated processes.
Understanding and following safety regulations is another very important aspect of fabrication and manufacturing.
What trade is metal fabrication?
Below are some various jobs and trades that a metal fabricator may pursue:
- Metal Fabricator
- CAD Engineer or Designer
- Machinist
- Press Operator
- CNC Machine Operator
- CNC Machine Programmer
- Welder
- Robot Programmer
- Estimator
Specific skills include: cutting, machining, metal spinning, welding, interpreting blueprints and drawings, measuring, equipment set up, and assembling pieces and components.
While these positions all seem very different, it is crucial to incorporate each of these roles into a manufacturing or fabrication business, and it is possible to learn multiple roles to increase your skillset.
Are there different types of metal fabrication?
Cutting, the removal of material from a component or final part to achieve a specific shape, is a foundational process in fabrication. There are many ways to cut material including laser cutting, plasma cutting, or manual cutting or trimming. Cutting circular blanks out of a sheet of material using a laser to later be put on a metal spinning lathe is a common example.
Bending is another foundational process in metal fabrication. Bending gives the opportunity to create complex shapes with angles or curves, a very versatile option for metal forming. Common bending techniques could be utilizing a press to apply pressure to bend a piece of material, or roll bending a blank into a cylinder or tank, followed by a seam weld.
Assembling components is another foundational piece to fabrication. Common assembly processes include welding or bolting. Using a melting process to fuse two pieces of metal together, welding is a very popular and durable assembly technique. Welding is an art in itself, with a variety of techniques to learn. A skilled welder is a key role of a fabrication team.
What is the difference metal fabrication and manufacturing?
Fabrication involves combining different parts and components to form a finished product. Manufacturing is when raw materials are put through various processes to create a finished product.
What do fabricators fabricate?
Fabricators manufacture, weld, assemble various metal components or structures. Metal fabrication can be a variety of processes to create or assemble various components made from different metals. Materials could be softer like aluminum or copper, all the way to stainless steel or silver. Metal fabrication has an extremely wide array of possibilities, which is what makes it so interesting! Not to mention that metal fabrication adds up to a very large sum of the United States economy and supply chain, while contributing millions of jobs each year. Metal fabrication is extremely important in the success of the United States, and affects our daily lives whether you notice or not! Look around you on a daily basis and you will certainly see many fabricated components and structures.