Sheet metal is something that many industries use for various purposes from automotive to construction, HVAC, and many things in between. Cutting, bending, and piecing sheet metal together can transform it into functional structures based on your business needs.
Just give our team a call if you need sheet metal fabrication in Chicago, IL. You can also keep reading to learn more about the sheet metal fabrication process and a case study with a local food manufacturer who needed our expertise to install a newly constructed metal platform.
Fabricating Sheet Metal
First, metal has to be heated up until it melts so that it is malleable. Then it gets poured into a mold and processed through strong rollers that flatten it out to the desired thickness. These sheets can be cut into manageable sheets or rolled up for applications that require longer pieces of sheet metal.
When it comes to putting together the sheet metal pieces, there are several steps involved:
- Cutting the sheets: As we already mentioned above, the sheet metal needs to be sized to your specific needs. If your metal needs to be cut down smaller than the sheets we manufacturer, the metal can be cut with a laser, water jetting, or a strong set of shears.
- Bending the metal: We use press brakes to bend the individual metal sheets so that it bends at specific angles and has corners as needed for creating things like brackets, enclosures, and frames.
- Punching the metal: If the sheets need to have indentations or holes, this can be achieved using a punch. Indentations can help you know where pieces line up together, while holes allow space for screws and mounting brackets.
- Assembly of the sheet metal: Pieces can be secured together using screws and brackets, or they can be welded or riveted together. This allows you to add multiple pieces together for an end result that fits your unique needs.
Case Study
We recently worked with a food manufacturer whowanted to improve safety and operations by making it easier for employees to add ingredients to 2,500 and 3,000 gallon mixing tanks. The new platform needed to be created out of stainless steel so it would be easy to clean.
The experts at Althoff Industries precisely measured the dimensions of the new platform and used our metal fabrication tools to create it quickly and efficiently. It was completed in three sections so that it could be easily transported and installed on location.
The installation was completed in two days and the client had a safer, easy to clean, and more spacious platform to fill their tanks.
We want our customers to know that every sheet metal fabrication job will be to your exact standards to meet your demands. Our team is full of engineers and expert technicians who fabricate metal to extremely precise measurements so they can be safe and effective.
Contact Althoff Industries, Inc. Challenges Accepted! We’re to help with your sheet metal fabrication and other commercial needs.