Setting up an efficient sheet metal fabrication workshop is not only possible; it’s a certainty with the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). ETG supplies a complete range of fabrication machinery to take unprocessed sheet metal and manipulate it into any form or shape desired. Guillotine shears, punch presses, automation systems, press brakes, fibre and plasma lasers, tube bending – you name it, they have it!
What does your dream sheet metal fabrication workshop look like?
What makes an effective sheet metal fabrication shopfloor? You need to be able to fabricate fast and you need to be able to fabricate with precision; ETG’s range of Durma and VLB Group machines helps you do both.
Let’s take a tour around our dream sheet metal fabrication shopfloor.
The first stop is the press brake.
Press brakes fold sheet metal, bending it into any angle. They tend to be quite long and narrow to accommodate as wide a variety of sheet metal sizes as possible. An essential for any sheet metal fabrication workshop.
Next are guillotine shears, another essential machine for the slicing of large sheets into smaller required sizes. These more manageably sized sheets are easier to handle and manipulate. The shears can also trim metal sheet into sizes specific for different machines to ensure they fit for more precise fabrication situations.
Guillotine shears are fully adjustable, and an operator can quickly change the cutting angle, changing the configuration easily.
These uniform sections are then used in the other machines to shape them as you see fit. And to get the sheets onto the other machines you will need….
Automation Systems take unprocessed sheets and place them onto the shuttle tables of cutters and folding machines. These gantries come in many forms and can lift sheet metal from the ground if needed.
An automation system also helps to cut down on the manpower needed to process sheet metal, lifting and placing the sheets instead of needing two or more operators to do it themselves.
Once the sheets are in place, they can be cut by precision lasers.
Precision laser and plasma cutters slice into metal sheets and create finely detailed parts in a way no human operator could match. You can use them on your shopfloor to add an eclectic range of options in your fabrication services.
There are two main types of cutters:
Fibre Laser – cut complex shapes without the need for specialised tools. An extremely precise motion-controlled system for intricate cutting. Engrave details or cut precision shapes.
Plasma– better for simpler cuts and cable to cut through thicker material than a laser cutter. A plasma arc creates clean and quick cuts, saving you time and money in the long run.
With either a laser or plasma cutter you will be able to fabricate intricate and extremely precise parts.
Once you’ve cut the piece into the desired shape you can then use a machine called a punch press, to further shape it.
Punch holes, pierce, create the notching, slotting, and perforating of metal – it’s all possible with a punch press. With no spatter, waves, or scratches to the metal, perfectly deform the flat surface into a sphere or a cube.
This amazingly versatile machine gives you the ability to create a series of identical shapes extremely fast and when combined with the powers of a precise cutting machine, you will have an almost complete metal fabrication solution.
There is one more machine left to create our dream sheet metal fabricating workshop.
We’ve dealt with taking a flat metal sheet, cutting it, loading it, and punching it into shape, what’s left?
Fabricated metal is often rolled into tubes, but it is rare that completely straight tubing and flat panels will be called for in many industries. Thankfully, there is a solution, the panel bending machine!
These machines, such as the Durma Cylinder bending machine, bend material into any shape needed, quickly and efficiently. They are able to switch between multiple fixed and varied radii in the same cycle, increasing production speed significantly.
These machines are essential for creating the exhausts of cars and for refrigeration systems, to name a few. With a tube bending machine added to your manufacturing menagerie you’ll have a complete sheet metal fabrication solution.
And the best part of all of this? With ETG you can have this workshop, or factory, or fabrication space. We supply a complete range of sheet metal fabrication machinery fit to take your operation from empty warehouse into fully outfitted fabrication factory.
ETG are proud to now be the sole distributor of Durma products in the UK and Ireland. We provide sales, maintenance and our dedicated fabrication engineers support Durma machines out in the field with spares and repairs.
To learn about Durma and our full range of machines get in touch now, you can call on 01926 818 418 to have a chat about the machines you need for your workshop and any questions you might have about our industry leading machine tools.
