Sheet Metal Fabrication for Equipment Builders
Enclosures, chassis, brackets and panels are often the fastest part of a machine to get right - if the flat pattern, bend sequence and finish are thought through before the first cut. We make them, and we machine the features a brake cannot hold.
What we make
Typical sheet metal work covers equipment enclosures and covers, chassis and frames, mounting brackets and plates, panels, guards and machine housings, and the small brackets and straps that hold wiring and pneumatics in place. One-offs, prototypes and repeat batches are all possible.
From flat to finished
Parts start as a flat blank that is cut, then formed on the brake, then joined - welded, riveted or fitted with pressed-in hardware - before edges are deburred and the part is finished. The order matters: bend sequence, grain direction and weld distortion all move the finished dimensions, so we plan the sequence in the DFM review rather than discovering it on the shop floor.
Materials
Stainless steel 304 and 316L, aluminium and steel are the usual starting points. Tell us the grade and thickness in the enquiry along with the environment the part has to survive, and we will confirm the route; if the specification is unusual we would rather say so at quoting time than after cutting.
Where machining still comes in
Sheet metal cannot hold everything. Threaded bosses, press-fit inserts, bearing bores, sealing faces and dowel locations are machined after forming, so the features that locate the assembly are held by a cutter rather than by a bend. This is also where we deliver hybrid parts: a folded enclosure plus machined mounting blocks, inspected and packed as one delivery.
Tolerances and finishing
Formed dimensions accumulate tolerance across every bend, so sheet metal is quoted looser than machined parts and the values are agreed per drawing and confirmed in the DFM review. Surface treatment is not done in house: powder coating, anodizing, plating and painting are placed with qualified subcontractors selected for environmental compliance and located close to our plant, with quality and delivery responsibility staying with us.