The Process of Steel Fabrication

Due to its numerous applications, steel is one of the most versatile metals that is used across all industries on an everyday basis. Steel fabrication is essentially the process of manufacturing components that will form a completed frame, once assembled and joined. There is a wide range of fabrication techniques involved in creating the finished product, but here are a few common examples of steel fabrication that are employed around the globe.

Steel fabrication process is often determined by the application required. Whilst steel is generally considered a tough, durable metal, it has a canny ability to be bent, folded, machined, deep drawn and even spun without it losing its durability or strength. This ability allows for steelwork structures to be built in just about any shape and size necessary.

Modern steel fabrication techniques ensure the quality of work to the highest possible level. The majority of steelwork manufacturers used CAD (Computer Aided Design) machines to ensure perfect shape dimensions with an almost negligible rate of error. This process means that it is now easier than ever to order custom frames, tubing and parts for your projects.

Not only does computer aided design by the builder, make the entire process of designing and constructing your steel work easier, it also means that your in-house design team can send the steel manufacturer your designs directly. This ensures that all of your designs are followed perfectly, lessening the chance of manufacturing errors, and to also help lower the costs of outsourcing a separate designer.

There have been tremendous advances in both the quality and the productivity of steel fabrication in recent years. The state of the art CNC machinery involved in steel fabrication has allowed the costs of production to come down largely, too.

The Raw Materials

The main process of fabrication starts with the raw materials. For general steel fabrication, large steel pieces known as plates or beams are used, which are cut into a general standardised length to aid in further processing via the steel work machinery.

The steel is then cut to length as required by the CNC or CAD machinery. The steel is cut using a number of different techniques such as gas or flame cutting as well as plasma cutting. With plasma cutting, a deep plasma gas jet flow can cut steel at a temperature in excess of 20,000.

Drilling and Punching

The steel is then put through a cutting and drilling process to allow the steel to be rapidly assembled as required. Drilling is often carried out on the site of the fabrication plant to ensure the majority of assembly can be done in the same factory. Hole-punching replaces the drilling process when the steel being used is thin enough to allow it.

The process of bending or folding is then used whenever the application necessitates it. This process is popular with certain frame works on the roofs of buildings to allow for an arching effect, or for a more architecturally pleasant look and feel. With steel tube fabrication, bending of steel in a tube form makes it much stronger than its equivalent beam form.

Welding and Specialist Coatings

Welding and surface coating and painting is often the final process that steel fabrication goes through. The welding of joints or sections in the fabrication plant allow the sections to be transported pre-built and allow the construction team to erect the structure faster. This ensures a rapid erection time with minimum on-site welding needed.

Some parts will need specialist coatings to ensure longevity of the parts from corrosion or weather effects if used in an outdoor application. Many steelwork fabricators paint the parts in the factory to allow for colour-coding of the parts, or achieve the finished look, allowing construction of your frame rapidly and robustly.