Some Of The Processes Used In Metal Fabrication In The 21st Century

Steel is everywhere around us and the metal fabrication industry is huge. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US says that there are nearly 1.5 million people employed in metal fabrication in the country. Granted, there is not that number in Britain, but it is nonetheless a very big industry. There are also a lot of different specialities in metal fabrication, and those employed include welders, cutters, brazers, solderers; cutting, punching, and press machine setters and operators, supervisors, managers, and more.

The range of products produced is almost never ending. Large steel structures such as gantries, cranes, and iron and steel fire escapes, down to tiny items such as drawing pins, paper clips, and the little eyes that are used to hang small pictures are all products of the metal fabrication industry.

There are many different processes involved in metal work Milton Keynes. One such is CNC machining. CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control and refers to the automation of machine tools such as drill presses, lathes, and screw machines which cut and turn metal into the various shapes desired. The most used production processes are CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) both of which processes are critical for CNC turning and milling.

CNC machining makes for much greater accuracy, productivity, and speed of production of parts. It also makes for greater safety because the operator has much less contact with the machine. Once set up, CNC machines can run by themselves for long periods. If something goes wrong during the process, the machine’s software simply stops the machine from running and may page or call a supervisor.

CNC milling has alphanumeric codes programmed into the machine with each code instructing the machine to perform a certain function. The mills drill and turn along axes in order to produce a finished article of the desired shape and size.

CNC turning is when the machine has a single point cutting tool and the material to be cut is turned while the cutting tool traverses across two axes of motion to produce the exact diameters and depths required. This can be done on the inside of the material as well, thus producing tubular products to any required dimensions.

Robot welding uses programmable welding tools to produce a weld and also handle the part, resulting in high quality welds and accuracy. The robots produce a very good weld seam and avoid weld splatter, so overall accuracy is far better than doing the job manually.

Tube laser cutting for structural steel in Milton Keynes is a relatively new process and uses a focussed light and assist gas to burn material into the required shape. Tube laser cutting works on a multi-axis basis and the tube itself is rotated by a chuck so that the laser can burn the holes and profiles where needed. This is far more accurate than cutting tube by hand because when using hand cutting the operator may vary slightly from one part to the next, whereas the laser can only use the settings that the software has programmed. This means that every component is identical.

Lasers also cut at many metres per second and cut tube as much as hundreds of times faster than can be done manually. This means that people who need to buy laser cut tube can get it much faster, so it reduces the amount of tube they have to keep in stock, together with the amount of cash that is tied up in it.

Standard steel tube is supplied in six metre lengths and managing these lengths in traditional workshops was difficult. However, the laser allows for loading a six metre tube in a single set up which reduces the amount of time spent handling tubes and again makes for faster production.

Precision wire EDM cutting is another process which allows for extremely accurate and precise cutting of metal. It works by creating an electrical discharge between the wire and the work piece. As the spark jumps across the gap between them, material is removed from both the wire, or electrode, and the work piece. This can be used for very complex shapes including sharp inside corners, and intricate openings for parts such as gears.

TME Fabrications is a specialist company in Milton Keynes for all types of metal fabrication. The company has been in business for over 30 years and during that time has completed over 5,000 projects, and counting. They use tube laser cutting for structural steel.