What is Metal fabrication?
Simply put, Metal fabrication is a manufacturing process used to shape metal into parts or end products. CAMM Metals uses a wide variety of techniques to shape sheet metal into a part or good. Many metal fabricators use sheet metal, which can be up to .25 inches thick. Fabricators then convert this sheet metal into products or tools. We cut, fold, or shape metal to create the finished part.
With this, what is the main benefit of metal fabrication?
Metal fabrication has been known to make human life easy significantly; it basically implies building metal structures with the help of cutting, assembling, and bending processes. Every industry manufacturing metal products thrives to produce such fine quality products that display the highest tolerance levels.
The important metals are usually ductile, malleable, shiny, and can form alloys with other metals. Some common metals are iron (important for steel), aluminum, and copper. Metals are tremendously important to a high-energy society: they transport electricity in the electrical grid and provide many services.
Here are the trends for metal fabrication:
Strategic Acquisitions
Every business eventually hits a plateau where growth slows. There are many ways to outsmart stagnation, and one common way is via strategic acquisition. This can mean different things to different people, but gaining a complementary set of capabilities via acquisition is one way to accelerate growth.
At EVS, we’ve always had an eye toward the future. This is why, over the last two decades, we’ve acquired several companies, which has allowed us to expand our facilities, capacity, and manufacturing offerings across the country.
For instance, we purchased the assets of New Jersey precision machining shop, Jarco Industries several years ago, which immediately increased our machining capacity by 400% and expanded our ability to complete intricate mechanical assemblies. We’ve added other capabilities over the years with major acquisitions in New Hampshire (Keene) and Texas (Pflugerville-Austin).
Additive Fabrication & Manufacturing (3D Printing)
While this type of fabrication is less common today, there’s no doubt that it will absolutely be considered part of the normal offerings available by many manufacturers.
While additive fabrication technology can still be cost-prohibitive to deploy on a large scale, it is still an incredibly flexible, useful tool to add to a lineup of capabilities as the machines become less expensive to purchase and maintain.
This is especially true for companies that specialize in high-mix, low volume production where customization and personalization are often paramount but must be balanced with efficiency and waste reduction as much as possible.
Key Takeaway
The metal fabrication industry has come a long way since we started smelting bronze in clay furnaces centuries ago. We’re still honing our skills and learning to make the most of the resources available.