There are as many types of metal fabrication techniques as there are types of metal alloys to choose from. Whether you’re a beginner, a specialist in a particular technique, or a metalworking virtuoso, there is always something new to learn.
Metal fabrication techniques can be additive or subtractive, automated or manual, or something else entirely. Here, we’ll look at a variety of metal fabrication techniques, from the traditional to the modern, and discuss some of their common applications.
Traditional Metal Fabrication Techniques
The following traditional metal fabrication techniques are still some of the most popular and commonly used methods in the metalworking industry today.
Many of the most common metal fabrication techniques fall under the category of cutting operations, or any technique in which a tool is used to split or remove material from the workpiece. While automated technologies like CNC machining have become the go-to for many manufacturing operations, manual techniques and tools are still widely used.
Below are some examples of manual cutting techniques:
|Sawing||Uses a heavy-duty blade to cut a large workpiece into smaller pieces||Initial cutting of workpieces to an appropriate size and shape for additional processing steps|
|Shearing||Uses a shear tool like a pair of scissors to slice through sheet metal||Cutting straight lines or trimming excess material from sheet metal|
|Turning||A machining process in which material is removed from the workpiece by rotating it against a stationary tool||Producing parts or features with rotational symmetry, such as holes, threads, and circular parts like bearings|
|Milling||A machining process in which material is removed from the workpiece by a rotating tool (the opposite of turning)||Cutting precise features and shaping a workpiece into a finished or semi-finished part|
|Broaching||Uses a tool with a series of cutting teeth to cut linearly into a workpiece||Used for high-precision cuts and for cutting odd shapes like keyways|
|Grinding||Uses an abrasive grinding wheel to gradually remove material from the workpiece||Used for finishing operations to smooth or deburr the part|
While cutting techniques remove material from a workpiece, other techniques can combine pieces of metal together. Welding—the process of joining two pieces of metal by heating their surfaces to their melting points—is the most common way to do this.
There are many types of welding, but these are the four most common:
|Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding||Uses a consumable wire that carries the electric current to heat the metal and provides filler to create the weld||Used for large or thick metals; faster and easier than TIG welding|
|Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding||Uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to heat the metal, used with or without a filler||Usually used for thinner materials like pipes; slower, costlier, and more difficult than MIG welding|
|Spot Welding||Electrodes applied directly to the workpiece apply an electric current, producing the welding heat through the metal’s internal resistance||Used to weld two or more metal sheets together|
|Stick Welding||Uses a consumable filler rod covered with flux||Used for thicker metals and welding outdoors in wind or rain, as it does not require a shielding gas|
Forming techniques reshape the metal workpiece by physically deforming it. No material is added or removed.
Many upstream operations used by mills to create the initial metal stock, including forging, rolling, and extruding, are forming techniques. Below are some examples of forming operations that are more commonly used by fabricators:
|Hammering||Uses a mallet to manually shape sheet metal against a shaped surface or die||Used to shape sheet metal into curved or complex profiles|
|Bending||Uses a press brake or similar machine to force a metal sheet or tube around a die||Used to create angular shapes in thin metal parts like sheet metal enclosures or metal tubing|
|Stamping||Applies an external impact force to plastically deform the workpiece||Used to form sheet metal into specific desired shapes|
Automated Metal Fabrication Techniques
All of the aforementioned metal fabrication techniques can be performed with simple, manual tools—in fact, some of these techniques have been in use for thousands of years and are still used today.
However, modern technology allows many of these techniques to be largely automated. Computer numerical control, or CNC, uses software to automate machine tools, allowing them to produce extremely precise, consistent features.
CNC technology has replaced many of the manual tools and machines in large manufacturing plants. Furthermore, it has opened the door to entirely new metal fabrication techniques like 3D printing. These technologies are becoming more accessible, too, with affordable CNC machines for small shops and home fabricators becoming increasingly available.
CNC Cutting Techniques
Almost any metal fabrication technique can be CNC-automated. Below are a few of the most common types:
|CNC Machining||Performs milling, turning, or routing operations using CNC code||Used for all kinds of precision fabrication|
|Water Jet Cutting||A highly pressurized, fine stream of water, sometimes containing abrasives, is used to cut material||Can cut virtually anything, including very soft and very hard materials. Used when extreme precision is needed or to avoid the heat generated by other cutting methods|
|Laser/Plasma Cutting||Uses a focused laser beam or plasma jet to cut or etch material||Often used in onsite construction work for its speed and portability|
Additive manufacturing is the newest metal fabrication technique. Unlike subtractive operations like cutting that remove material from the workpiece, additive manufacturing techniques build a workpiece up one layer of material at a time by depositing small amounts of material.
Metal additive manufacturing technologies are constantly being developed and improved, with entirely new processes being introduced all the time. However, the two you are most likely to encounter are powder bed fusion and binder jetting.
|Powder Bed Fusion||Uses a laser or electron beam to heat and fuse metal powder into solid shapes||Used to create complex shapes that would be impossible with traditional machining|
|Metal Binder Jetting||Uses a printhead to deposit a liquid binding agent onto a bed of metal powder to create a solid part, which then must be sintered||Similar applications to powder bed fusion, but tends to be less expensive|
Local, Precision-Cut Materials for All Metal Fabrication Techniques
No matter the metal fabrication techniques you’re using, Industrial Metal Service has all the material you need to feed your processes. In addition to our massive inventory of new and remnant metals, we have top-of-the-line sawing capabilities to provide you with exactly what you need. Our metal saws can cut even the toughest and thickest metals to precise dimensions, helping you to:
- Reduce waste.
- Accelerate production processes.
- Reduce labor and material costs.
For special materials or shapes, we can also arrange precision water jet cutting.