Investing in metal production and sales can be daunting if you don’t have the right guidance. This viable business venture proposes more benefits than risks for intending investors. For one, you don’t have to worry about loss of intrinsic value as precious metals are used as a hedge against inflation. The demand for precious metals is at an all-time high, so, why not create solutions that solve complex problems in society?
Most of the innovations in the automotive, construction, electrical, and medical industries were only made possible because of the investments in metal production. Nevertheless, there are several factors to consider before embarking on your first metal fabrication project, and this article is promising to spill the
beans.
In this article, you’ll discover:
- What metal fabrication is;
- The stages in a metal fabrication process;
- Types of modern metal fabrication methods;
- How to create a proactive metal engineering design process;
- And, tips for achieving success in your first metal fabrication project.
What is Metal Fabrication?
Metal fabrication is the integration of refined raw materials components into a base metal to form a final product. It includes a sequence of activities that include cutting, shaping, molding, chipping, and assembling metal parts into a final product.
The fabricated product may then undergo finishing touches such as coating, painting, polishing, sandblasting, and plating depending on the needs of the manufacturer. The metal components used in metal fabrication are usually stock metals such as metal sheets, metal bars, rods, and billets, made from steel, copper, aluminum, brass, titanium, or tungsten alloys.
Metal fabricators work with manufacturers and contractors to create design models, source materials, and program CNC machines for the fabrication project. Metal fabrication techniques are used across industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, and construction to create innovative solutions to commercial or industrial problems.
The Metal Fabrication Process
Cutting
Cutting is often regarded as the first step in the metal fabrication process. It involves splitting the metal into small portions, depending on the end goal. There are several types of cutting techniques such as laser cutting, plasma arc cutting, die cutting, waterjet cutting, mechanical shearing, and power scissors. In the past fabricators used sawing to split metals.
Bending
Bending is a metal-forming technique that uses compressive force to bend metal sheets and plates into desired shapes manually or with specialty machinery. Most commonly, hydraulic CNC press brake machines are used to bend metals into shape. Other bending techniques include rotary draw bending, V-bending, U-bending, roll bending, air bending, wipe bending, bottoming, forging, and folding.
Drawing
In this stage, the material is pulled into and out of the die or mold through a tapered hole to create a curved or hollow shape. Drawing uses tensile force to stretch metals at room temperature to reduce the diameter. This process allows the manufacturer to produce metal parts such as rods, wires, and tubes.
Factors to consider here are the drawing speed, die angle, friction, lubrication, shape, and temperature. Popular types of drawing include tube drawing, wire drawing, and deep drawing.
Assembling
Assembling is usually the last stage in metal fabrication. Once the metal parts have been formed, and machined, it is joined to the larger assembly by welding, riveting, and bonding it in place. Welding requires selectively applying heat and pressure to different parts of the whole using a fixture. Popular welding
techniques include Metal Inert Gas welding, spot welding, Flux Cored Arc welding, and Tungsten Inert Gas welding.
Riveting involves drilling holes into the metal parts and placing a rivet in between the holes to join them. Adhesive bonding involves applying adhesives (glue, paste, cement, and epoxy) to the parts and pressing them together to give a smooth finish. Once the product has been assembled, post-processing touches can be applied to the product.
Types of Metal Fabrication Methods
The metal fabrication process starts after the raw material has been extracted and refined. Metal fabrication is regarded as a value-added process of integrating metal parts or structures into a whole to create the finished product, usually based on a detailed engineering drawing or CAD model.
The process often requires a lot of tools and techniques depending on the end product specifications.
We’ve outlined a list of metal manufacturing methods you can adopt based on your product needs.
Casting: Casting is a metalworking process in which metal powder or bits are heated under elevated temperatures to become liquid and the molten metal is poured into a die or mold cavity bearing a desired shape, before being ejected into a cooling plate to solidify to form the desired shape. This subtractive method is used to mass-produce identical thin-walled parts with complex shapes and smooth surfaces.
- Metal Injection Molding (MIM): Metal injection molding is a metalworking method that involves inputting a feedstock — a mixture of fine metal powder and a binding material —heated under temperatures into a mold cavity bearing a defined shape. Metal injection molding combines powder metallurgy and plastic injection molding to produce a high volume of small complex parts simultaneously without loss of quality.
- Machining: Machining metals means shedding off unwanted parts from a block of metal and shaping the parts to create the final product. Metal machining techniques include milling, drilling, and turning. Metals such as tungsten, stainless steel, and diamond may pose challenges during machining because of their unique mechanical properties, so specialty tools and skills should be applied
where needed. This process is often achieved manually or with a CNC machine. Some of the factors to consider in machining metals are the composition of metal alloy, the complexity of product geometry, the cost of CNC machining, and the manufacturer’s expertise. - Additive Manufacturing: Unlike injection molding, additive manufacturing or 3D printing requires adding definitive layers of metal bits to a base framework based on a CAD design model. This computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) method is ideal for bringing geometrically complex designs to life. Manufacturers also use this method to fabricate lightweight metallic parts containing beryllium,
magnesium, titanium, and aluminum components. Compared to casting or other subtractive methods, this method is praised for its rapid prototyping and waste management capabilities.
How to Create A Proactive Metal Engineering Design Process
Metal fabrications are usually based on manual or computer-aided design models. The success of the final product largely depends on your ability to communicate the details of your design to your manufacturer. As such having an efficient engineering design system in place will allow you to continuously optimize the potential of your metal creations.
Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to building a proactive metal engineering design system that saves you time and allows you to keep up with the design trends in the manufacturing industry.
1. Acquire in-depth knowledge of the metal fabrication process
Before diving into metal fabrication, conduct in-depth research on the process, machinery, and expertise needed to assemble parts for end users. Areas to focus on include the regulations in the global supply chain network, material alloys, metal fabrication techniques, and machine and manufacturing service costs.
2. Review the market demand and your innovative solution
The metal industry is already saturated with major players. According to Statista, the global demand for crude steel products is less than its supply. In 2022, 1.96 billion metric tons of crude steel was produced and only 1.83 billion metric tons were demanded.
The crude steel market is dominated by producers from China and South Korea. As such, if you’re looking to go into the steel market, you must source for new markets where these countries have poor trade relations or invest in metals with surplus demands and relatively fewer players. You should also differentiate yourself by anticipating the needs of your target market and creating innovative solutions.
3. Identify raw material availability
While you may not source materials yourself, you must ensure that the metal alloys you need for your project can be assessed and are affordable. Depending on the type of metal you want to work with, you should know who the major suppliers are.
For instance, if you choose to use mined metals rather than recycled scraps, you might want to understand how the global trade network works. In the United States, conserving rare metals has necessitated the need to embrace metal recycling over the years, thus reducing the prices of raw materials and increasing their availability.
4. Draw your innovative solution on paper
Postulating your concepts and ideas on paper or iPad allows you to visualize the functionality of the final product. You don’t have to learn how to draw if you don’t want to. You can communicate your ideas to a sketch artist who has an in-depth knowledge of the metal fabrication processes.
5. Create a 3D model of your drawing
Creating a 3D model of your product makes it easy to communicate your product specifications to your manufacturer to minimize production errors. manufacturers such as Hawk Ridge Systems provide robust 3D design and engineering, analysis, documentation, prototyping, and manufacturing.
Using SolidWorks design software Hawk Ridge Systems ensures you can maximize your product development. You’ll have access to features such as 3D sharing, markup, simulation, cost estimation, drawing checks, ECAD/MCAD collaboration, sustainability design reviews, and data management.
6. Conduct a 3D rendering of your design
3D rendering is the next stage after visualizing your design with CAD software. Rendering your model means creating a photorealistic 2D image of your final product. This animation, depicted in picture or video format, allows you to better conceptualize your project and make adjustments where necessary.
7. Conduct virtual testing of your metal components
Conducting a virtual material test allows you to analyze the microstructure and macroscopic properties of the metal material. There are several types of tests you can perform to assess the potency of your metal grains: bend test, hardness test, tensile test, impact test, creep test, fatigue test, corrosion resistance test, compression test, and wear test.
Material tests are important to determine the toxicity levels in your metals and of course to ensure the materials you choose comply with industry standards.
8. Create a prototype of your design
Prototyping is optional and is mostly applied to custom designs. It involves the rapid fabrication of a physical sample of your 3D model to assess the size and functionality of the final product.
This experimental process can be done using a 3D printer, which is ideal for conserving materials and requires only a few hours or days. Prototyping can also be done using a rapid sheet prototyping machine for heavyweight metals.
9. Program and mass-produce your final product
Once you’re satisfied with the physical details of your product, you can convert your CAD model into a computer program to mass-produce parts for commercial purposes using any of the metal fabrication methods: casting, MIM, machining, and additive manufacturing (AM), explored earlier in the article. Depending on the method you choose, you can scale your production process and volume using a CNC machine.
CNC (computer numerical control) machines allow you to use pre-programmed codes to automate the movement of your manufacturing tools, such as your plasma cutters, grinders, lathes, drills, mills, routers, and 3D printers. Specialty manufacturing firms like PTI Tech make it easy for new manufacturers with an array of custom metal fabrication solutions and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment so you can better serve your customers.
Tips for Achieving Success on Your First Metal Engineering Design Project
- When designing a sheet metal product, focus more on functionality and durability. The geometrics of the engineering drawing should be optimized for physical properties such as wall thickness, bend angles, bend radii, bend allowance, bend tolerance, tonnage, flange width, bend deduction, bend sequence, hemming, hole placements, and k factor.
- Selecting the right material is critical to creating a functional end product. Depending on the product’s use, you should choose metals based on factors such as their ductility, weight, corrosion resistance, cost, and strength of the material.
- The metal manufacturing process you adopt depends on the complexity, quality, and quantity of the metal component. For intricate designs and lightweight materials, additive manufacturing is ideal. However, injection molding works best for mass-producing heavyweight metals.
- Working with an experienced metal engineering and manufacturing firm with an extensive list of deliverables allows you to maximize the possibility of achieving commercial success even on your first production. Collaborate with companies that have significant field experience, adequate manpower, and state-of-the-art equipment for researching, designing, selecting, and manufacturing metal parts for complex use cases.
Final Thoughts
Metal fabrication may require a lot of expertise and financial commitment, but it shouldn’t deter you. If you’re interested in bringing your innovations to life but don’t know how or where to start, Hawk Ridge Systems can help you get started with perfecting your engineering design process and PTI Tech offers an array of innovative injection molding solutions.
You can book a session to discuss the viability of your product idea and how to maximize artificial intelligence in metal production. The demand for metal products isn’t going down anytime soon, irrespective of the influx of multiple players. A report from Fact.MR shows the global sheet metal market is projected to reach $546.8 billion by the end of 2033, from $306.6 billion at the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of 5%.