Bending light sheet metal work

Friday, May 17th, 2013

The bending light gauge sheet metal work has never been easier than with Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

We have the ability in house to fold sheet metal up to 2.5M long in both of our Edwards Pearson CNC press brakes and often do. When it comes to smaller brackets, trays, chassis and sheet metal boxes if they are under 1M long we will use our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes all the time. With quick set tooling, easy programming on the machine and the ability to recall past jobs from our computer network these machines offer the best service possible for small sheet metal bending. If the volumes are high being electric these machines can produce bends very quickly and with easy set ups they are very competitive for small prototype work.

: Sheet metal covers
Finished sheet metal covers stacked up ready to be powder coated.

: Zintec coated mild steel enclosures.
Simple sheet metal enclosures are no problem for us in our manufacturing factory in Fareham, Hampshire.

: Sheet metal end panels
A range of end panels bent up waiting to be powder coated.

: Sheet metal housings
We produce a range of sheet metal housings, covers, enclosures and boxes from Zintec like these shown here.

: Light gauge sheet metal work
Light gauge sheet metal work is easily processed on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

: CNC punched cut outs
With the single head Trumpf design on our punch presses any shape is no problem to us.

Here we have a typical range of sheet metal work for one project that has been CNC punched on Trumpf CNC punch presses and bent up on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. All the parts were manufactured from Zintec coated mild steel with some parts being powder coated and some left self colour. We have lots of examples of sheet metal work on our web site that has been bent up on these CNC press brakes, please follow the link to the plant page with videos of the machines in action.

Tags: bracket, cnc bend, sheet metal, sheet metal bracket, trumpf

Bushes, studs and standoffs in sheet metal work

Friday, May 10th, 2013

Sheet metal components can be enhanced by the use of self clinch and anchor rivet inserts.

: Bushes and stand-offs
The range of inserts is vast.

: Sheet metal inserts
Inserts can be specified to suit different sheet metal thicknesses.

: Hank bushes and stand-offs
Hanks bushes can be specified in place of loose nuts to speed up assembly.

: Stainless and zinc plated mild steel inserts
Some of the smaller style inserts for electronics components.

: Bushes, studs and captive screws
Bushes, studs and captive screws in mild steel zinc plated finishes and stainless steel.

: Anchor rivet hank bushes
These bushes come in range of materials and threads size to suit all sorts of applications.

When components need permanent fixed threaded features these bushes and studs are a perfect solution. Whether it’s a fixed nut into a side of an enclosure, an earth stud on an electronics chassis or a captive screw in a sheet metal back panel there is a solution that we can offer you. Using our Haeger inserter machine and a range of fly presses with standard tooling we can offer you a solution to all your insert problems. These inserts are ideal as they are quick to insert, reliable and mostly cheap to buy.

If you want to see more examples of sheet metal work with inserts in place please take a look at our gallery web page. If you are not sure which insert you should specify just give us a call and we will be happy to talk through your design with you and see which option would best suit your needs.

A big thanks to TR Fastenings for allowing us to use their images here to illustrate the range of inserts that are available.

Tags: sheet metal

Sheet metal work in April 2013

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Just a small taster of the range of sheet metal work projects that we have completed in April 2013

Having the ability to work with a wide range of sheet metal materials from 0.4mm pre-anodised reflector aluminium, grained stainless steel, zinctec and up to 4mm thick mild steel sheet from components the size of your little finger nail up to full standard sheet sizes means we cover a large range of sheet metal projects. With the ability at V and F Sheet Metal to supply CNC punching and CNC bending for complicated sheet metal work and fly presses for simple parts we cover a range of sheet metal projects for the lighting, electronics, audio and heating industries many others in the UK. Now being able to offer high speed aluminium sawing has improved the quality of the extrusions we cut to size for our customers.

: Lighting reflectors from 33PG material
Lighting reflectors from 33PG material used in projector light fittings.

: Mild steel housings
Sheet metal housings for the UK lighting industry

: Stainless steel sheet metal cases
Stainless steel sheet metal cases having been bent on Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes

: Aluminium extrusion cut to length
Clean cuts on aluminium extrusion with high speed sawing facility in Fareham, Hampshire

: Spot welded mild steel covers
Mild steel sheet metal lighting enclosure covers with spot welded hinges

: Fly presses in action
Sheet metal brackets folded up on fly presses with simple tooling

: Aluminium brackets
Sheet metal clip brackets manufactured on fly presses

: Zintec fabricated cover
Large housing fabricated from 1.5mm zintec sheet

: Sheet metal fabrication
Welded aluminium sheet metal covers.

Offering sheet metal sub-contract manufacturing services to a large range of companies in the UK enables us to get involved in many diverse and interesting sheet metal projects.

If you want to see more examples of past sheet metal work projects please take a look at our gallery pages

If you have some components that you think we may be able to help you with please just give use a call on 01489 577786 or e-mail on the address at the bottom of the page.

Tags: bracket, cnc bend, CNC punch, sheet metal, sheet metal bracket

Sheet metal work in 3D software

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Sheet metal brackets, housings, enclosures and chassis modeled in 3D using Radan software.

The best way to be sure of getting a sheet metal project right is to create it in a 3D environment before committing to CNC punching any materials. Time can be reduced and material costs saved by working out all the manufacturing and assembly problems before starting any sheet metal production. Please take a look at the gallery images below and you will see just how flexible this technique is when working on sheet metal sub-contract manufacturing projects for our customers.

: LED lighting display panel in aluminium sheet metal
LED lighting display panel and louvre blade checked for correct fit.

: Sheet metal electrical box housing and front frame
Sheet metal electrical box housing and front frame were tested together for fit and alignment of screw holes in the 3D model.

: Sheet metal tray with welded collar
Sheet metal tray with welded collar were modeled to ensure the collar cut size was a good fit when it cam to welding the 2 parts together.

: Bracket assembly in sheet metal
The perfect fit of 3 parts with pop rivet holes positions was ensured using a 3D sheet metal model.

: Sheet metal bracket
Sheet metal bracket modeled before any production takes place to ensure all the bend sizes are correct

: Sheet metal base plate and housing
Sheet metal work tested out for fit of components before any manufacturing takes place.

: Sheet metal case and cover
Sheet metal work tested out for fit of components before any manufacturing takes place.

: Sheet metal fabrication assembly
Sheet metal fabrication assembly put together as a model before cutting expensive stainless steel materials.

: Sheet metal box and cover
Sheet metal work tested out for fit of components before any manufacturing takes place.

For more examples of our recent sheet metal work that has been 3D modeled in Radan sheet metal software before manufacturing please take a look at our gallery page 3D SOFTWARE MODELS

If you want to read more about the processes we use to produce sheet metal parts and fabrication assemblies with Radan software please take a look at our web page BOX FABRICATION

If you have a project and you need sheet metal parts but you are not quite sure how they may fit together we can take a look and help you with a 3D model, please give us a call.

Tags: CNC programming, engineering, sheet metal

Flypress work, sheet metal brackets

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Fly presses with simple fly press tooling used to manufacture sheet metal brackets

We manufacture a huge range of sheet metal brackets for our customers in the UK often using CNC punching and CNC bending technologies. These techniques are perfect for small and large batch manufacturing. We do however sometimes have complex sheet metal components that need to be manufactured quickly and without expensive custom CNC tooling and that’s where fly presses can be so useful.

: Fly press tooling
Aluminium sheet metal brackets

: Fly press flattening tooling
Simple set up on a hydraulic fly press to enable an aluminium bracket to have a tight over bend with a radius end

: Fly press set up
Aluminium sheet metal bracket set up for bending

: Fly press bend tooling
Aluminium sheet metal bracket being folded into a tight V block tool

: Sheet metal brackets
Sheet metal aluminium brackets manufactured on fly presses using fly press tooling.

Fly presses can be used to bend brackets, form small features, press safe edges and curved sections often with our range of standard fly press tooling. For further examples of sheet metal brackets that have been manufactured by V and F Sheet Metal recently please take a look at our sheet metal brackets gallery page.

If you have a small sheet metal bracket or angle design and you want us to produce a quote for you or want some help to find the best design to suit cheap and effective manufacturing techniques then please give is a call.

Tags: bracket, sheet metal, sheet metal bracket