A Comprehensive Guide to Custom Metal Fabrication

Looking for a way to cut project costs while still fulfilling your unique product requirements? Custom metal fabrication offers more flexibility and versatility, so you can fulfill your needs more effectively than choosing off-the-shelf products. 

Studies show that 88% of industrial businesses are now prioritizing sustainable manufacturing as a strategic move to increase operational efficiency while simultaneously reducing costs. This makes custom metal fabrication a critical component for reducing waste and streamlining projects.

To give you a deeper understanding of the value of this innovative manufacturing technique, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to custom metal fabrication.

What is Custom Metal Fabrication?

“Metal fabrication” refers to the process of building items (like machine parts or structural components) from raw metal materials, like sheets. Fabricated items could be as small as a cast-metal part for a machine or as large as an entire piece of equipment. 

The fabrication process involves a range of tools and equipment used to form metal into simple or complex shapes. For example, at Corrugated Metals Inc., we fabricate aluminum, stainless steel, copper, A-606 weathering steel, galvanized steel, galvalume, aluminized, and zinc.

Unlike traditional stock metal fabrication processes, the custom fabrication process offers flexibility for manufacturing application-specific products. The product specifications may vary across industries such as construction, military and defense, OEMs, and more, depending on the application requirements.

Metal fabricators (like CMI) adopt a flexible fabrication approach in order to meet the typical requirements of these industries. This approach not only helps fabricators to design and manufacture application-specific products, but also to ensure product quality and performance in the long run.

88% of industrial businesses are now prioritizing sustainable manufacturing as a strategic move to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs.

What CMI Does

Using certified raw materials sourced from a network of trustworthy suppliers, CMI manufactures corrugated metal roofing and siding products from varied grades of light- to heavy-gauge aluminum, steel, copper, and zinc with a wide range of finish options. 

CMI’s unrivaled metal capabilities include:

    • Corrugating for a variety of materials including galvanized steel, weathering steel, aluminum, and pre-painted finishes.
    • Custom roll forming for metals with material thickness ranging from .020 to .25 and widths 12″ to 62″.
    • Continuous perforating and specific hole punching on both mechanical and turret press operations.
    • Metal sheet cutting to precise dimensions using advanced process controls
    • Custom shearing process to remove unwanted materials from sheet metal.
    • Some of the largest panels in the industry, with widths up to 63” and lengths up to 90’.
    • Pre-painted panels using the Kynar 500® paint system, with twenty standard colors as well as metallic and weathered colors available.
    • A configurator to customize the exact products you need before you buy, streamlining the purchasing process and order accuracy.

CMI Serves the following industries:

    • Agriculture
    • Air Transport
    • Construction
    • Container
    • Energy Infrastructure
    • Export
    • Fiber Glass
    • Glass and Oil
    • Livestock Trailers
    • Military and Defense
    • Mining
    • Power Generation
    • Freight Rail
    • Passenger Rail
    • Electric Vehicle

Construction

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Original Equipment Manufacturer

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Military and Defense

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7 Benefits of Custom Metal Fabrication

Creating custom metal parts and pieces that can be used for a variety of purposes helps make your processes as efficient as possible. Some key benefits include:

Customized Specifications

You get exactly what you need, made-to-order,  for your operations, design, or project.

Versatility

Custom metal fabrication can provide parts in shapes, sizes, angles, and configurations that are not typically available elsewhere. For example, the precise panels for a passenger railcar can’t be bought off-the-shelf products. They must be custom made.

Longevity

Metal is known for its durability and corrosion resistance, and parts made specifically to meet the needs of a project are stronger than those that are not. These qualities make custom metal a long-lasting choice, increasing the lifespan of your product significantly.

Saves Time and Money

Tailored parts made to meet specific needs and requirements saves you time on sourcing the correct pieces for a job, removes unexpected costs related to inaccurate measurements, and reduces the number of mistakes that would need to be fixed later on.

Compatibility and Adaptability

Compatibility isn’t always a given with prefabricated metal parts. With custom metal fabrication, you’ll be able to use adaptable solutions that better fit the specifications of the job.

Ease of Use

Installing customized components is easier when they were made specifically with your project in mind.

Efficacy

An optimized design allows fabricators to tailor products to the structural demand, chemicals, temperatures, and forces it will face so it can withstand the product lifespan.

Tips for Choosing a Metal Fabrication Company

Choosing a metal fabrication company requires careful consideration to ensure they can meet all your needs, not just pricing. When selecting your supplier, consider the following factors:

Experience

Experience of a company and their staff is crucial when it comes to metal fabrication. Besides the number of years in the industry, consider asking if they’ve worked on a project like yours before, have manufactured similar products, and if they have other clients with similar needs.

Quality

Compliance with industry standards allows companies to work reliably and safely. To avoid problems with the materials used in your project, only purchase components that align with (or exceed) the quality standard to which you hold your own products and processes.

Equipment and Resources

Cutting-edge designing and manufacturing technology is important for companies to stay current and meet growing needs. Manufacturers that leverage advanced technology provide versatility to bend with market demands and will use their resources more effectively to benefit your project.

Communication

Communication is at the heart of building a long-term relationship with a metal fabrication company. An ideal vendor treats customer service as a guiding principle. You want a partner that keeps you completely informed through proactive communication and regular progress reports to avoid unplanned project downtime.

Competitive Pricing

Metal fabrication is an important aspect of your total project cost. Be sure your pricing comparisons are apples-to-apples. When reviewing quotes, take all aspects of the price (experience, quality, fabrication tools and methods, timeline capacity, and communication) into consideration and go with the option that doesn’t sacrifice quality.

Financial Stability

The financial stability of a metal fabrication company is as important as its technical knowledge. Your project may require the fabrication company to hire more technicians, increase their production capacity, and invest in new technology. Only a company with sound financial health can provide for these expenses.

FAQ’s About Custom Metal Fabrication

Have additional questions about custom metal fabrication? Let’s cover some of the most common FAQs about this advanced technique. 

Why should I consider roll forming my parts?

Roll forming offers many benefits including its strict consistent adherence to close tolerances. This allows fabricators to provide the shapes or profile you need consistently with each order.

By using the roll forming process, it is possible to eliminate many typical secondary operations, reducing your overall costs. It is especially well suited for long, continuously run projects. For the cut to length option, roll forming helps reduce scrap costs and material storage needs.

However, the major advantage of roll forming is the increase in strength to weight ratio over plain sheet metal. This strength allows some shapes to be produced with thinner walls than competing processes, reducing material costs.

What is stucco embossing?

Stucco embossing applies a pebble-like finish etched into the formed metal. This process helps to reduce the amount of light reflecting off the metal, adds strength to the material, and makes the product more aesthetically pleasing.

What are roll-formed products typically used for?

Roll-formed products are used primarily in industrial roofing and siding applications plus panels for the transportation industry. Applications for our products include industrial and commercial buildings, agricultural storage facilities, chemical plants, manufacturing plants, airplane hangars, steel mills, food processing plants, and many others.

Get Started

Custom fabrication provides flexibility, versatility, and precision over stock fabrication. 

CMI is ISO 9001:2015 registered with quality technicians that inspect every product for gauge, length, width, coverage, surface quality, and squareness to ensure consistent adherence to strict tolerances. Regardless of your industry or product needs, CMI’s unrivaled metal capabilities and guaranteed service will meet your business objectives.

If you want to experience the benefits of custom metal fabrication, you can begin by requesting a quote from CMI. To get started, get in touch with us to learn more and find out how our unrivaled metal capabilities will help save your business time and money.