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Sheet metal bracket design ideas to help you save you money

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021

Sheet metal bracket design

Sheet metal bracket design ideas can be many and varied. From using different materials and surface treatments to material thicknesses and profiles. The brackets shown here were manufactured from mild steel (zinc plated) and mill finish aluminium. They could just as easily have been produced from galvanised steel or stainless steel. Like all sheet metal manufacturing we have the flexibility to produce a wide range of part designs without the need for specific tooling.

Sheet metal brackets designed with inserted threads are ideal for saving time in assembly. Whether its bushes, stand-offs or studs we have huge stocks of parts and all the tooling needed to insert them. CNC bending brackets is easy when you have decades of experience and the right tooling for the job.

Sheet metal bracket design

Laser cutting and CNC punching both perfectly suit the manufacture of sheet metal bracket blanks. Using Radan CAD/CAM software to develop reliable 3D models, developed blanks and complete tooled nests we are able to turn your ideas into reality.

A great place to review an in depth study of the stages we might go through in CNC programming sheet metal brackets can be seen at http://www.vandf.co.uk/software/sheet-metal-fabricated-bracket/

For many more examples of sheet metal bracket designs you can always take a look at our Pinterest Boards.

If you already have a bracket design ready for quoting / manufacture please send us a drawing and our team will be happy to take a look for you.

Stainless steel fabrications manufactured from sheet metal

Thursday, February 18th, 2021

Stainless steel fabrications

We have been manufacturing stainless steel fabrications for over 30 years. Utilising CNC punching and laser cutting processes to produce accurate flat blanks. These are essential if we are to manufacture the correctly sized finished parts. The stainless steel parts shown here have all been laser cut and CNC folded using our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. At this stage all the parts are waiting to be TiG welded together.

Stainless steel fabrications can come is a range of sizes and complexities. We can fold stainless steel sections up to 3M long, laser cut between 0.3mm and 6mm thick in a range of stainless steel alloys. Our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine can laser cut much thicker than this but we have decided not to in house due to weight handling issues. Having always worked on thinner gauges our CNC bending and CNC punch tooling is best suited to the thinner end of the fabrication spectrum.

Stainless steel fabricators

Looking for a supplier of your stainless steel fabrications?

Although stainless steel is a hard material to drill when it comes to laser cutting we have no problems. Fabrications in thin gauges can be successfully CNC punched and we have a large library of tooling to accommodate this. For thin and thicker gauges laser cutting is perfect. Fibre laser cutting stainless steel fabrications with either compressed air or nitrogen if perfect. The edge finish is often good enough to need no more de-burring. The parts shown here didn’t need to be de-burred after laser cutting.

Should you be looking for a flexible sub-contract supplier of your stainless steel fabrications please take a look at the services we can offer you. We have a comprehensive website with many examples of past projects to view, videos of sheet metal fabrication in production and design tips for new designs. We also have thousands of examples of sheet metal work on our Pinterest Boards.

Please send your design data whether it’s PDF, DXF, DWG, STEP or SAT files to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you with your next project.

CNC punching sheet metal products in the UK ask us for a quote

Monday, February 15th, 2021

CNC punching sheet metal products

CNC punching sheet metal products from a wide range of materials is a common practice for V and F Sheet Metal. We have the tooling to cope with products from 0.5mm thick aluminium electronics panels, 0.7mm Zintec brackets, 1mm mild steel trays, 1.5mm stainless steel housings, 2.0mm copper electrical connectors, 3mm galvanised steel clamping brackets and up to 5mm aluminium spreader plates. Having 2 Trumpf CNC punch presses using common tooling allows us to be very flexible when it comes to production. Jobs can be swapped around to suit customer requirements. If a machine is being serviced work can be swapped to another to keep production going.

CNC punching sheet metal products

We have the same ethos when it comes to CNC bending with 4 machines sharing the same tooling. This allows us to run a large batch of parts across several machines at once if needed.
Although our Trumpf fibre laser cutter can be used to produce more complex profiles the CNC punch presses have other strengths. When it comes to producing sheet metal products with forms such as dimples, plunged and tapped threads, ventilations louvres, earth tags, formed CSKs etc there are no better machines in our opinion. To get a better picture of the standard tooling we have that you can use on your sheet metal designs just take a look at our tooling libraries.

Having been CNC punching sheet metal products for over 30 years we have a wide range of examples to see on our website and Pinterest Boards. They are a great place to start when looking for ideas for a new project.

If you already have a good idea what you want and need no help simply send us your drawings (sales@vandf.co.uk) and our engineering team will be happy to help. We can produce a range of price options to suit your needs.

Laser cutting sheet metal fabrications in Hampshire UK 2021

Thursday, February 11th, 2021

laser cutting sheet metal fabrications

I’ve just been taking a look around our sheet metal fabrication factory again today and spotted these stainless steel plates. Laser cutting sheet metal fabrications is something we do very well on light gauge sheet metal. These stainless steel plates are on the upper end of the material thickness we normally laser cut. 6mm 304 stainless steel laser cuts brilliantly with pure nitrogen as the assist gas. Often parts like these would not need to be de-burred in any way after cutting. The finish from laser cutting is often good enough straight from the machine for the finished part. In this case the parts are being used to construct a roof hinge mechanism for a campervan. All the edges needed to be de-burred well to eliminate the chances of the customers cutting their fingers.

Laser cutting stainless steel

The batch of stainless steel parts were cut from 2M x 1M sheets and off cuts from previous orders. The ability to easily tune CNC programs to use up any remnants we have in stock saves money and reduces material scrap. We can either reprogram the parts using our Radan CAD/CAM software in the design office or by the machine setter on the Trumpf laser cutter.

The complexity of a part profile (within limits) is no problem when laser cutting sheet metal fabrications. If you can draw it we can laser cut it. Simple send us a drawing and we will be happy to try out the part, produce a quote with your price options and any other operations you might need. Please send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will do the rest for you.

Sheet metal production near me in the UK – give us a call

Thursday, January 21st, 2021

Sheet metal production of mild steel brackets

When looking at sheet metal production I’m spoilt for choice in our factory. Having a wide range of sheet metal manufacturing machines running on all sorts of projects where do I start?

I have selected 2 projects at random to look at today. They both show the versatility of sheet metal production. As we are purely sub-contractors we have to turn our hand to all sorts of customer’s requirements. It may be supporting people with product development and small batch work. Special one off projects or adaptions of standard parts. Higher volumes of sheet metal production and call offs. You name it and we have done it.

If you have a moment you can can take a look at our Pinterest Boards with hundreds of sheet metal work examples.

Sheet metal production assemblies

The 2 projects illustrated here are produced from mild steel and Zintec. For those who are not sure, zintec is simply a zinc coated mild steel sheet. It comes direct to us with the zinc coating in place, maximum sheet thickness is 3mm. It can be laser cut and CNC punched and is great for folding. It’s great for products that don’t need to be cosmetically perfect such as the back of electronics equipment, inside light fittings, air conditioning equipment etc. If you need it to be painted, not a problem and it works as a great primer on the sheet.

We are employing CNC punching, edge de-burring, CNC bending and pop riveting techniques to produce the parts and assemblies.

With 35 years of sheet metal production experience there’s not much we can’t turn our hand to. Take a look at our website in more detail and you will find hundreds of examples of past work. Looking for ideas for your next design? Ask us and we will be happy to help. Send us a couple of drawings and again we will take a look, offer suggestions to save you money where we can.

Please send any sheet metal production enquiries to sales@vandf.co.uk

Sheet metal laser cutting and cnc punching program nests

Thursday, January 14th, 2021

Laser cutting program nest

When it comes to creating sheet metal laser cutting and CNC punching program nests there’s only one choice for us. Radan have been supporting the sheet metal industry for decades and we have over 20 years’ experience using their software. Supporting us with 3D modelling, 2D drafting and CAD/CAM translations they are the go to people in the sheet metal industry.

We use the software to produce our own 3D models when our customers cannot supply a STEP file. We can also turn 3D data into production drawings to aid bending and welding. But the real strength is the CAM side where we use the software to drive our CNC laser cutting and CNC punching machines.

CNC punching program nest

Once individual parts have been developed as flat profiles with the correct bend allowances we move onto nesting. The images here are typical of sheet metal laser cutting and punching nests. It’s easy for us to use the software to automatically fit parts to the sheet. If we have off cuts it’s also not a problem. As you can see in the red image various parts can be nested together if needed.

For more examples of sheet metal laser cutting and CNC punching projects please take a look at our Pinterest Boards.

This ease of nesting is great when it comes to produce a price for a job. We can play around with different options and sheet sizes to get the most efficient program and hence the best price for our customers. Ask us for a quote and we will be happy to help. Do you need some engineering advice? We can guide you on material selection and design details.

Please give us a call or send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will get working for you.

Sheet metal manufacturing near me

Tuesday, December 8th, 2020

If you are looking for sheet metal manufacturing near you perhaps you should be talking to V and F Sheet Metal. Based in the south of England and with well over 30 years experience in manufacturing sheet metal work for people right across the UK. We ship product locally and far afield. Please take a look at our website pages to see the wide range of parts we manufacture and all to our customers own designs.

CNC punched galvanised brackets

The images shown here illustrate the stages of CNC punching and CNC bending a sheet metal bracket. You can see that once a single component has been tooled it can easily be copied over a whole sheet. This enables us to achieve a high yield from any given sheet size.

Sheet metal component manufacturing

This is a good example of CNC punching a part with a range of simple off the shelf tooling. A small range of circles, rectangles and a single D were used to create the component profile and holes. If you want to view the wide range of CNC punch press tooling that we have for you to use for free, take a look at our tooling library. For more examples of CNC punching it’s well worth a look at our Pinterest Boards. There is also a collection of past manufacturing projects illustrated in our gallery pages with hundreds of ideas for your nest sheet metal design. Feel free to take a look and call us if there is something that catches your eye. We can often adapt tooling and ideas to suit different products.

Sheet metal CNC punched nests

The scrap sheets known as “skeletons” are collected up and recycled along with all the metal that comes from the holes. Metal is grouped together by grade e.g. stainless steel, aluminium, mild steel and kept separate. This metal is then sent for melting down to remake fresh metal sheet. This process is very green with very little waste. Even components that are used to help set up manufacturing processes and then scrapped can be included and recycled.

CNC bent sheet metal brackets

And finally the folded bracket is ready to be shipped to the customer. This small galvanised steel bracket is typical of the sheet metal work that we produce every day of the week. If you have a sheet metal project that needs manufacturing please give us a call or e-mail us your drawings and we will be happy to take a look for you.

So for sheet metal manufacturing near you please ask for details.

Sheet metal production companies in the UK 2020

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020

Sheet metal production – small brackets

Sheet metal production of small brackets and plates.

I thought it would be good to take a random selection of sheet metal production components as they perfectly illustrate the wide range of production techniques used today in the UK. These parts are typical, but be no means exhaustive of the different materials, thicknesses and finishes that we are requested to produce on a daily basis by our customers. Often using simple standard CNC punching and CNC bending tooling no additional costs are applied to these production projects. If the parts needs to be laser cut that production can also be catered for in house on our Trumpf 3KW fibre laser.

I have given a little more detail for each of the components in the photo, their material type, part finish and production stages to produce the complete part.

If you click on the photo you can clearly see each component identified with a number which corresponds with the details listed below.

Component 1

Material is 2mm thick mild steel. The part has been laser cut. It will be finished by zinc plating and clear passivating.

Component 2

Material is 3mm thick CZ108 brass. The part has been laser cut using pure nitrogen. No other finishing or treatment was required on this small brass washer.

Component 3

Material is 1.0mm thick 5251 aluminium alloy. The part has been CNC punched using standard tools of the shelf. All outer edges have been de-burred to remove the CNC punch nibble marks. It was finally anodised and dyed black.

Component 4
Material is 3mm aluminium. The parts has been CNC punched and then barrel de-burred to remove all sharp edges.

Component 5
Material for this small welded assembly is 0.7mm 316 stainless steel. The parts were laser cut together from the same sheet, CNC folded and then TiG welded together.

Component 6
Material for this copper bracket is C101. The bracket was laser cut on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter. A simple edge de-burring was used to remove any sharp edges and then folded up on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

Component 7
Material is galvanised weld mesh material used as a filter plate. This part was simply cut to size on our Safan guillotine.

Component 8
Material is 1.2mm aluminium. An interesting shape which has been CNC laser cut, CNC folded up and then powder coated matt black.

Component 9
Material is 2.5mm 304 stainless steel. These parts were laser cut, barrel de-burred, CNC folded and then had threads tapped in the holes.

Component 10
Material is 0.9mm thick galvanised mild steel. Simply CNC punched and edge de-burred.

For additional examples of sheet metal production pleas take a look at our Pinterest boards.

If you have some sheet metal production that needs looking at please don’t hesitate to send us your drawings. We will be happy to produce price options and review designs where needed.

What is sheet metal fabrication?

Tuesday, October 20th, 2020

What is sub-contract sheet metal work fabrication?

Basically manufacturing anything from sheet metal for another company is sub-contract sheet metal work fabrication. Nearly always made to their designs. Sometimes we are asked to offer advice on designs and their suitability for manufacture. This is fine by us and we are always happy to help.

Sheet metal fabrications

With over 30 years experience in sub-contract manufacturing there isn’t much we haven’t seen before. Test us out and send us your drawings and we will be happy to help you. Whether you only have a few simples hand sketches, 2D CAD data or 3D models we are happy to lend a hand.

These aluminium housings have been manufactured to hold fibre optic light fitting gear. They were CNC punched, CNC folded, welded up and then powder coated.

Sheet metal fabrications

Want to see more examples? Take a look at this page. You can also see lots of examples of sheet metal fabrications at https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rayfrith1/sheet-metal-work/

Contact us direct on sales@vandf.co.uk, through our enquiry form or call us on 01489 577786 to discuss your needs in more detail.

CNC punching and CNC bending sheet metal work

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

CNC punching and CNC bending

Combining CNC punching and CNC bending together enables some great products to be manufactured very quickly. Employing the very latest sheet metal CAD/CAM software enables our customers to adapt their designs from batch to batch. Fine tuning designs and producing special projects are no problem for us. We can work with your 2D and 3D files to help you with your designs. It also enables us to produce fast accurate quotations with costed options where necessary.

Producing accurate blanks is the key to folding accurate parts. We are lucky in having 2 Trumpf CNC punch presses and a Trumpf CNC laser cutting machine. We can swap jobs around to find the best manufacturing method and also reduce bottlenecks in production. Some sheet metal parts can even be CNC laser cut and then CNC punched to add extra formed features. Then onto CNC bending. With the ability to access all these processes within one factory enables us to offer a very flexible service to our customers.

CNC punched and CNC formed mild steel sheet

All our principle CNC bending machines share the same tooling. Have a rush job and we can move production around to suit your needs. Repeatable parts from batch to batch with centrally stored CNC programs for punching and bending.

CNC punching and CNC bending are the backbone of our manufacturing service. Couple this with CNC laser cutting and you have a great combination of tools to get any sheet metal job made.

CNC punched and CNC bent sheet metal work

Looking for a flexible partner to help you with your sheet metal needs?

Contact V and F Sheet Metal and we will be happy to help you out with your next order. Take a look at our Pinterest boards for lots of great examples of CNC punching and CNC bending.

Have a drawing then simple e-mail sales@vandf.co.uk or give us a call for a chat if you wish

Sheet metal and Woodwork furniture projects manufactured in the UK

Friday, August 14th, 2020

Bespoke Furniture Projects

Sheet Metal and Wood Work furniture projects

We are always pleased to combine sheet metal work with other materials. This time we have the chance to show you the perfect combination of sheet metal and wood. With vibrant colours and clean simple lines this furniture project shows how easy it is to turn an idea into reality with sheet metal.

No special tooling was needed. Simply CNC programs laser cutting and bending.

Sheet Metal and Wood Work furniture projects

We always enjoy working with customers who need some input at the design stage. These furniture projects are no different. Discussion over the exact metal gauge needed and handle shapes helped to reduce weight and manufacturing costs. With all the cutting and folding programs saved away it’s easy to run this project again. It’s also just as easy to adapt the programs for alternative shelving shapes and sizes.

If you have a bespoke furniture project that needs manufacturing please contact us and we will put you in touch with our customer. With their expertise and our engineering support you will soon have a solution.

Sheet Metal and Wood Work furniture projects

What next?

If you already have a set of drawings or 3D CAD data don’t hesitate in sending them over to us. Our engineering team will be happy to take a look and produce some prices for you. Small batches of components, assemblies and higher volumes are all catered for. Take a look at our website pages and blog posts. You will see a wide range of ideas and past projects. Alternatively you can always view our Pinterest Boards.

It should give you a good idea of just what we are capable of here at V and F Sheet Metal.

CNC punching sheet metal in the UK produced in 2020

Tuesday, August 4th, 2020

Sheet metal manufacturing of ventilation grilles

CNC punching sheet metal in the UK produced in 2020

CNC punching can be used to produce such a wide range of sheet metal products. From the smallest aluminium tag, stainless steel mounting plates, mild steel chassis and copper heat sinks. From 0.4mm thick reflector aluminium right up to 6mnm thick aluminium for shelving. From 0.7mm stainless steel housings to 3mm stainless steel pump brackets. From 0.7mm zintec 19” chassis to 5mm light fitting flood light brackets.

We have been using CNC punch presses for over 25 years to produce metal work. There are occasions when materials maybe too thick to CNC. That’s not a problem as we can simply transfer those jobs to our Trumpf laser cutter.

CNC punched sheet metal work

With many hundreds of CNC punching tools in our extensive tool library we can tackle most work without the needs for any new tooling. This helps to keep the costs down on prototypes and speeds up the lead time.

We produce hundreds of different parts each week for a wide range of companies within the UK. Using our long experience and powerful CNC punching sheet metal software we can get the best from our Trump CNC punch presses and save you money where possible. For a wide range of CNC punched sheet metal work please take a look at our Pinterest Boards.

Give us a call or contact us at sales@vandf.co.uk with your drawings and we will be happy to work some quotes for you.

CNC bending sheet metal work in the UK during 2020

Tuesday, July 28th, 2020

Brackets manufactured in the UK

It’s time to have another quick look at recent sheet metal projects. This time it’s sheet metal brackets. Using various CNC bending techniques some very complex parts can be manufactured. I love that fact that nearly every bracket we produce is different to the next but all using standard tooling. Whether it’s on one of our smaller Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes or our larger 3M Safan e-brake the tooling’s the same. The process is the same and so is the end result, accurately folded sheet metal work.

The repeatability from part to part and from batch to batch is what makes these machines so useful in the workshop. We can produce a sample today and come back in a year’s time with the same CNC program and tooling and run production without any changes. Before CNC bending machines (press brakes) every set up was a long winded process and nowhere near as accurate as todays processes.

sub-contract sheet metal work

We take full advantage of the ability to treat a small batch like a big batch when it comes to costing. With very short set up times along with easy setting of a laser machine it has enabled us to try out samples and fine tune sizes before running a production batch. It’s a great help when materials come in say in their bottom or top tolerance for gauge. Simply run a couple of parts from the corner of a sheet and bend them up to check all is well before pressing ahead with the full production batch.

2020 has been a strange year for everyone. We hope now to push ahead again with supporting our customers, dealing with panic orders if they help our customers to gain new business and as ever the standard production runs when people need them.

If you have a sheet metal bracket that needs CNC bending simply send us a drawing and we will be happy to quote for production. Have an idea and stuck on the detail, give us a call and our team will help you out.

Brackets manufactured in the UK direct to your own designs

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020

Brackets manufactured in the UK

If you are looking for brackets manufactured in the UK then we are definitely here to help you. With over 30 years’ experience in manufacturing we can help you with your new projects. Hundreds of CNC punching and CNC bending tools enables us to produce the vast majority of products without the need for new tooling. Having seen and manufactured so many projects in the past help us to see any pitfalls in a complex design, point them out early on and save you money.

Whether you are thinking of having brackets manufactured in stainless steel, mild steel or aluminium we are here to help. We also manufacture brackets from brass, copper, galv., Zintec and spring stainless steel. You name it and we make it.

Brackets manufactured in the UK

With a wide range of CNC punching, laser cutting and CNC bending facilities all in house samples and development can be quickly supported. 3D images from our Radan CAD/CAM system can be used to help discussions when it comes to reviewing design options.

All you have to do now is send us a drawing in either 2D or 3D format. Need to have a chat, that’s OK with us we are passionate about sheet metal and would love to hear from you and discuss your ideas.

Folded stainless steel sheet metal housings manufactured in the UK

Thursday, July 16th, 2020

CNC bending stainless steel housings

Folded stainless steel sheet metal housings, some of the options available to you.

When you are designing sheet metal housings it’s always worth thinking about the manufacturing processes in advance. Whether the housing is made from a single piece of metal or many sub-parts joined together time spent early on will save money in the long run.

We may be looking at laser cutting v CNC punching to produce the housing blanks. Depending on the thickness of the material required and the complexity of the design one way or the other will seem the best route to take. Some feature may also immediately suggest a certain blank production method, for example if the housing has formed dimples or plunged and tapped threads then CNC punching will be the best manufacturing method. If however the housing has a company logo cut into it or a series of curved profiles laser cutting may be the more efficient method of production. We will always look at your design and select the most appropriate method and keep you in the loop at the quoting stage.

Stainless steel housings

There are similar considerations to be made when it comes to folding sheet metal housings. Not only the physical size and tonnage required to fold the angles but the complexity of the design and the ease with which the folds can be produced. This certainly needs experience, we have had many a good design sent to us to find that’s it’s impossible to fold from 1 piece of metal. A quick call or e-mail at an early stage of development will save time in the long run especially if we are using off the shelf tooling.

These folded stainless steel sheet metal housings have been developed in conjunction with the customer to enable the most efficient method of production. The more parts that have to be assembled together more thought has to be given to alignment and tolerance build up. This is where a useful piece of software such as our 3D Radan CAD/CAM software comes in handy.

Stainless steel housings

Like so much in sheet metal work it can look easy until you come to translating your designs to physical components. We are always here to help you with your ideas and point you in the right direction when it comes to tooling and material selection.

For more examples of recent sheet metal projects why not take a look at our Pinterest boards.

We are always happy to receive your drawings to review.

Bending and Forming sheet metal work

Tuesday, June 9th, 2020

Laser cut mild steel bracket blanks

When we are bending and forming sheet metal there are so many ways to go about it. From the simplest single folded angle bracket right up to complex folded enclosure assemblies we have the techniques to support you.

Starting with either CNC punched or laser cut blanks gives us the best chance of producing perfect sheet metal components. Using high quality programming software and years of experience enables us to fine tune cutting and bending CNC programs to get the best from all out machines. Being sub-contract sheet metal workers we have to be very flexible. Each customer and new order will have different demands. It maybe the tolerances of sizes that will be the utmost of importance to one customer. Surface finish could be key with another. Lead time with another or perhaps price. We have to juggle all these concerns on a daily basis when manufacturing sheet metal work for our customers. Bending and forming components is no different.

Forming sheet metal brackets

Looking specifically at the small brackets shown here we can see some of these factors in play. Accurately cut blanks produced by laser cutting enables us to maintain a clean outer profile. Simple fly-press tooling was created at a low cost to produce the deformation in the middle of the component. Finally the folds were bent up on one of our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. With a wide range of standard tooling and 3 identical machine to select from production was carried out very quickly.

Bending sheet metal brackets

With the experience of literally thousands of past bending and forming projects to call upon there isn’t much we cannot produce. You may like to view some of our past projects on our Pinterest Boards. Having folding machines with forces up to 100 tons and 3M long enables to tackle most of the enquiries that come our way.

Perhaps you have a sheet metal component that needs bending and forming. We would love to take a look for you and produce a range of price options and comment where we can to save money. Send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will do the rest.

Sheet metal engineering facilities in Great Britain

Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

Sheet metal engineering of ventilation grilles

Sheet metal manufacturing of ventilation grilles

We are happy to offer our sheet metal engineering facilities for manufacturing in Great Britain. We have a wide range of skills and manufacturing plant with over 30 years of experience in this sector.

From helping newly formed companies with their designs, explaining the best manufacturing process to achieve the quality they want with an affordable price. Working with companies who need to reduce costs on existing products with perhaps a fresh set of eyes. Right up to larger volumes and KANBAN ideas to help plan projects over longer periods of time.

With an eye to new ideas and machines V and F Sheet Metal have constantly invested over the years. We have CNC punching, laser cutting and a wide range of CNC bending machines all supported with the latest CAD/CAM software. Feel free to follow the links to plant pages and also take a look at our gallery pages to see some of our recent sheet metal engineering projects.

Laser cut zintec rings for ceiling light fittings

We have a lot of free advice on our website with regards to tooling to help you save money when designing. Design data and guidance for material selections can also be useful when you first start out working on a new design. If you cannot find what you want on our website simply call us on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to help you.

Brackets manufactured in the UK

Another good place to see hundreds of examples of sheet metal engineering projects is on our Pinterest pages.

If you have a sheet metal engineering project that needs pricing and free advice please send us your drawings. You can either use our enquiry form or e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk. We will do the rest.

A quick look back at sheet metal manufacturing projects in 2020

Monday, May 18th, 2020

Sheet metal angle brackets

Although these have been difficult times in 2020 we are still looking forward to doing what we do best, manufacturing projects. I thought it was nice to look back at some recent sheet metal projects completed even during these difficult times.

We have been laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC bending and welding with a small team to keep our customers satisfied with their urgent needs. Along with a great network of painters and platers we have managed to finish off many projects.

Welded sheet metal work

As we bring in more staff our delivery times will reduce and the range of sheet metal work we can complete will increase. We are still producing new quotations for customers needing metal work and CNC programming where needed.

There is always the chance to rush something through when needed in a hurry. Please just ask and we will be happy to look for you at what we can do. Send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk

There’s always a great range of images to help with your designs on our Pinterest Boards

COVID-19 and sheet metal work, lets get going again

Tuesday, May 5th, 2020

We are now into our third week of production after shutting due to coronavirus. Thankfully we have had no cases here and we now have 50% of our workforce in place. With careful planning we have a system in the office to maintain a safe distance from each other. Regular cleaning of equipment in the office and workshop and separation at tea break and lunch times have become the norm. These are strange times but we are getting through it. With more and more customers coming back the work levels are slowly picking up again.

There’s life at V&F

Starting up production

I thought it would be good to show that we are still here and manufacturing sheet metal work for our customers in the UK.

This experience has shown us here more than ever that we are all dependant on each other. We are in a chain and you remove any link and it chain fails. We all need to get going again so that we can get back to some form of normality.

Here’s hoping that won’t be too far away.

As ever if you need anything pricing up simply drop us a line at sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Back to work ….

Thursday, April 23rd, 2020

Sheet metal working in Hampshire UK

Just a quick update on our work situation here at V and F Sheet Metal.

We now have a small team back in the factory producing metal work again.

We plan to increase the number of staff we have in over the next few weeks to meet customer demands.

If you have sheet metal work that you still want quoting we are able to accommodate that, please send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to sort that for you.

Extraordinary times with CoronaVirus Covid-19

Saturday, March 28th, 2020

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we have taken the welfare and safety of our staff very seriously. We have decided to close our factory from the 27th March and will open as soon as we can safely do so. We are monitoring the situation and following UK government advice as it changes. We hope to be open after Easter.

We would like to thank our staff for their tremendous support as well as our suppliers in this difficult time in enabling us to support our customers. We are still able to work on new quotations, so if you have designs you wish to progress before for our return please don’t hesitate to e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk

We hope you all stay safe.

Thanks again from the management of V and F Sheet Metal

Latest sheet metal projects manufactured in the UK

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020

Latest sheet metal projects manufactured in the UK direct to your designs

Mild steel support brackets

Whether you want just a few simple flat sheet metal plates or a very complex welded fabrication we will be able to help you. Special one off sheet metal projects or monthly repeating batches of work we don’t mind. With over 30 years of manufacturing experience in the UK, contact us with your ideas.

If you have a full set of dimensioned drawings and CAD files that’s great. If you only have a sketchy idea of what you want we can still work with you to get your desired outcome. We are always happy to help you and advise the best design options to suit manufacturing techniques, materials and finishes.

Aluminium angle brackets

These sheet metal projects show a range of manufacturing techniques. From laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC bending and formed press work. The Zintec angle brackets have also had zinc plated bushes inserted. Batches of 50, 250 and 1000 for these parts.

Sheet metal angle brackets

There are plenty of other examples of sheet metal projects manufactured in the UK over the last few years. Take a look at our Pinterest boards.

The sheet metal projects shown here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the range of production we get involved with. You really need to explore our website to see all the weird and wonderful projects we get involved with for our UK customers.

Send us your details and drawings etc. and leave the rest to us.

Manufacturing small sheet metal brackets in the UK

Friday, January 3rd, 2020

Manufacturing small sheet metal brackets in the UK

Manufacturing small sheet metal brackets in the UK using the latest CNC manufacturing techniques.

We have been manufacturing sheet metal components for well over 30 years. Servicing the needs of our customers, manufacturing brackets to their designs and in the volumes they need when they need them. These tiny stainless steel brackets for a electronics cable connector are typical of the small end of the work we make every day of the week. Using our 3 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes we can handle the trickiest of bending jobs with no fuss. Whether they are laser cut or CNC punched we have the team and plant in house to deal with your designs. With the ability to take your 3D files and adjust them to suit correct manufacturing tolerances we are always looking to save production time and money.

Click on the image to get an idea on just how small these sheet metal brackets really are.

For more images of past sheet metal bracket projects take a look at our gallery page.

Do you have small sheet metal brackets that are smaller than this? We like a challenge, give us a try. Send us your CAD data and our engineering team will be happy to take a look and produce some quotations for you.

V and F Sheet Metal Christmas shut down 2019

Monday, December 16th, 2019

V and F Sheet Metal Christmas Shut down

Sheet metal work at
Christmas 2019

We will be closed for the Christmas break from Friday 20th December 2019 and we will be back on Thursday 2nd January 2020.

We just want to say all our customers a big thank you for all the your prototype and production sheet metal projects we have manufactured throughout this year. It’s been an unusual year to say the least with the on off Brexit saga. Lets hope that 2020 will be more predictable for all of us.

Also, thanks to all our suppliers for your continued support throughout the year.

Let’s hope we are all as busy in 2020.

Sheet metal component design ideas for your next project

Thursday, December 5th, 2019

CNC punched pre-painted mild steel sheet metal components

Sheet metal component design ideas can come in many shapes and forms. Here we have a clever way to reduce post production finishing costs and lead times. Where the design allows, a pre-painted sheet material can be a great idea. With a clear protective film these materials are durable enough to be CNC punched, CNC folded, have bushes and studs inserted and pop riveted. They cannot be welded or spot welded, so it’s down to clever design to accommodate this restriction where possible.

You can also see that while CNC punching we can produce parts with radius corners. We can also punch chamfered corners or leave the square if required. We have standard CNC punch press tools to cover most of these features with no extra cost to yourself.

If you want to take a look at our tooling library please help yourself.

For more ideas on CNC punching and examples of past design projects please click on the links.

CNC punched pre-painted mild steel sheet metal components

There are many designs ideas that can save time when bending and welding components. Sheet metal component design ideas are always coming to us from our customers and we can often apply them to other industries to save people money. Where possible we will suggest design ideas at the quoting stage. Then you can trial them to see what impact that might have on your order costs.

Well you have made it this far so why not send us a drawing or two. We are able to work with DXF, DWG, STEP, SAT and IGES files types as well as PDF. You can always just call us up and talk through your ideas with our engineering team.

Make the call now and start saving money.

Sheet metal manufacturing near Portsmouth – Give us a call for a quote

Monday, December 2nd, 2019

Sheet metal manufacturing of mild steel brackets

Are you based near the Portsmouth area?

V and F Sheet Metal have been sheet metal manufacturing near Portsmouth since the 1980s. We have grown as a company with steady investment in manufacturing equipment, people and software. Now based in a 13,000 square foot factory on the Segensworth industrial estate we are ideally placed to support companies in the Portsmouth and Southampton region.

Whether you have a small batch of sheet metal brackets, boxes or plates you want or a larger volume of electronics housings, stainless steel panels or aluminium trays we are here to help you.

Sheet metal manufacturing of ventilation grilles

Please take a look at our website to see just how many different sheet metal projects we get involved with. You will be amazed at the variety and complexity of the sheet metal work we can produce. Using Radan 2020 CAD/CAM sheet metal software to drive our 2 CNC punch presses and fibre laser cutter to save time and money on your orders. We are always looking to improve our workshop equipment and tooling to maintain a high quality at the right price.

Laser cutting mild steel brackets

Although we have been sheet metal manufacturing near Portsmouth for a long time we have a customer base that stretches right across the UK. From Scotland and Northern Ireland right through England and Wales. Supporting small companies and “one man bands” to larger concerns with sheet metal work and advice on design.

Looking for more examples of modern sheet metal manufacturing? Take a look at our sheet metal Pinterest boards.

We will be happy to work with you on new sheet metal projects in 2020. Contact us through our website, call us and have a chat or e-mail your drawings and we will be pleased to produce you some price options.

Sheet metal manufacturers near Southampton – Give us a call

Thursday, November 28th, 2019

Sheet metal manufacturers producing aluminium housings

V and F Sheet Metal are sheet metal manufacturers of a wide range of components. Being sub-contract sheet metal workers based near Southampton we get involved in all sorts of projects. These aluminium housings, stainless grille and mild steel trays are typical of the projects we manufacture everyday of the week. We are always working hard to help out our customers. Whether it’s free advice on their designs. Perhaps alternative ideas to save money or call off volumes to help with production planning. We are here to help where and when we can. With over 30 years experience in sheet metal in the UK we are here to help you.

Sheet metal manufacturers producing
laser cut stainless steel grilles

Being able to work with your drawings direct into our CAD/CAM system speeds up programming and reduces confusion on the shop floor. Our engineering team are always keeping an eye on designs to make sure they are practical in production. Even at the quote stage we will suggest alternatives for you to think about to save money. We are here to work in conjunction with you.

Sheet metal manufacturers producing mild steel trays

With laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC bending, welding and press work in house, there isn’t much we can’t tackle for you. With 3D CAD/CAM and an experienced engineering team that is here ready to help, go on, give us a go.

Send us you drawings when you are ready and we will be happy to take a look and prepare a quotation for you.

File formats DXF, DWG, SAT, STEP, IGES and of course PDF are fine.

Stainless steel sheet metal housings manufactured in the UK

Monday, November 25th, 2019

Laser cut blanks nest

Stainless steel sheet metal housings such as these are typical of the work we can produce on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter. With a range of circular holes, slots, cut-outs and a complex outer profile. Housings like this can be CNC punched but with more difficulty and with the need for special tooling. Whereas with laser cutting, there is no need for tooling and virtually any shape can be cut. The parts are easy to CNC program and that also enables us to make quick changes to CNC programs when there are design changes. Filling the metal sheet with components is also easy with the ability to automatically turn parts to get the best fit possible. More parts per sheet equals cheaper part prices for you.

Laser cutting stainless steel in detail

This photo perfectly shows just how easy it is to produce complex profiles with a laser cutter. The stop start points for the laser cut. The profile path all are automatically selected by the Radan CAD/CAM software. At any point we can step in and make changes where we see fit. The quality of the cut is also very important on components such as these. Trying to de-burr around these profiles would be difficult and time consuming. So being able to produce a profile in stainless steel with pure nitrogen is a bonus in production time and final part quality.

Finished laser cut housing blanks

Stainless steel sheet metal housings, brackets, trays, panels are all easily produced. For more examples of recent laser cut stainless steel projects please take a look at our gallery pages.

It’s not difficult to program parts straight from your drawings. We can quickly use this data to experiment with the best material usage and cutting times to produce competitive quotes. Try us with your next sheet metal production order. Simple e-mail your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk or call us on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to discuss your options.

Sheet metal projects manufactured during November 2019

Thursday, November 7th, 2019

Sheet metal projects November 2019

Being a sub-contract sheet metal manufacturer enables us to work on a wide range of sheet metal projects. Although we do not have our own product, we feel we have an investment in all our customers products. Whether it’s helping to fine tune a design to save time in production, input at the design stage to solve problems or simply offering a range of prices to suit the right order volume.

Sheet metal projects November 2019

With many customers across a wide range of industries in the UK we have an interesting time each month manufacturing sheet metal projects. As shown in the photos here we work with mild steel, aluminium, Zintec as well as stainless steel, copper, brass etc. It’s the ability to turn our hand to work with so many different materials and thicknesses that make us your idea partner for sheet metal work.

Sheet metal projects November 2019

Using laser cutting and CNC punching to produce sheet metal blanks enables us to select the most effective production method to suit your design, material and volumes. We may start production of a component on say our fibre laser and then if volumes increase, we may move the part to CNC punching with tooling. Along with a range of 7 CNC press brakes all in house we can offer the complete service for your sheet metal projects.

Sheet metal projects November 2019

We only manufacture sheet metal work and that’s what we specialise in. We have a network of companies that we can use to help us with powder coating, zinc plating, anodising etc.

With over 30 years’ experience in manufacturing sheet metal components for UK companies we are always happy to help you out. Our engineering teams in design and production have seen it all before. We have the latest CAD/CAM software to aid communication with your designers. We can also simulate jobs before manufacturing starts to be sure we can get the best from any sheet of metal.

Simply send us your drawings or 3D data to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will do the rest for you.

Laser cutting thin gauge sheet metal brackets in the UK

Monday, November 4th, 2019

Laser cutting in progress.

Using a Trumpf 3030 fibre laser for laser cutting thin gauge sheet metal is absolutely perfect. Being a fibre laser source the machine is extremely fast when cutting sheet metal below 3mm. Easy and cheap to run. Easy to CNC program and ideal for sub-contract sheet metal manufacturing where you never know what you will be asked to make next.

Parts removed for inspection

When laser cutting thin gauge sheet metal brackets the production team have some control over the parts they produce. At the start of a new batch the laser cutting machine can be stopped and parts can be removed. They can be inspected visually to check that the laser cut is clean. They can also be measured to ensure they are to drawing. In both cases adjustments can be made at the machine to influence the finished parts. This can be adjustments to the gas flow rate, feed rate of the machine, power of the laser beam and focus position. We can also adjust the cutting offset at the machine so component profiles and hole sizes can be tuned to achieve the drawing tolerances required. All this without having to talk with the CNC programmer saves time and enables the production staff to make their own decisions in real time.

Full sheet of laser cut brackets

Using our Radan CAD/CAM software enables us to produce very efficient nest layouts. Once a blank has been programmed it’s very simple to fill a standard or off cut sheet with as many parts as possible. Not only does this save money on material when quoting for new projects but it also enables us to reduce waste by using up off cuts from previous projects. Looking at the image here and the magnified image you can see just how fine laser cutting thin gauge sheet metal can be.

Laser cut brackets in detail

Parts such as these brackets are long enough to simply leave on the bed of the machine. No corner tags are needed. No time consuming breaking out of parts from the sheet nest and no edge de-burring. We simply pick the parts from the sheet and then lift the scarp skeleton off the bed. All this can happen while the laser machine is cutting the next sheet so that production is not interrupted.

Laser cut scrap nests

All the scrap sheet metal is collected together and separated into different grades. Stainless steel, aluminium, mild steel along with Zintec and galvanised steel, copper and brass. That way we manage to recycle 100% of the scrap metal we produce. Another advantage of laser cutting is that all the scrap sheet is dry and easy to handle.

If you have a project that requires sheet metal brackets please give us a call. We will be happy to help you out and produce price options to suit your order volumes.

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