The Art of Metal Fabrication

The art of fabricating metal has been around for centuries. Ancient civilizations invented various handtools and came up with different methods of manipulating metal in order to accomplish their work in a short span of time. With the discovery of metal ore, and the development of techniques of applying heat to take out metal from the ore, handtools became more advanced.

Even today, tools continue to become more sophisticated with new technological advancements in metallurgy and engineering. Increasing demand for metal products in construction also paved the way for more precise methods of fabricating metal through the use of computer-operated machinery.

Metalworkers and welders these days utilize a wide array of metal forming equipment, from simple tin snips to modern lasers and plasma cutters, to design metal into various shapes and sizes. Not all metals are the same. The process of manipulating metal depends on its forms and properties. There are specific metal fabrication processes that are more applicable to specific types of metal than others. Industrial needs require metal to be formed in different shapes to produce products such as automobiles, equipment and other machinery.

Over the years, various metal forming tools and fabricating techniques have been developed for engineering and industrial purposes. Each technique creates a completely different product with different characteristics. Rollforming, for instance, is usually used to shape sheet metal. For more precise and smooth cutting, laser cutting can be done.

For the unacquianted, metal fabrication pertains to the variety of methods used to fabricate metal into different objects. Sheet metal components, for example, are used to build automotive panels and aluminum cans. They are utilized because of their ductile properties. Sheet metal is known for its ductility or capacity to be manipulated without breaking. The amount of ductility of the metal is the amount to which pressure can be employed to fabricate the metal without fracturing it. Some of the examples of highly ductile metals are gold, copper, silver and aluminum. These metals can be formed into various shapes without cracking.

After determining the ductility of the metal and what to use the metal for, it is a necessity to decide on the applicable metal forming process. Many techniques are presently used to shape metal. Bending, rollforming and drawing are just a few examples of metal fabrication techniques.