What Are The Types Of Metal Fabrication Processes?

Did you know that there are different manufacturing processes with metals by structural steelwork contractors for example? In metallurgy, it is possible to melt, shape, weld, and machine raw metal to obtain the desired part. It is worth noting that several factors need to be considered to determine the best manufacturing process for each case. Among these factors, we can mention:

Part format;

Material to be used;

Usage requirements;

Quantity of parts to be produced;

Desired type of finish;

Among other factors.

Main manufacturing processes with metals

Learn a little about each of the main manufacturing processes with targets:

Foundry

Casting is one of the oldest processes and is still used today for the conformation of metals. Extremely versatile, this manufacturing process allows the development of parts in different sizes, and formats, and on a large scale. In the foundry, liquid metal is used to fill molds with the same geometries and measurements as the part to be manufactured. In general, after removing the molds, the parts manufactured by the casting process are ready for use. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to carry out some heat treatment or finishing.

Mechanical Forming

In metallurgy, we call mechanical forming the whole process that requires the application of mechanical efforts to apply a certain shape or dimension to metals. Within the mechanical conformation, we have a large number of processes, among them:

Lamination

Forming process where a metal ingot is forced between two cylinders that rotate in opposite directions, contributing to reducing the thickness and increasing the width and length of the metal ingot.

Extrusion

Extrusion is a widely used process for the manufacture of metallic tubes. The process consists of forcing the passage of a metallic block through the orifice of a matrix with the aid of a plunger.

Drawing

It is the process used to manufacture rolls of wire, cables, and electrical wires. Initially, this manufacturing process is similar to extrusion since the metal must also be forced through a die to change its diameter.

The big difference is that instead of being pushed, in this process, the metal is pulled.

Forging

In forging, metal is shaped by hammering or pressing. This type of process is used to manufacture products that require high mechanical strength.

Stamping

It is a mechanical conformation process that encompasses a set of operations to transform the metal, causing it to acquire a new geometric shape. The basic stamping operations are cutting, folding, and drawing.

Welding

Welding is the manufacturing process with metals, usually plates, which aims to join different parts by heating, to form a single piece.

Machining

Finally, we have machining, which is finalizing metal parts. The parts produced in the abovementioned processes can go through the machining process later. Machining involves machines that act so that the part reaches the desired shape, as well as surface roughness and dimensional tolerances.

In the machining of metallic parts, we use, among others, the following processes:

• Turning
• Milling
• Hurricane
• Rectification