Since mankind learned to forge dirt and rock into metal, the technology and our ability to use it to fabricate metal to our particular purpose has grown significantly. Many of the products and components we take for granted have some aspect of precision sheet metal fabrication from paper clips to the oil and gas industry and even aerospace parts.
At Terrick Enterprises Ltd., we have over 24,000 square feet of office and fabrication space in Edmonton to ensure we can meet your metal fabrication needs as a fully certified Canadian Welding Bureau shop and a member of ISNetworld, our main product lines are pipe shoes, pipe supports, and saddles for the oil and gas industry as well as a host of custom applications for plants, warehouses, office buildings and residential spaces. To illustrate the flexibility that custom metal fabricating can offer, here’s a few tidbits that you may not know about the industry and craft.
Metal is one of the most common types of raw material used in manufacturing. The Manufacturers’ Standard Gage set the criteria for the thickness levels for standard steel, stainless steel, and galvanized steel. There are three categories of metal based on thickness:
Foil or leaf metals, typically 0.20mm and under;
Sheet metals ranging from 0.20mm to 6mm; and
Plate metals, typically larger than 6mm in thickness.
Many manufacturers employ manufacturing engineers to take care of the machinery, optimize current processes, and develop innovative new processes. These engineers can look at a design and advise you on potential problem areas, best practices, and optimal design techniques that will help the customer get the most out of their manufacturer. Fabricator engineers can take a customers’ desired material, the rate of production, the desired geometry and other physical requirements of the part or product to create an optimized, cost-efficient manufacturing process. The manufacturing process covers two primary categories: the removal process and deformation process by a sheet metal fabricator using specially designed machines and shaping the metal stock into an endless number of forms. Removal is used to cut parts to size, add fabrications (holes, notches, tabs), or cut a design from sheet metal. Removing sections of metal to create your product includes:
Cutting
Machining
Punching
Blanking
Stamping
Shearing
Deformation or forming processes alters the shape of the original piece without removing sections of the metal. The most common deformation processes are:
Bending
Roll forming
Drawing
Spinning
Fabricators use their experience and mastery of a variety of processes, including welding, heat treating, adhesive joining, brazing and soldering, stamping and rolling, tumbling, buffing, polishing and honing to create custom objects. The time, labour, materials, and other resources that go into each piece contribute to costs. Today, steel remains one of the most popular and affordable metals for a host of metal manufacturing projects. At Terrick Enterprises Ltd., our metal fabrication shop is focused on doing everything we can to ensure you get the best product for your application. Contact Terrick Enterprises Ltd. at 780-417-3553 or toll free at 1‑877‑469‑9707 today to discuss your metal fabrication, warehouse storage, and piping support needs.