Being a corporate assistant means you have to do everything and anything that your boss needs, some take personal chores, others like me, were tasked to learn basic engineering. I know, my boss, Chris, is peculiar but all in all he is a kind boss. However, Chris wanted to have his own personalised tools for his house and he gave me the task to find good suppliers to do that.
My initial thought, “Personalised tools like your pliers and hammer? For what?” But it came out as “You got it, Chris.”
What I needed was a good machining service in Singapore that would take on this mini-project for my boss and good engineering services. I went over Google and searched and searched but I actually did not know what in the world I really needed, was I asking the right questions, was I not describing what Chris needs?
I know I must talk about metal works, I am aware that in every household and working environment, metal plays a major role in how people operate. From appliances and light fixtures to desk tools, chairs, and utensils, metal is the stabilizing element that makes all of today’s conveniences possible.
After an hour and a half, I learned that metal fabrication is the term I needed to emphasize when finding the right supplier, it is the process of turning raw metals into pre-made shapes for assembly use. For example, the panels that comprise the frame of an automobile are made through custom metal fabrication processes, which are usually performed at a fabrication facility and then sent to an auto assembly plant. However, the processes involved are complex and varied.
Here is what I learned while talking to the Continental Engineering expert who was glad to tell me all about the process. Simply put, metal fabrication service in Singapore is a manufacturing process used to shape metal into parts or end products. Metals use a wide variety of techniques to shape sheet metal into a part or good. Many metal fabricators use sheet metal, which can be up to .25 inches thick. Fabricators then convert this sheet metal into products or tools. We cut, fold, or shape metal to create the finished part.
I am glad that they gave me a guarantee that they’d deliver what my boss wants, that was enough for me.
They gave me a list of their services under metal fabrication too.
- Cutting. Perhaps the most commonly used metal fabrication processes involve cutting, where sheets of metal are split into halves, thirds or smaller sections. Cuts are performed on a range of machinery, from lasers and plasma torches to more elaborate, high-tech pieces of machinery.
- Folding. One of the more complicated processes of metal fabrication involves folding, where a metal surface is manipulated to shape at a certain angle. With certain folding applications, the intent is to make the metal surface fold at a 90-degree angle, or something else that’s either more or less blunt.
- Welding. Along with cutting, welding is one of the most popular metal fabrication processes among crafts enthusiasts. The process of welding involves the joining of two separate metal parts. The parts used in a welding application could be sheets, panels, bars or shapes — as long as the parts are made of metal, it really doesn’t matter.
- Machining. When a machine is used to remove portions from a piece of metal, the process is known as machining. Typically, the process is performed on a lathe, which will rotate the metal against tools that trim corners and edges to cut the piece down to a desired shape or measurement.
- Punching. When holes are formed in a piece of metal, the process involved consists of punching, where metal is placed under a die and submitted to a punch-through by a drill. For the punch to be the correct size, the circumference of the drill must slot correctly through the die. Punching falls into one of two subcategories based on the intention of a given application. I
- Shearing. For sheets of metal that require long cuts, the process is known as shearing. In some cases, the sheet is fed horizontally through a metal-cutting machine. Shearing is often applied to trim down the edge of a metal sheet, but the process may be done anywhere along with the metal.
In the end, I had to learn all of these to find the right supplier and the right machining service that I had to acquire for my boss. Sometimes, I question myself but sometimes I learned to accept this job because well, I learn many new things.
If you are looking for CNC machining services in Singapore, I recommend Continental Engineering, they are more than happy to help you the way they did with me.
