What Do Steel Fabrication Specialists Do?
As steel fabrication specialists we can take raw metal and turn it into a new bespoke item. These items could be used as personal items, such as a metal fence for your home, or a gift for a friend. Alternatively, it could be a commercial item, such as a piece made for construction purposes, or frames for a fleet of articulated lorries.
The manufacturing process of metal fabrication involves the cutting, bending, welding, grinding, and assembly of raw metals.
The Six stages of Steel Fabrication
The process of steel fabrication can be broken down into 6 key stages of production:
Design
One of our skilled team members will discuss the piece with you and design it to suit your requirements. We can create detailed diagrams to demonstrate the final product. We want to ensure that you have as much understanding of the item and are happy with it before we start any work. Here we can guide you through what would work best for your item and make any suggestions for your design. Our design team specialists can support you to make the best possible design for your product.
Cutting
When we first receive our materials, they will be in their original state. This means they will often arrive in sheets of bars of metal that need to be cut to size to fit your item. Our cutting phase is performed using one of our three methods. Your item might need to utilise our advanced, high-tech machinery, or laser cutting for larger or more precise tasks. Alternatively, we can utilise a more traditional method, using a saw for any appropriate items.
Bending & Folding
The bending and folding stage is a more complicated phase. Here, our steel fabrication experts can produce V-shapes, U-shapes, channel shapes, or other custom-fit angles designed to suit your product’s requirements.
Our most common forms of bending and folding involve a punch/press method. A die is prepared to your item’s required shape and the steel is bent and folded to fit the form of the die. The bending devices used in the process of steel fabrication operate under large amounts of pressure to counteract the natural strength of steel.
Welding
Once the steel is fit to form it must be welded together to connect your piece together and to give your item its strength. This is the process that is most commonly associated with the steel fabrication process. Here multiple pieces of metal are joined together.
Our specialists utilise immense levels of heat that are used to melt the materials of each piece together. Consequently, as the metals cool, they are fused together into your desired shape. Oftentimes a molten filler material is added to the join which then forms a material edge. This edge can sometimes be stronger than the base materials on their own.
Grinding
This is the stage of the steel fabrication process in which your item is ground to provide a high-quality finish. This process may also enhance the accuracy of the piece’s intended shape.
Here our steel fabrication specialists will use an abrasive wheel to shear off any scratches or small pieces of metal from the surfaces of the metal. Not only will this give your item a smooth, polished appearance, but it will also be far smoother to the touch. This process is similar to the concept of rubbing sandpaper against a wooden item to smooth the surface.
Final Aspects & Assembly
The final touches and assembly of the product is the final stage of the process. In plain terms, this is the stage where all the various pieces of the product are put together to form the final piece. This stage may also include the addition of washers and bolts to any appropriate products to enhance the strength and structure of your item.
Why Choose B.B. Price for Your Metal Fabrication Specialists?
At B.B. Price, we have been in the forging industry for nearly 150 years! We have a heritage that we are deeply proud of, and a team of expert specialists to reflect this. Products forged in The Black Country have a strong reputation for their quality and precision crafting. This is something we at B.B. Price adhere to and honour in our daily work.
All our steel fabrication experts are fully trained and coded to the CE marking of EN1090 execution class 2. We also have specialised fabrication bay houses with six separate stations for welding and fabrication. These stations are capable of working with materials up to 12 meters long. Our fabrication team can create your piece from start to finish and execute their craft with skill and precision.
Contact Us Today
Contact us online today to see our steel fabrication specialists bring your bespoke designs to life! Our professional team are happy to discuss any queries and designs with you today, why not give the team a call.
