Archive for the 'Mechanical' Category
July 30th, 2008 - Metal Production
The realm of metal fabrication includes a wide variety of methods: shops use high-powered presses to condense material, forming tools to cut metal parts, and other tools to buff them for consistent surfaces.
Within the gamut of techniques used daily in metalworking shops, there’s also a number of uses for methods that rely on circular motion to work metal parts. These are continually being developed as alternative choices or “fixes” for metal pieces that have not been sufficiently formed by other means.
Metal Spinning
For some metalworking processes, metal parts benefit from being spun on lathe tools or other machines, either to assist with finishing or with structural formation. Spinning metal can help maintain the integrity of parts or strengthen their internal structures. Metal spinning can also be a cost-effective way to machine parts with the simplicity of motion required to do this kind of metalworking with metal spinners.
Hydro-forming
For other projects where spinning may not be the best solution, there’s hydro-forming: this process applies hydraulic pressure to non-spinning metal in ways that don’t affect the consistency of the metal parts.
An advantage of hydro-forming is that it creates seamless parts through the pressure it puts on metal pieces. Hydro-forming is popular in making a range of products like restaurant equipment.
Metal Spinning and Hydro-forming Methods
Leaders in supplying well-engineered metal pieces for industrial use specialize in methods like metal spinning and hydro-forming, using state of the art technology and tested techniques to get quality, consistency and durability in finished products.
Spinning Lathes and other technology provide cutting edge metal spinning solutions in shops specifically outfitted for creating smooth, sturdy circular parts, from small rods to bulky cylinders, free of defects and reliable enough for use in end products.
Other Services
Spinning and hydro-forming are front and center in the array of services third party metalworking shops can provide to get metal pieces rollout-ready and into clients’ shelves, but business clients often need support for a range of pieces to assemble their creations. Diversified metalworking shops use hydraulic high-pressure presses and stamping techniques as well as shearing and shaping to manufacture metal pieces both large and small, delivering plates, pins, rings, or a variety of customized pieces for the specific use a client has engineered into their product line.
Choosing a Third Party Metalworking Shop
What do business managers look for in a parts provider?
Besides checking out the wealth of tools and technology on a shop floor, a client wants to know that the parts they order will be not only finished to perfection, but machined to the specific sizes and shapes they need.
Communication is critical: with the best third party metalworking shops showcasing their best practices and services online and providing 24-hour phone support, it’s become a question of who can deliver quality while listening to client preferences and reading incoming templates or specs, so that no one will be surprised when the parts arrive on a client floor for assembly.
Time is also of the essence: shops who can provide cost estimates and calculate how quickly their contributions will flow into shipping will be the most reliable partners for implementing new growth or product roll-outs.
So when looking for a metal parts provider, test out the communications department, offering design points and doing a little QA on whether the staff on the ground have your specifications in hand at the beginning, middle and end of the process.