Metal fabrication plays a critical role in the industrial sector in Perth. It’s responsible for making paperclips, car parts, plane parts, metal pipes, cutlery, machine attachments, bolts, and screws. Although most people in the construction and manufacturing sectors use these metal products on a daily basis, very few understand how they are made.
Metal fabrication in Perth involves a number of techniques. The techniques are used to shape metals into the various products that we use. The key ones are:
1. Reduction Techniques
These techniques are used to remove some parts from metal to create a properly-shaped end product. The techniques include:
• Notching: Used to make detailed cuts.
• Sheering: Used to reduce metal sheets.
• Blanking: Used to reduce soft metals.
• Punching: Used to make holes on metals.
2. Welding Techniques
Welding is used in joining metal pieces together to create a specific metal product. The techniques include:
• TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) Welding: Used to join very thin metals.
• MIG (Metal Inert Gas) Welding: Used to join thick metals.
• Resistance Welding: Used to join just stainless-steel sheets
3. Expanding Techniques
These techniques are used to stretch metal products and to create open spaces. Metal products fabricated by the methods usually have a specific shape. They are mostly squared, hexagonal, and diamond-shaped. The holes don’t represent lost material; instead, they are created when the sheet metals stretch around the cutting edge of the expansion machine. Expanded metals tend to be stronger than woven wire mesh of comparable thicknesses and are considerably lighter than solid metals sheets.
4. Shaping Techniques
These techniques are used to give metal products like cans and equipment attachments their shapes. They include:
• Stamping: Used to make raised metal sections.
• Folding: Used to make specific angles on metal sheets.
5. Machining Techniques
Though often seen as an independent sector from metal fabrication, machining is a vital technique for shaping metal blocks. The commonest technique is CNC (Computer Numeric Controls) where the process is computerized.
6. Laser Cutting
When a metal part is cut or stretched incorrectly, it has to be reshaped and its ends polished. This is where laser cutting comes in. It’s used to help achieve desirable shapes and smooth cuts. It’s a crucial step in the final stages of most metal fabrication processes in Perth .
Generally, metal fabrication is a detailed and complicated process. However, the above techniques are what makes it a little easier to understand. They are integral in making the various metal products that we use and play a critical role in the construction sector.
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