Sheet metal fabrication turns metal sheets into different desired forms on demand, involving cutting, forming, stamping, welding, and many other processes. It is more cost-effective than CNC machining when manufacturing metal parts with a uniform wall thickness of less than 6 mm.
The main processes of manufacturing sheet metal fabrication products are separating raw materials - riveting/bending - spot welding - assembly - packing. Different points need attention in different processes.
1. Separating raw materials
Based on the drawing, there are different ways of separating raw materials, mainly CNC punching, laser cutting, etc. The following need to be paid attention to.
(1) CNC punching workpiece may have a large burr on the edges after processing. It is necessary to sand the edges and burrs to facilitate the bending's positioning and guarantee the consistency of the size of the same batch of products.
(2) The cross-section of the laser cutting is flat. So it is very suitable for fabricating special-shaped sheet metal parts.
2. Riveting/bending/spot welding
After the material is separated, here comes the primary process. Different sheet metal parts have diverse production processes, including bending, riveting, spot welding, etc.
(1) Press riveting: we need to choose the mold according to the height and size of the stud. When using the press machine, make sure that the stud is flush with the surface of the sheet metal fabrication products. The first place to process is where the convex hull and segment gap need to be made with the mold so that the following processes will not interfere with each other.
(2) Bending: select the bending tool and slot of corresponding thickness based on the size of the part. Be sure to determine the order of bending first. The general rule is from inside to outside, small to large, and special to ordinary.
(3) Spot welding: to weld firmly, hit the bump welding on the workpiece and workpiece connection, and at the same time, make sure the welding position is accurate. Weld marks will appear on the surface of the sheet metal fabrication products after spot welding, and they should be treated with a grinding machine. Sometimes, for firmness and appearance, it can only be one or the other. It cannot have both firmness and appearance at the same time. Just make sure what is the top priority.
3. Assembly and packing
(1) Wear gloves before assembly to avoid dust on the workpiece, and some parts need to be blown clean with an air gun.
(2) After the workpiece has passed the quality inspection, it should be put into special packing bags to be protected. For large quantities of sheet metal fabrication products, we will use specific cartons, bubble bags, rubber pads, trays, or wooden boxes to protect them.
At X Rapid Technologies, in addition to the strict requirements of the process, every sheet metal part needs quality inspection. Firstly, we strictly control the dimensions of the sheet metal parts according to the drawings. Secondly, we carefully check the appearance of the sheet metal parts, which does not allow any scratch marks on the sheet metal parts. We will rework or scrap the sheet metal parts that do not match the dimensions. In this way, we can make sure if there are any mistakes in the drawings, if there are bad operating habits during the manufacturing process and if there are possible errors in the manufacturing process, etc. In one word, high quality is ensured via strict inspection.
Don't hesitate to get in touch to kickstart your project with us today!
