Raw Materials Used in Metal Fabrication
Metal fabricators use many raw materials during manufacturing, and this might compromise workflow and cycle times. This guide contains information about different types of raw materials that are normally used in different metal fabrication processes such as steel fabrication.
Metal fabrication can be defined as the manufacturer of machinery and metal parts through cutting, forming, bending and so forth. Fabrication methods include broaching, forming, cutting, milling, grinding and honing.
The most common types of raw materials available on the market include:
- Sectional metal
- Flat metal
- Welding wire
- Hardware
- Plate Metal
- Fittings
- Castings
- Formed and expanded metal
Casting raw materials
Casting is a metal fabrication process that dates back to over six centuries ago. During casting, liquid metal is turned into a mould to cool down and harden to different shapes. Casting is highly-preferred because of its flexibility. Raw materials used in this process are concrete, molten metal, clay and epoxies. Metals used in casting are iron, aluminium, stainless steel, steel, magnesium, copper, silver and gold.
Types of hardware raw material
Hardware materials are used to standardise metals to make them sturdier and easy to fabricate. There are different types of hardware, but the basic ones include:
- Corners
- Handles
- Locks
- Keys
- Latches
- Chains
- Wires
Flat raw material
Flat metal is extremely thin and can be rolled into different sizes. Thickness for flat pieces depends on the metal sheet in question. But they range from a millimetre to a couple of centimetres. Additionally, they are measured in gauges. There are three types of flat metal raw materials:
- Leaf metal- it is also called foil metal. It is the thinnest of flat metals
- Sheet metal- it is the most common variant, but it is not more than 6mm thick
- Plate metal- this variant is thicker and measures more than 0.25 inches
Metal fabrication is a complex process of making metal parts through different processes such as cutting and forming. There are several fabrication methods such as lathing, broaching, welding and honing. Metal fabrication is a vital process that is used in different industries such as electrical, automotive and food and beverage fields. The use of different raw materials over the years has resulted in the standardisation of numerous components. However, before commencing a metal fabrication process such as aluminium fabrication, it is wise to know what metal fabrication is, the different materials used in the fabrication process and types of fabrication, just as shared above.