Professional metal fabricators can use customization to create products according to your requirements. The customized product will better serve your business than a generic product. One of the materials that the fabricator will use is a custom metal sheet. Here are some of the reasons why fabricators prefer custom metal sheets over standard prefabrication.
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1. Durable
Sheet metal can withstand excessive force and stress in any operation. This ensures that the material doesn't wear and tear quickly, which increases its lifespan. Some manufacturers also create various alloys of custom sheet metal that can withstand high force, corrosive chemicals, and extreme temperatures. However, the lifespan of your custom sheet metal varies depending on the manufacturing process, with plain steel rusting faster when exposed to salt water.
2. Adaptable
Professional fabricators may create products that work with whatever hardware your business uses. However, the products may not always be compatible with your hardware. For example, the prefabricated products might not fit perfectly with an existing machine. The problem often occurs if the fabricator uses standard prefabrication processes and rigid materials.
In contrast, custom metal sheets can create highly standardized parts for various uses. You will create pieces that fit perfectly with your home or business structure. That is because the custom sheet can take any size and shape and is compatible with specific hardware.
Even if a generic prefabricated part can fit into your hardware, you may spend lots of time and modifications to install the parts. With custom sheet metal fabrication, the fabricator will take precise measurements of your hardware. They will then create a metal sheet part with exact dimensions per your requirements. Fitting and installing this metal part to your hardware will require less effort and time.
3. Compatible
Custom sheet metal fabrication is more compatible with high-precision parts. Professional metal fabricators use techniques such as laser cutting, shearing, planking, cutting, and stamping to fabricate custom sheets. These techniques require special tools or equipment and a highly experienced manufacturer.
Although the manufacturer can use manual processes for some of these techniques, automated machinery is now the industry standard for converting custom sheets into high-precision parts. The precision parts meet the user's requirements, including accurate and specific tolerances.
High-precision parts are used by various industries, including food and beverage, healthcare, aviation, automotive, and construction. Fabricators now prefer using computerized machines and special software to create precision parts for each industry. Automated machines can automatically cut, prototype, bend, and power press components of high-precision parts. Computerized machines can also determine the correct type of material, such as high-carbon steel, that can take any form without losing quality.
4. Salvageable
Several industries keep damaged or aged machines and equipment because of the replacement parts and spares. However, fabricators can use custom sheet metal fabrication to duplicate or reverse engineer the replacement of spare parts. In some cases, the fabricators can even improve upon the components. This allows companies to salvage old junk that takes up unnecessary space in the building and get new working parts in the process.
5. Affordable
Some metals are expensive and require costly equipment to form specific shapes. In contrast, custom sheet metal has a lower price tag than most metals. In addition, the fabrication processes for custom sheet metal don't require expensive equipment and tools. Fabricators also don't have to spend lots of time and hire several people to work on fabricating custom sheet metal.
With competitive price and timely delivery, HWHG sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
The result is significant cost savings that eventually reduce the cost of custom sheet metal products.
Stainless steel alloys are popular for applications big and small across numerous industries.
Theres a good chance that there is a stainless steel product or piece of stainless steel equipment within a short walk of where you are right now.
But if youre looking to design a system, create stunning designs, or fabricate parts and equipment, youll have to start with basic stainless steel products and work from there.
In this guide, were going to look at the most common stainless steel shapes and sizes youll encounter and the considerations you should make when determining the ideal product for your next project.
Before we dive into the various characteristics of alloys, finishes, and other more metallurgic details, we should explore the different shapes and formats in which stainless steel is sold today.
Each will offer different benefits depending on your intended use.
As such, understanding your options can help you to find a format that is most closely matched to your needs and avoid additional costs and time spent on further processing before you can use your stainless steel.
Stainless steel sheet is the most flexible option in most casesboth in terms of sizing and shape and in your ability to form it to fabricate products or meet your design specifications.
Depending on your needs, youll find stainless steel sheets in thicknesses up to around 6mm.
Products above this thickness tend to fall into the plate form instead.
If youre sourcing your sheet from the U.S., you might also find this thickness listed by gauge instead of in millimeters.
In most cases, the stainless steel supplier will offer a range of standardized sizes.
Common sizes include 48-inches-by-120-inches (roughly 122-centimeters-by-305-centimeters), 60-inches-by-120-inches (roughly 152-centimeters-by-305-centimeters), and 72-inches-by-120-inches (roughly 183-centimeters by 305-centimeters.)
However, many suppliers can also offer metal cutting services using plasma cutters, waterjet cutters, and other tools to provide a product that precisely meets your ideal size and shape.
Sheet is ideal when you plan to shape or cut the base stainless form to create lighter-weight parts and equipment.
Most sheets are delivered in an annealed state, providing an excellent balance of strength and malleability.
This means you can often take stainless steel sheets directly from shipping to the press for shaping or welding table for fabrication with minimal preparation or pre-processing.
Since the sheet is often cut into standardized sizes, its also easier and more space-efficient to store than some other forms.
However, if you plan to stack or store stainless with a mirror or high-gloss finish, be sure to consider any precautions to avoid marring your product's finish before use.
Stainless steel sheet is commonly used in the chemical, construction, food service, marine, transportation, and textile industries.
Stainless steel plates can share many similarities with stainless steel sheets.
However, it starts at higher thicknesses in most cases and is often smaller in overall surface area.
Plate is also available in standard sizes, though these tend to start smalleraround the 12in-by-12in (or 30cm-by-30cm) range and topping out around 48-inches-by-120-inches (roughly 122cm-by-305cm.)
However, like with sheets, you can also order these with custom cuts and sizes to fit your intended application or any special needs you might have.
Keep in mind that thicker pieces will typically mean greater weight when compared to stainless steel sheets of comparable size.
However, this also means increased strength depending on the need.
Stainless steel plate is commonly used in the chemical, construction, food service, marine, transportation, and textile industries.
Unlike stainless steel plate or sheets, stainless steel bar comes in various shapes, including round, square, hex along with angle and flat bar and hollow bar.
Their names essentially refer to their shape, giving an easy way to start limiting choices to find your ideal bar type.
Like plate and sheet, stainless steel bars are available in various thicknesses (or diameters depending on the shape.) Standard sizes range from 3mm to 25mm.
Flat bars are often used to help form base plates and brackets or reinforce key areas where plate might otherwise be a poor choice.
Round stainless steel bars (sometimes referred to as stainless steel rounds) are very popular in machining for creating fasteners, threaded tubes or shafts, and other items.
Hexagonal and hollow bars are often used in weight-bearing scenarios and the fabrication of many common structural beam elementsincluding I beams, H beams, and C beams. However, hexagonal bars can also have machining uses similar to stainless steel rounds, allowing for rapid production of nuts and other fasteners.
Square bars fit well into both categories, providing excellent structural and load-bearing support while also being an ideal shape and format for machining and fabricating various fasteners.
Of course, when choosing the ideal stainless steel product for your needs, the actual format is just a part of the overall decision.
You also need to determine the best stainless steel alloy, ideal finishes, and other traits that might impact your components' service life and overall fit for your budget.
Most plate, sheet, or bar products will be available in a range of alloys, including those in the 200, 300, and 400 series.
However, you might also find that specialized grades are available for specific uses.
300-series stainless steel will provide an excellent balance of cost, weight, fabrication ability, and corrosion resistance in most cases.
However, 400-series steel is popular in food service applications, medical environments, or when looking for a ferritic stainless option.
If youre looking for more information regarding the various stainless alloys and their traits, be sure to consult our guide to stainless steel grades and families.
Finishes are another consideration that can impact overall costs and better align your stainless steel with your intended use.
For example, mirror finishes (#8) might look impressive but quickly pick up fingerprints and show scratches and other wear easier.
As such, if theyre in a high-traffic or touch-heavy environment, you might spend an unreasonable amount of time maintaining that finish.
Youll also need to take extra precautions when storing the steel or fabricating and assembling to avoid damage. In many cases, a protective liner is recommended to avoid mishaps.
By contrast, brushed finishes (#4)popular in food service and appliance useoffer a clean, professional appearance with far fewer cleaning and maintenance requirements.
On the other hand, if you plan to do extensive fabrication or welding, you might find it best to apply a finish yourself.
In these cases, opting for a product with a 1, 2B, or 2BA finish could reduce costs and allow greater flexibility.
For more information, including typical uses and any considerations to keep in mind, be sure to consult our guide to stainless steel finishes.
This final consideration touches on points related to virtually everything considered so far.
If youre planning to cut, weld, rivet, or modify the steel in any way, be sure to consider any stresses applied to the steel and potential treatments which might be required to return the steel to an ideal state.
For example, extensive welding or the heat of plasma cutting might require you to consider pickling, electropolishing, or other heat treatments to ensure that the passive layer is effectively restored and promote optimal corrosion resistance.
Riveting or fastening will require you to consider any hardware used to minimize galvanic corrosion risks.
Tapping or threading stainless steel bars and other parts will likely require attention to machined areas to ensure complete restoration of the passive layer and avoid corrosion risks.
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By understanding these factors in advance, you can avoid maintenance surprises, optimize costs, and pick stainless steel products that are best suited for your uses and environment.