If you are involved in any form of assembly production, your company will rely on fabrication. Many different companies utilize this process to produce certain components that are integral to their product. Certain shops specialize in the process. In fact, some metal fabricators in Minneapolis may even focus on one specific raw metal over others.
What Is Metal “Fab”?
Metal fabricators construct metal structures. These may be small components or large machines. They accomplish this in “Fab” shops by taking the raw stock material – various pieces of metal, often stainless steel, and use various processes and techniques to turn them into a part or machine for use in an assembly process. Among the many possible methods commonly employed in a Minneapolis fab shop are:
- Assembling
- Bending
- Brazing
- Casting
- Cutting
- Drawing
- Folding
- Forging
- Forming
- Machining
- Punching
- Shearing
- spinning
- Stamping
- Welding
Fabricators and manufacturers refer to these as “value added processes.” The term applies to the procedure actually adding value to the product at a certain stage of overall production.
The Process
The initial step undertaken by any fab shop is to examine the engineering drawings and specs. If the shop thinks it can do it, it bids on the job. In some cases, however, a shop with a formidable name and reputation may receive the drawings or a concept and develop it specifically for the company at their request.
Once the job is accepted, the fab shop proceeds to produce shop drawings. These are precise renderings consisting of exact measurements and specific instructions. This provides a detailed map of what the fabricators need to do to accomplish their stage of the job. At the same time, they order in the required raw materials. This may consist of such items as:
- Castings
- Expanded metal
- Fittings
- Plate metal
- Pre-formed metal
- Welding wire
A CNC operator, if necessary, will program the necessary machines of this type for the project. The actual fabrication work begins often with cutting the raw materials before moving on to forming them. If bending and rounding of the metal proves to be required, the shop will employ tube bending and rolling machinery. Welding and sand blasting are other actions the job may require before final assemble takes place. The fab shop thoroughly inspects the product for flaws. If it passes the strict quality test, the fab shop ships it off to the client.
Metal Fabrication Shops
Fab shops are a common ingredient in the modern manufacturing process. Contractors, equipment manufacturers and other industries hire them to work on specific projects. In Minneapolis, fabrication shops are responsible for daily producing items that people use every day including stairs and hand railings as well as the frames and structures that support heavy equipment and all types of structures.
