Do you have a vision that you're eager to bring to life? Perhaps it's a design that involves the intricate world of metal fabrication. The good news is, your aspirations are about to meet their match.
Whether your project is a personal endeavor or a crucial part of an industry-related undertaking, Ferrum's custom fabrication services offer a realm of possibilities. From the realms of automotive engineering and aerospace innovation to the intricate tapestry of construction, custom fabrication in Ferrum holds the promise of excellence.
Whether you've already sketched blueprints or are still fine-tuning your vision, rest assured that the road to a perfect and enduring custom fabrication is within reach. In the following sections, we'll provide you with valuable tips that will not only bolster your confidence but also empower you to transform your dream design into a tangible reality.
What is Custom Metal Fabrication?
But first, what is Custom Metal Fabrication? Custom Metal Fabrication covers the whole process of manufacturing metal parts and structural elements from pure raw materials.
It’s everything from stamping, cutting, bending, and roll forming to the finishing touches of putting everything together to establish that signature design you want to fabricate.
May it be the civil, drainage, concrete, landscape, and miscellaneous products you want custom-designed, there is always that company with high-caliber and reliable services that would definitely answer all of your custom metal fabrication needs.
So without further ado, here are the tips to optimize your design for a custom metal fabrication project…
Select the Right Custom Fabrication Company
How certain are you that the materials and engineers you’re paying for are fail-safe, professional, and great at their work?
The first tip is to ensure the appropriate selection of a legitimate custom fabrication company. You see, selecting materials influences the quality and design of a specific project. With that being said, it’s vital to know where metal fabricator companies purchase the resources they use for the projects they create.
They usually buy materials straight from their trusted metal suppliers brought by its wide array of possibilities and benefits, subsequently giving you the opportunity to check out the variety of metals they can provide for you at a negotiable cost.
This includes the manpower, time, and skill-service they can offer to you. Experience and exceptional customer service are signs of good quality work. Moreover, possessing the ability to provide specialized engineers that proffer prized recommendations on your projects is without a doubt, something you must look out for.
This is the reason why choosing the right company should be at the top of your list if you want assurance and credibility on your desired finish product.
Prepare Thorough RFQ Details
The second tip is being comprehensively detailed on your “Request for Quote” (RFQ). The more information you issue, the more precise your estimated cost will be.
In the RFQ, be technical. Include drawings, applied specifications, engineering blueprints, plans and profiles, location, contact addresses, delivery dates, etc.
While it is true that metal fabricators aid you with lots of things, it’s also important to remember that knowing what you want and the preferences you need become the basis of your coveted output.
It is through this mindset that the foundation and finish of your product shall result in a satisfactory connection on both the customer and manufacturer, respectively.
Include Metal Fabricator in the Preliminary Process
The third tip is to make sure that you involve your metal fabricator in the initial process. If you do this, you are paving the path towards being given reliable feedbacks and suggestions that will help better optimize your design at an early stage and receive honest opinions on possible alterations for the feasibility of your design.
If you don’t, it might be too late. To see your design changed and altered merely because it wasn’t feasible could be costly, and no one wants that to happen.
So, interact with your metal fabricator in the early stages of your design.
Exclude Irrelevant Design Information
The fourth tip is to make certain of the necessary information you’re putting into your design. Examine every detail of the layout for it is the key to a durable and excellent metal fabrication.
Needless to say, it would be a different story if you bombard your plan with irrelevant details as it could lead to a delay in the process and misunderstanding on the fabricator’s side causing more problems in the future.
As much as possible, ask them for help. They will tell you design details whether they’re deemed necessary or not. That’s much better compared to seeing them struggle on that overloaded information.
Choose Good-Quality Materials
The fifth tip is to input high-quality materials. The efficiency, durability, and effectiveness of your product depend on the resources you will be purchasing to achieve that desired finish look.
Metal fabricators commonly recommend various types of raw materials that will be suitable for your project.
Doing research is helpful but asking for pieces of advice from your fabrication company is more convenient as they have the expertise to match it with not only your preference but also aid you with managing estimated costs and productions.
It is therefore crucial that you don’t merely depend on your sole knowledge but take into consideration professional insights that are backed up with enough skill-set experiences.
Take Into Account Your Available Metal Choices
There is a wide variety within the category of metal alloys for custom metal fabrication. Various sorts of metal alloys are produced to meet a variety of requirements, including resistance to a specific kind of rust, heat, or force. Metals with exceptional toughness, such as those that can hold up high temperatures, significant forces, or substances that are corrosive, are necessary for some applications. In addition to being more expensive, these metals are notoriously challenging to work with. Other implementations are not subjected to conditions that are as severe, so they are able to fulfil their function with alloys that are more commonly used.
If you choose the appropriate metal alloy for custom metal fabrication, you may be able to significantly cut costs and make the fabrication process more straightforward. It is crucial to recognize the function of the product or component as well as the forces that it will be subjected to when selecting the metal alloy that will be used. One or more of the following could fall into this category:
- Force: The term "force" refers to a combination of many different aspects, some of which are constant curvature, heavy implications, abrasive wear, heavy load, and many more.
- Temperature: This includes both extremely high and extremely low temperatures, as well as dramatic swings between the two.
- Materials that are corrosive may be common elements such as air and water, or they may be uncommon elements such as acids.
- Lifetime: the amount of time that your goods or component is meant to last will have an effect on the materials, just as much as the conditions that are present during regular use.
Streamline And Make Optimisations
Once you have clearly marked all of the crucial components of your drawings, the next best way to optimise the design of your custom metal fabrication is to optimise it. Perhaps you have already reduced your design to its bare minimum. Before sending your designs to your fabricator, however, you should give them a closer look if you haven't yet tried a formatting stage.
Watch out for parts that don't add anything to the functionality of the design. Are these aspects of the custom metal fabrication absolutely necessary? You could also look for components that serve the same purpose more than once. If, for instance, your metal fabricated unit can be attached with just one screw without compromising its ability to fit securely or perform its function, then using two screws might be an unwarranted additional expense. You could also check for exterior components that are excessively detailed or overstretched in their design. The process of cutting or stamping, for instance, can be made easier by the presence of a right angle, whereas the addition of a curved corner brings additional complexity but no additional value.
Reckon About The Different Finishing Options You Have
It is not necessary to rely solely on the materials you choose for your custom metal fabrication project in order to achieve the desired appearance and functionality. Choosing the appropriate finishing method for your project, such as protective coatings, metal plating, anodising, galvanising, and other similar processes, can help it resist corrosion and lengthen its useful life. These finishing choices can also assist in making your element or project appear how you want it to, with the appropriate colours, textures, or shine.
Do Not Overcomplicate The Design
Everyone appreciates a design that has a lot of attention to detail, and any project that results in a good design needs a comprehensive plan. However, it is also very important to keep in mind that the key is to make things as simple as possible. After you have identified and marked the essential components of your drawings, the next best way to optimise the design of your custom metal fabrication is to simplify it. Before sending your designs to the fabricator, you should give them a closer look even if you believe you have eliminated any superfluous details.
Look for components that aren't adding anything to the features of your design and remove them. Is there any critical prerequisite for some of the components that focus more on appearance than functionality of the custom metal fabrication? Always work to eliminate any unnecessary repetition. For instance, does it work completely fine with just one screw in it? If the answer is yes, you shouldn't just add another bolt because you think it looks nice. Because, in the end, reducing expenditures is most likely of greater significance.
In addition, if you want the corner to be curved, you can do that. The other option, however, which involves trimming the metal at a right angle, is equally effective and should be chosen. Even if it were to make the custom metal fabrication look better as a whole, it would not increase the product's value in any way.
Conduct Test Before Fabrication Process
You never really know if the design you came up with, would work well in real-life situations. As you can see from the blueprint design to the actual process and up to the final application — determining whether the design would become successful might be a mystery.
The last tip is to make sure that projects from custom metal fabrication companies undergo a series of tests before they are realized.
Metal fabricators make use of 3Ds, prototypes, etc. ensuring that they are made possible to be manufactured.
Tests are important. They show the competence and achievability of the customers and engineers that make the project happen.
BOTTOMLINE: Why Choose Ferrum?
The bottom line is to get yourself a trusted metal fabricator that knows how to translate designs into that structural form. Someone who understands your vision and communicates effectively with an eye for details. Being one of the leading structural steel fabricators in Australia, Ferrum guarantees our customer's satisfaction in every transaction.