When Do You Need Custom Fabrication Services?

The Complete Guide to Understanding Custom Fabrication

In today’s highly competitive business landscape, companies often face unique challenges that require innovative solutions. Some of these challenges may require custom fabrication services to come up with a creative and unique resolution. Whether you’re a small business owner or a seasoned executive, understanding when and why you might need custom fabrication can be imperative to maintaining a competitive edge over your competitors. Here, we help you gain valuable insight into whether or not you need a custom solution and how it can benefit your business.

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What is Custom Fabrication?

Custom fabrication refers to the process of creating or manufacturing unique and tailored products or components to meet specific requirements. Thus, the process usually involves everything from designing, engineering, and manufacturing items that are not available in standard sizes, shapes, or configurations. Because of the nature of the process, it usually involves skilled craftsmen, engineers, and fabricators who are familiar with a variety of materials, such as metals, plastics, wood, or composites.

Industries that Benefit from Custom Fabrication

Architecture and Construction

The architecture and construction industries often require customized metal work or bespoke structural components that require custom solutions.

Automotive

The automotive industry has a big demand for custom parts and prototypes. Instead of spending money on traditional mass production routes, going with a custom fabrication job could give you the results you’re looking for while saving money in the long run. 

Aerospace

The aerospace sector relies on parts that are made with tight tolerances and weigh the least amount possible. Many times, it’s best to go with a custom option that can support the rigid needs of this industry.

Manufacturing and Industrial

The manufacturing and industrial sectors often require specialized equipment and machinery to keep their operations moving. As stock options may not exist for their specific needs, businesses choose to go with custom projects.

Other Industries

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the industries that benefit from custom solutions. There are countless applications for the process, with more being forged every day. With this in mind, how do you know if custom fabrication is necessary for your business? If you’re experiencing any of the following situations, it may be time to look into it.

Signs That You Need Custom Fabrication Services

Unique Project Requirements 

Often, businesses may require products that have unusual dimensions or specifications. They might also run into a need for complex designs or intricate details. If you find that your business has these issues, pursuing a custom solution is likely the best option.

Limited Availability of Ready-Made Solutions

Perhaps your business needs specialized equipment or machinery that stock solutions just can’t replicate. Or, you might need something made of an uncommon material. In these cases, going with a custom solution can save you time in the long run.

Quality and Durability Considerations

Do you need a project made with extra precision and accuracy? What about an item with longevity and reliability requirements? If so, a custom solution will be the best option for your business.

Underperformance or Lack of Efficiency

If you believe that a custom-made product can offer superior performance, enhanced efficiency, or better functionality compared to existing options, custom fabrication is a viable choice.

Intellectual Property Protection

If you have unique designs or inventions that require protection, custom fabrication can offer a degree of intellectual property protection. By having custom-made parts, it becomes harder for competitors to replicate or copy your product.

Need a Custom Solution But Don’t Know Where to Start?

If you need a custom project, seeking out a qualified custom fabricator is the first step. At CR Metal Products, we’d be happy to understand your needs and help you decide if a custom solution is right for your business. But, with so many fabricators to choose from, why should you select us? The answer is simple: our experience, dedicated team, and robust capabilities can’t be beat.

Since , we’ve been on a mission to create the best quality products for our customers. We started as a small fabrication company and have since grown into one of the leading providers for custom metal fabrication and finishing services in the United States. Now, we have two facilities with over 130,000 square feet of manufacturing space, allowing us to take on the biggest, most complex projects. We also maintain an ISO : certification, which holds us to the highest standards in manufacturing excellence.

Get Started on Your Custom Project Today

Last updated April

The sheet metal fabrication industry has evolved significantly since da Vinci’s first sketch of an early sheet metal technique in . Today, it is a critical manufacturing process for sectors such as aerospace, construction, energy, and automotive.

Modern metal shops are more advanced than ever, leveraging cutting-edge technology and automation to improve precision and efficiency. In this article, you will learn what metal fabrication is and how the process works.

What is Sheet Metal Fabrication?

You use many products daily that are staples of the metal fabrication sector. Mailboxes, roof gutters, casings, and air-conditioning ducts/furnace flues are all examples.

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Most metal fabricators work with sheet metal. Sheet metal fabrication transforms raw sheet metal into a variety of finished products. Sheet metal is available in standardized gauges and materials, making it suitable for both mass production and custom products.

How Does Metal Fabrication Work?

Metal fabrication uses complex machinery and manufacturing processes to manufacture high-quality products. Sheet metal typically arrives from a wholesaler or metal mill for a fabrication process that can include cutting, folding, forming, bending, engraving, and more. Standard tools that a metal fabricator will work with include lasers, punch presses, and press brakes.

When high-quality products require clean cuts and no discoloration, a laser cutter will often be used. Intricate patterns are another critical use case for laser cutters. These machines are valued for their ability to handle a wide variety of metals, including carbon steel and titanium.

Metal fabrication involves many different material options, and the proper choice can be critical to project success. For instance, more than 3,500 different grades of steel exist, over 75 percent of which have been developed in the last twenty years. It’s important to partner with an expert fabricator who can guide you through this complex decision.

The Metal Fabrication Process

Product engineers start the process by sending out plans and sketches to different fabricators to get quotes. The fabricators come up with a cost estimate and timeline based on their experience and the potential project.

From these quotes, product engineers select one fabricator for that particular end product. Some end products can have several different fabricators involved in different elements. The fabricator then orders materials for the project, typically sheet metal, bars, rods, and tubes.

Once the parts arrive, the fabricators begin to work. For custom metal fabrication, the fabricators may play a role in the design process, as unique products need specific techniques to achieve the right result. Highly skilled sheet metal shops like All Metals Fabricating can offer excellent guidance on optimal fabrication choices, including design for manufacturing advice to ensure an efficient, cost-effective manufacturing process.

Sheet metal fabrication often integrates with other manufacturing processes, such as precision machining, when specific features require milling or turning. Common machining options include CNC mills and lathes. 

The final step of the manufacturing process involves assembly and finishing. These processes prepare the product for use, whether with joining techniques or coatings. Methods like graining with a belt sander or applying a vibratory sanded finish are two raw metal finish options. Other common finishes include powder coating or various plating specifications. 

The Processes Involved

The process of metal fabrication involves a variety of equipment, some of which are unique to metal materials. Here are a few examples of sheet metal services and equipment that can be involved in a project:

1. Cutting: Shear, CNC punch presses, laser cutting, waterjet, plasma, tube laser cutting
2. Bending: Press brake forming, folding machines, panel benders
3. Welding: MIG, TIG, robotic, laser welding services
4. Hardware insertion: Haeger Press
5. Grinding & Graining: Cleaning up welds, belt sanding

The Benefits of Using Metal for Your Product

Precision sheet metal fabrication is a highly skilled and potentially complex manufacturing process often employed for high-quality products. Below is a short list of essential reasons why metal could be the right choice for your manufacturing project:

The final appearance of your product is critical. Many high-quality manufacturers, such as tech companies, have opted for a metal design. Metal gives smartphones and computers durability and a modern, sleek look.

Your product application demands durability. The durability of metal products is naturally superior to plastic. Notably, metal can withstand higher temperatures. If the manufacturer has taken into account expansion under heat, the heat will usually not damage the product.

Especially in high-volume manufacturing, metal fabrication is far more cost-efficient than other processes. Process replication can reduce the manufacturing cost per unit. Sheet metal fab is also more versatile, allowing for a wider variety of approaches. Options such as contract manufacturing or lights-out manufacturing can further improve a project’s costs, and many shops are investing in automation to increase efficiency.

Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication at All Metals Fabricating

Precision fabrication is a complex manufacturing technique, but it is highly versatile and adaptable. With the right fabricator, the process can result in a cost-effective, high-quality custom product. 

Custom sheet metal fabrication is flexible, as well. Still, some processes will not work with certain materials or may be limited by product design. Therefore, it is crucial to contact a professional metal fabricator for advice and guidance during the design process.

If you’re ready to collaborate with us on your next sheet metal project, request a quote today!

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