How to Go From 3D Modeling to a Quality Custom Metal Fabrication

When it comes to creating a product, transitioning from an initial part design to a custom metal fabricated piece isn't always a linear journey. This is where 3D modeling services can significantly simplify the process of turning your CAD drawings from conceptual ideas into tangible prototypes and clear 2D plans for custom metal fabrication.

It's crucial to collaborate with a structural steel detailer who has hands-on fabrication experience, including proficiency in CAD, 3D modeling, and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) software. These tools help determine the most efficient production methods for your part designs. This is particularly important in structural steel detailing, which involves several steps before the product design can proceed to further stages of development.

Let's first explore the critical design phase and its role in the structural steel detailing process as a whole.

Design Analysis Fuels Custom Metal Fabrication

As mentioned earlier, metal fabrication design transforms an idea from mere concept into a tangible form—both 2D and 3D. Think of your design as your "blueprint" for custom metal fabrication.

After creating your initial product design, a steel detailer can refine it using 3D modeling to generate shop drawings for the steel fabricator. This is where adjustments can be made to optimize the part design for efficient production.

It's important to remember that having a product design doesn't automatically mean it can be manufactured exactly as envisioned. This is especially relevant for custom fabricated steel products, which often require a "fabrication design" stage before moving forward in the product development cycle.

This is why you need an experienced steel detailer like Southern Metal Fabricators, who can act as your engineering and part design partner. They analyze various factors to ensure your final product:

• Is feasible to fabricate.
• Maintains strength, durability, and integrity.
• Can be assembled or configured as intended.

Custom Metal Forming Shapes Your Product

Your structural steel detailing partner must excel in bending, shaping, punching, and forming metal to meet diverse custom metal fabrication needs. Custom metal forming involves shaping raw stock into desired forms using powerful industrial machines capable of exerting precise forces and pressures.

For instance, sheet metal rolling often uses specialized hot rolling processes to create raw metal stock. For most custom metal fabrications, cold rolling is commonly employed to shape sheet or plate metal into cylinders or curves. Plate rolling creates curves, while angle rolling produces defined angles, typically at 90 degrees.

Metal bending involves mechanical and CNC hydraulic press brakes bending metal plates up to 12 feet long into any desired angle. This process is also known as "press braking." At Southern Metal Fabricators, we have four press brake machines, including a massive 400-ton machine capable of handling ¾-inch steel plates, while our ten-ton press is ideal for more delicate projects.

For heavy-duty steel punching, our 50-ton hydraulic web and flange beam punches deliver greater force, even for mass production. However, when higher precision is required, we use our CNC 30-ton Strippit punch press for consistent results.

Custom Metal Cutting Ensures Compliance with Structural Steel Specifications

Custom metal cutting services are vital for meeting your industrial specifications for structural steel detailing. Cutting methods may involve specialized saws, shears, or extreme heat sources like high-definition plasma and laser cutters. Punching, a subset of cutting, involves creating holes or openings in metal pieces.

At Southern Metal Fabricators, we handle custom metal fabrications ranging from delicate copper sheets to thick carbon-steel I-beams. Regardless of size or complexity, our advanced equipment and skilled operators ensure we meet virtually any specification.

Our metal cutting capabilities include metal sawing, CNC plasma cutting, steel plate shearing, and laser cutting services, thanks to our state-of-the-art equipment like the Trumpf laser cutter.

Finishing Touches Enhance Quality Custom Metal Fabrication

A comprehensive custom metal finishing shop is essential for ensuring high-quality custom metal fabrication. At Southern Metal Fabricators, our extensive on-site finishing services cover surface preparation and final finishing. Our expertise in structural steel detailing means we understand the importance of preventing rust on bare carbon steel, so we promptly apply paint to protect it.

Our custom finishing services include:

• Metal surface preparation: We prepare metal surfaces for grades SP1–SP10, utilizing steel blasting for superior finishes while reducing time and labor costs. We also offer wire brush or metal bead blasting techniques.
• Hot-dip galvanizing: We frequently perform hot-dip galvanizing after constructing a structure or sub-assembly. We can also order pre-galvanized material and fabricate with it, a common approach when creating outdoor industrial ladders and stairs.
• Metal fabrication painting: Following surface preparation, applying primer and paint in a controlled paint booth ensures a high-quality finish. Each layer of paint or primer is measured for thickness, and detailed records are kept for jobs requiring stringent tolerances. We also use direct-to-metal (DTM) paint, combining primer and finish paint in a single coat to protect metal from environmental exposure.

Custom Welding Services Guarantee Quality Assemblies

In addition to structural steel detailing, Southern Metal Fabricators provides custom welding services to ensure every custom metal fabricated assembly and subassembly fits together seamlessly. Our certified welding professionals bring over 30 years of combined experience across all codes and requirements governing custom metal fabrication.

For example, we are well-versed in ASME and American Welding Society protocols, as well as Canadian welding standards (CWB). We also deliver quality products and supporting documentation throughout the entire process.

Our in-house welding equipment includes MIG gas metal arc welding machines, TIG welders, and stud welding machines. We are also qualified to weld structural steel according to AWS D1.1 (carbon steel above 1/8” gauge) and AWS D1.6 standards (stainless steel above 1/16” gauge).

Selecting the Right Steel Detailer for Your Custom Metal Fabrication

As noted earlier, it’s vital to work with a structural steel detailer who understands your unique industrial requirements for custom metal fabrications. A competent detailer should possess the following traits to succeed, especially during the critical fabrication design phase:

• Strong communication skills: Your detailer must collaborate effectively with designers and fabricators when drafting fabrication design plans. This collaboration minimizes errors if design modifications are necessary to optimize the part for fabrication.
• Familiarity with industry standards: Your structural steel detailer should be well-versed in industry-specific standards, especially if the fabricated end product will be part of a construction project. OSHA, AISC, bearing limits, and more must remain top priorities for a good detailer.
• Expertise in 3D modeling and design software: Detailers need to be proficient in CAD, 3D modeling, and CAM software to determine how to create a custom fabricated product. If needed, they can consult with designers to discuss and implement changes to optimize the part for fabrication.

Structural Steel Detailing Requires Fabrication Expertise

Structural steel detailing and custom metal fabrications form the backbone of our daily lives, from agricultural hoppers and silos to petroleum tank access ladders and stairs to utility water towers and tanks. That’s why many steel manufacturers and fabricators choose Southern Metal Fabricators as their detailing partner—experience matters when it comes to essential support systems and components.

Beyond our 32 years of fabrication experience, we’ve invested in a fleet of industry-leading automation for materials processing to serve as your off-site structural processing center.

Visit our structural steel fabrication page to discover more benefits of outsourcing your next detailing or processing project. Or give us a chance to say, “Yes, we can do that!” by contacting us today.