Written by: Emily Joswiak • March 16, 2021• Technology

Essential Machinery for Metal Fabrication

Do you have the best tools in your shop for metal fabrication? Each tool used comes with various benefits and aids in completing various tasks.

Metal fabrication shops are essential as manufacturers use tools to cut, bend, and reshape sheet metal that’s necessary for particular machines, tools, and even furniture! Ensuring your shop has the right tools and machinery such as the blasting equipment makes certain tasks get completed in a time-efficient manner. While a press brake aids in bending material and creating corners, shears work to cut sheet metal. Each tool used in your shop serves a different purpose, but each is a piece of essential machinery for metal fabrication.

Press Brakes

Workers often use this machine tool on aluminum, steel, sheet metal, stainless steel, and brass. Press brakes will bend pieces of sheet metal, thus improving the efficiency as you go through reforming materials. By using advanced technology and the proper press brake, you’ll complete tasks with accuracy and save time in your shop!

Shears

This crucial tool comes in handy in the shop and aids in cutting thick material; moreover, it allows you to swiftly complete large pieces of work. Buying high-quality shears is important, as you will use this tool to cut straight lines along the pieces of sheet metal, thus removing any unwanted edges. Before you purchase shears, answer the following questions:

How thick is the material?
What type of material are you working with?

Answering these questions allows you to explore all your different options and purchase the right shears for your needs, as shears work with at least one upper and one lower blade; however, they may have multiple upper and lower blades, depending on what you’re using them on.

Ironworkers

Ironworkers are a must-have in your shop as the multifaceted can punch, shear, and notch metal, easing the process and cutting down on machines in your shop. Experts suggest having one in your shop because of their many capabilities-it serves the purpose of multiple machines.

While these machines are efficient and work rapidly, they have a few disadvantages. For example, workers must use them in below zero temperatures, and they produce loud sounds. Additionally, they consume more power than other machines and may not be the best choice in all shops.

Plate Rolls

The final piece of essential machinery for metal fabrication is a plate roll, also referred to as a rolling machine. If you plan to form round or cylindrical objects, it’s critical you own one because some raw material is of varying thickness, and you need to level it out-this is where a rolling machine comes into play. A rolling machine works by using at least one pair of rollers to compress metal and make it thinner; once this is complete, it is uniform.

(Visited 27 times, 1 visits today)