2013 -

Sheet metal enclosures

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

Sheet metal enclosures can come in many forms. There might be the electrical / electronic rack mounting control enclosures often used with 19″ equipment. There can be sheet metal boxes that simply enclosure equipment e.g. pump housings, electrical switch / relay boxes or security enclosures. These examples of enclosure shown here are simple mild steel housings produced on CNC punch presses with some interesting features which have been formed in the metal. Being sub-contract manufacturers we are free to help you with your ideas giving you an enclosure that is produced to your design and cost restraints. We have over 25 years of experience in producing sheet metal enclosures for a wide range of industrial uses and would be happy to take a look at your ideas and help refine your design to really suit the advantages of manufacturing in sheet metal today with the very latest computer controlled equipment. To see some of the stages we go through in producing enclosures please follow this link: sheet metal box fabrication

2013 has been a great year of change for V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, December 30th, 2013

New home for V and F Sheet Metal in 2013

The move to a new manufacturing home for V and F Sheet Metal was completed at the end of 2013. We were so pleased to have the room to plan out a more efficient factory for all our sheet metal work processes from CNC punching, CNC bending, welding bays, cleaning up areas, ancillary processes and extra storage. For those of you who had visited our old home in Mitchell Close will know that over 20 years we had a range of units but all with the purpose of building the company up to the point that one day we could have our own factory and yard and now it has been achieved. One of the problems with our old setup was the lack of space to invest in laser cutting technology which the move to Brunel Way has given us and in the autumn of 2013 that investment become a reality with the arrival of our Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser.

Brand new laser technology

We were so excited to see our new laser turn up after it’s journey all the way from Switzerland. It took 7 days of installation, commissioning and training before we could cut any metal but it was well worth the wait. As well as the major investment in laser technology we have installed a new fast up stroking saw which is ideal for cutting aluminum extrusion, tube, bar, angle and strip. It’s been used on LED heat sinks, ventilation outlet grilles, shelving systems supports to name but a few.

Laser cutting on a Trumpf 3030 fiber

Here we are in the first few days after laser cutter had been set up loading sheet metal onto the pallet changer ready to run a new job for one of our customers.

We are looking to consolidate in 2014 with more software training on our new laser cutting machine to get the best from it’s technology. We will be upgrading our office computer systems to take advantage of faster database systems and it will soon be time to upgrade our systems server again, where do the years go!

Sheet metal inserts

Sunday, December 29th, 2013

Sheet metal components with threaded inserts

Both of these images show recent sheet metal projects with hank bushes inserted. They are both manufactured from zintec coated mild steel but inserts can be pressed into stainless steel, un-coated mild steel before zinc plating or powder coating, aluminium alloys, copper, brass and pre-painted steel materials.

M10 hank bushes

Zinc plated hank bushes

We have a great choice of sheet metal inserts that we can help you with from threaded self clinch studs and bushes, plain pins, anchor rivet bushes, thumb screws or earth points. We often insert these parts into sheet metal lighting gear trays, electronics chassis, fixing plates and brackets using our Haeger bush inserter or our fly presses. The ability to fix a thread in place is ideal for designs where a component may need to be removed and replaced several times e.g. inspection plate, gear box cover, pump adjustment bracket etc. The range of inserts is enormous and there should be a solution to your needs, if you need any advise in finding the right part please just ask us.

Laser cutting sheet metal December 2013

Saturday, December 28th, 2013

Well here is our brand new Trumpf 3030 fiber laser machine cutting zintec coated mild steel sheet metal plates. We knew that the laser cutting would be great for cutting out complex sheet metal shapes with complicated internal and external profiles that had to be CNC nibbled before on our punch presses. We also knew that the laser cutter would be much better at processing thicker material than we could CNC punch as we had already started to outsource laser cutting. What we didn’t factor in was the speed it can produce simple parts in thin sheet metal gauges and so clean that many deburring operations can be eliminated.

Fast Tube by Casper

These zintec parts are being laser cut simply using compressed air as the assist gas and being allowed to fall through the bed and onto a conveyor that runs under the machine. The parts are then collected in a tray and simple picked up at the end of the laser cutting operation. Using compressed air on thin gauge zintec parts is perfect as it produces a clean edge cut and is cheaper than using either oxygen or nitrogen as the assist gas.

If you have any sheet metal projects that you might be thinking of having laser cut or CNC punched and you are not sure which way to go why not let us take a look at your ideas and advise you on the best method of production for you.

CNC programming laser cut sheet metal work

Friday, December 20th, 2013

CNC program for Trumpf 3030 fibre laser

CNC programming laser cut parts

CNC programming a laser cutting machine is so easy compared with programming a CNC punch press. Having only one tool, the laser beam itself, there are no tools to be concerned with. No tool angles, die clearances, side loadings, nibbling issues with multi-tools etc. There is also no clamp zone to work around allowing the software / programmer to use the whole sheet to find the most economical use of the material. You can see this in the picture here taken from a recent prototype set of parts that the individual parts can be fitted together and right across the sheet to get the best fit. The way a program cuts the sheet metal parts is also different. With a CNC punch press we will select a tool and punch all these holes across multiple parts with that tool and then put it back on the tool rail. We then select a second tool and repeat the process until all tools have been used and the component is complete. If there is a problem with the CNC punch press program it is not seen until the hole sheet is complete. With laser cutting because there is only one tool the laser beam itself we can cut one component completely and take it out of the sheet to check it before going one to make changes or complete the batch.

With Radan taking care of most of the basic laser programming with a simple click of the mouse we can concentrate on getting the part development right for you and cutting parts ready for manufacturing. We will be posting far more images of laser cutting and examples of finished components of our gallery pages so keep an eye out over the next few weeks.

Christmas shut down 2013

Thursday, December 19th, 2013

V and F Sheet Metal Christmas Shut down

We will be closed for the Christmas break from Monday 23rd December 2013 and we will be back on Thursday 2nd January 2014.

We just want to say all our customers a big thank you for all the sheet metal projects that we have manufactured this year for your prototype and production sheet metal projects. Also, thanks to all our suppliers for your continued support throughout the year.

Let’s hope we are all as busy in 2014.

Stainless steel sheet metal fabrication

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013

Stainless steel fabrication

Here we have a typical stainless steel fabrication project manufactured in our factory at Fareham, Hampshire in December 2013. The blank parts for these boxes and covers were laser cut from 304 stainless steel using our brand new Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter and then bent up using a range of our CNC folding press brakes. The stainless inserts were then inserted in our Haeger inserter press and fly presses. All the welding was produced using our TiG welding facility. The boxes and covers were then sent for polishing to produce a perfect outside finish that was smooth and showed no sign of welding at the corners joints. All the welded plates had tags laser cut in position to line up with slots in their mating parts to make assembly easy for the welders and ensure all parts lined up correctly. These tags and slots can easily be inserted into the 3D model using our Radan sheet metal software. It’s nice to be able to show a project like this that encompasses so many different manufacturing processes and enables us to show off what we can do for our customers. The final completed box and cover will house a pump and control gear for the fuel delivery industry.

If you have a sheet metal fabrication project you want us to take a look at please just call or send an e-mail and we will be happy to help advise you or produce a quote.

Laser cutting sheet metal November 2013

Thursday, December 5th, 2013

Laser cutting bright annealed 304 stainless steel sheet metal with a Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser machine.

We are so pleased with the progress we have made so far in getting to grips with our new laser cutter. In a short space of time we have managed to laser cut mild steel, stainless steels, aluminium, copper and brass. We have learnt how to micro tag components into a sheet at the machine, use off cuts of material where possible, makes adjusts for the laser beam width and laser cut holes into steel tubes. We have learnt how to common line cut with our Radan software, tool complete nests and convert parts that had been CNC punched in the past to laser cut parts.

Our next challenge is to cut materials thicker than those that we are normally used to on our CNC punch presses so 6mm and upwards. We can already see in just a few weeks what a powerfully productive and versatile service this machine is allowing us to offer to our customers. Keep following us for more updates on the new uses we find to put our Trumpf laser to and the sheet metal work we produce with it.

Fast Tube by Casper

For more information on our new laser cutter please take a look at our laser cutting web page.

Laser cutting work examples

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

Typical examples of sheet metal and plate cut with a Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser cutter

Whether it’s cutting 0.7mm thick mild steel with compressed air, 2mm stainless steel with nitrogen (clean cut), 5mm aluminum or 6mm brass the Trumpf 3030 fiber is the machine. Here are just a few examples of laser cut work to show off the accuracy and edge quality that can be achieved.

We are still exploring the range of materials that we can cut but after just 3 weeks we are amazed at the products we are already producing. We will be adding a gallery section to our website detailing more products that we have laser cut including mild steel, aluminium, stainless steel, zintec, galvanised steel and brass. It’s not just the advantages of being able to cut any shape without tooling and in thicknesses much thicker that that which can be CNC punched but the increased yield from the sheet metal, speed of CNC programming and the reduction or in some cases complete removal of any edge deburring that we know will be an advantage for our customers.

Please keep checking to see how we get on.

Sheet metal projects November 2013

Saturday, November 23rd, 2013

Just 3 examples of the hundreds of sheet metal projects we have been manufacturing this month in Fareham, Hampshire.

CNC punched pre-anodised aluminium reflector material

Lighting reflector CNC punched blanks

We have CNC punched out a range of small lighting reflectors from 0.4mm thick pre-anodised alanod reflector aluminium. The material comes with a peelable plastic film which we keep on the material throughout the manufacturing process to maintain a clean and scratch free surface on the presentation side of the material. With all reflector materials whether they are highly polished such as Miro4 or satin as this material they can show finger marks so easily so they have to be handled very carefully. The reflectors were CNC punched on our slower punch press, the Trumpf 200. This is perfect for this process as the material is so thin and delicate that the slower gentle punching suits the sheet metal nest once it has become fragile towards the end of the program. You can see that the material yield is good on the sheet whilst still maintaining a practical program in production.

Aluminium assemblies MiG welded together

Aluminium MiG welded chassis assemblies

Here we have manufactured a batch of aluminium chassis assemblies from 3mm 1050a aluminium alloy. The manufacturing techniques have included CNC punching, edge deburring, bush insertion, sheet rolling, CNC bending, aluminium MiG welding and cleaning up. These welded fabrications are then powder coated and used within the assembly of a scientific instrument.

Zintec chassis parts laser cut and CNC bent

Zintec folded sheet metal end plates

These Zintec (zinc coated mild steel) end plates have been manufactured using laser cutting and CNC bending techniques. These parts are among the first sheet metal components that we have manufactured on our new Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser machine. The parts were laser cut with compressed air as the assist gas which removed the need to deburr the cut edges that would have been done under CNC punching. The final finished parts were powder coated and then used in a pump assembly for the brewery industry.

Go an idea that you may want to have manufactured in sheet metal or need a bit of advice?

Give us a call or send an email and our engineering team will take a look for for you.

Laser cutting sheet metal work

Monday, November 18th, 2013

Laser cutting 2mm thick mild steel

We are really pleased to be able to show off our new Trumpf 3030 fiber laser cutter. This small part was cut using oxygen to produce a perfect edge cut around the internal holes and the outer profile. The parts were then folded, countersunk and barrel deburred before being zinc plated and colour passivated. The speed and edge quality we are getting is better than the CNC punching method we were using before and any laser cutting oxide surface is removed in the acid of the zinc plating process.

Fast Tube by Casper

If you have a laser cutting sheet metal project and want us to take a look at it for you please just ask, call us on 01489 577786 or email sales@vandf.co.uk

For more information on laser cutting with a Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser please follow the link to our plant web page.

Manufacturing sheet metal bent components

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

Aluminium lighting gear tray chassis

Aluminium lighting gear tray chassis

A batch of aluminium sheet metal gear trays used to enclosure electronic equipment on a LED light fitting. The blue colour is the protective peelable plastic film which is easily removed but left on during production to keep them as clean and scratch free as possible. The components are quite complex with a series of operations needed to manufacture them. Each component has been CNC punched and then had any sharpe edges de-burred off (using vertical de-burr belts) before starting any bending operations. The bending operations were carried out in stages on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes with the hank bushes being inserted and then more bends to finish off the components. We manufacture components like this all the time in batches of just a few off right up to many thousands off. We can provide prototypes for new designs and are always happy to suggest design changes to help you save money in manufacturing. If you have a sheet metal component that you wish us to look at and provide you with a quotation please just call us on 01489 577786 or send us a drawing (PDF, DXF, SAT and STEP formats) by e-mail and our engineering team will take a look for you.

Mild steel chassis plates

Mild steel chassis plates

When producing a component like this bent mild steel chassis plate we have a series of decisions to make. Which CNC tooling are we going to us to CNC punch out the flat sheet metal blank in the first place. Take for instance the large circular hole, do we have a tool the right diameter to punch it in a single hit, do we have a banana tool with the right radius to punch it out or do we have to nibble it out. If we have to nibble it out do we send the blank down the chute in the machine or do we tag it in or punch it all to scrap. These decisions are made all the time by our estimating and CNC programming team to ensure you receive the cheapest component but to a quality level that you required for your finished design. Its the same with CNC bending, deciding which tooling to use and which machine to run you components in can have an impact on the corner radius size and speed that we can produce the components.

Luckily for you all these decisions are made by us to offer you the most efficient method of manufacturing your components and you needn’t worry about these yourself.

Mild steel enclosures

Mild steel enclosures

A wall of 0.9mm thick mild steel enclosures which have been bent up on our Edwards Pearson PR6 CNC press brake. Although we can fold sheet metal components up to 2.5M long on this press brake we often fold smaller components in this material gauge of much thicker, such as 6mm thick angle brackets. These particular bent components will have many different studs and bushes inserted into them and then have the corners all tack welded together before being powder coated.

Laser cutting now offered at V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, November 11th, 2013

Laser cutting sheet metal

V and F Sheet Metal are very proud and excited to announce that we now have a brand new laser cutting service in house here in Fareham, Hampshire. We are offering this service to our existing customers and for new work to enable us to offer a quicker lead time on parts and to improve part quality. Using a Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser we will be able to cut a range of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, zintec and galvanised coated steel, aluminium alloys, copper and brass. This investment in extended cutting ability and material thicknesses has been planned for a long time and has been enabled with the extra factory space we now have. Over the next few weeks we will be able to test out all the laser cutting features of our new machine and I will be posting examples of the work we are producing. Early tests show a perfect cut on thin gauges of metal even when using compressed air as the assist gas. We went for a fiber laser over a CO2 laser as it is cheaper to run and can cut quicker on thin sheet metal gauges (up to 4mm). The fibre laser can still cut up to 20mm thick but currently we will be limiting ourselves to thinner work while we get used to the machine.

Laser cutting examples

Here are some typical examples of laser cut sheet metal parts kindly supplied to us by Trumpf UK. You can see here how complex some geometries can be in a range of material thicknesses and yet they are cut with ease on the laser cutter. Using nitrogen, oxygen or compressed air we can cater for all material and offer parts priced according to suit their final use. More information will be posted to laser cutting gallery pages and a specific plant page on laser cutting over the following weeks as we build up a larger volume of work examples to demonstrate the machines cutting capability.

Laser cutting v CNC punching

Using laser cutting for some parts will enable us to remove the need for special tooling. This will be a great advantage for small volume items of prototypes. There will always be a place for CNC punching in our manufacturing plant with its ability to produce forms in components such as ventilation louvres, dimples, plunged hole. CNC punching is also very good at producing large volumes of holes with cluster tools very quickly. Basically we now have the best of both worlds with our Trumpf CNC punch presses and Trumpf laser cutter and look forward to offer a full range of services to our customers.

Laser cutting with a Trumpf 3030 Fiber

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Laser cutting with a Trumpf 3030 Fiber

Laser cutting sheet metal profiles is so flexible with a Trumpf fiber laser cutting metal materials from the thinnest sheet up to 20mm thick mild steel. The picture here shows perfectly what we mean with the fiber laser cutting a thin gauge copper which is almost impossible on a CO2 laser cutter. Fitted with a load / unload pallet changing table the productivity of the machine is increased further making it a great production addition to our Fareham manufacturing factory sitting perfectly along side our Trumpf 200 and Trumpf 3000 CNC punch presses.

Why fiber not CO2 laser

If we were just cutting thick sheet and heavy plate all the time in our factory we would have chosen to use a CO2 laser cutting system but as we normally serve customers with thinner sheet metal components and a range of ferrous and non ferrous materials including copper and brass fiber was the obvious way for us to go. The fiber laser being quicker on thin gauges and cheaper to run will enable us to offer the greatest quality part at an economical price.

The fiber laser generator

The heart of the fiber laser is shown here and produces 3KW of power which travels down a fiber cable and directed onto the sheet metal through a nozzle and assisted by either nitrogen, oxygen or compressed air gasses. Not only is the fiber laser very flexible in the range of material types and thicknesses it can cut but its the fastest laser cutting method available for thin gauge sheet metal.

CNC bending sheet metal brackets with stiffening ribs

Monday, November 4th, 2013

CNC bending mild steel brackets

Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes and tooling

Here’s a great example of a small mild steel bracket that I thought deserved a post of it’s own, so here it is. This little bracket has been CNC punched out, de-burred and folded into a top hat shape. The interesting detail is the stiffening ribs that have been added at the point of bending to increase the stiffness of the bracket. This type of design feature can improve the mechanical strength of the bracket without having to increase the material thickness which would have increased the weight of the bracket and its cost. These brackets are typical of the sheet metal work that we manufacture at V and F Sheet Metal on these CNC press brakes having a 35 ton down force and a 1M bed length. The Trumpf 7036 also has its own front table enabling our setters and operators to place work right next to the tooling area and sit at the machine providing a perfect ergonomic environment. This enables us to work quicker on component set ups and on long production runs helping to keeping the costs down per part enabling you to become more competitive. If you have a sheet metal bracket or other sheet metal component that perhaps needs bending or a stiffening rib when bending then please give us a call or e-mail your drawing for quoting and we can have a chat and see what we can do to help you.

CNC bending stiffening ribs

CNC tooling, flat sheet metal blanks and folded brackets

Typical set up of Trumpf style CNC press brake tool with the flat bracket blank and the finished mild steel bracket. Having no light guards but in line laser guards we are able to safely work very close to the top and bottom bend tooling, speeding up production and reducing stress on the operator.

CNC tooling layout

CNC press brake tooling set up

The stiffening rib is added to the bracket at the bending stage by separating the bottom bend blocks and inserting a metal strip in the gap which then forms a rib at the same time as the angle bend. This is a simple and quick set up enabling the rib to be added at the same time of the 90 degree bend which means it comes free, always good news for our customers.

Sheet metal tray

Saturday, November 2nd, 2013

3D computer model of sheet metal tray and cover

3D Radan model of sheet metal tray and cover

I have chosen to included an image on this particular post of a 3D model showing a tray and cover. The sheet metal parts modeled here were quite simple but nicely show how useful 3D software modelling can be in practice when making sure components will fit together and are the correct size for production. This tray and cover had fixing bushes and clearance screw holes that could be tested before sending for CNC punching saving us the risk of scrap metal and ensuring a good quality final product for our customer. You can also benefit from this service for no extra cost as this is part of our setting up procedure and is not charge to you on a production batch. For more information on Radan software please take a look at our web page or give our engineering team a call and we will be happy to help you.

CNC program of a sheet metal gear tray

CNC program with tooling on a gear tray

Once a component or set of components has been successfully 3D modeled they can be developed into a flat blank, this one show here has the CNC punch press tooling symbols in place. The software automatically assigns the correct tooling for hole sizes, cut outs and outer profiles according to rules we have set up to suit our standard tooling and machine limitations. The human element is often needed just to complete the job then the part is ready to be nested in a sheet and then CNC punched for real. You can see on this tray that the 16 cutouts in the were produced by nibbling out the shape with several hits of a smaller stand CNC tool that we had in stock. This is standard practice on sheet metal components making CNC punching such a versatile production process.

Sheet metal electronics gear tray

Sheet metal gear tray

Here is a finished aluminium sheet metal tray that has been CNC punched and CNC bent up. You can see rectangular cut outs in the base of the tray which have been CNC punched out in the same way that the tooled image above was created. You can also see slight white marks in the aluminium running along with the bends. These are from the bottom V block when the tray was being folded up. In this case it didn’t matter to the customer but if it is a problem for you then we can use a thick plastic film which will protect the sheet metal from marks on the bend block.

Preparation for laser cutting gas storage area

Monday, October 28th, 2013

Gas storage area prepared waiting for installation

Now the floor inside is ready to take our new Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter we have to prepare an area for the gas storage. These posts will act as a protective barrier to guard the cage that will hold Nitrogen and Oxygen bottles. Nitrogen and Oxygen are used as assist gases when cutting sheet metals and plate with a laser cutter.

Painting protective posts ready for gas installation

Initially we will start with gas bottle packs to see how much gas we use. Once we have a better idea we may transfer to bulk storage containers for liquid Nitrogen an Oxygen. Our Trumpf 3030 can also cut with compressed air giving us the greatest flexibility to select the right cutting method for you work at the most competitive price.

Floor almost ready for Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser

Friday, October 25th, 2013

Final floated floor now drying

The floor has now been floated nice and smooth and back up to the original level of the existing factory floor. The green look is only the final dampness coming out of the floor and will be gone within a few days.

Dry flooring waiting to be painted

Once the floor has completely dried out we will be ready for a sealing coat of paint. We are nearly there now and then it will be time for the arrival of the Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser, can’t wait.

New concrete flooring back in and ready for floating

Thursday, October 24th, 2013

Slowly getting there

Now finally we can see the concrete going back in. The concrete has been poured in and moved around to fill all the opening and reduce the chances of voids in the final floor. At this stage it is important to ensure all the reinforcing bars are encased in concrete to produce one solid floor that is locked into the existing factory floor area.

Top finish starting

Th new concrete floor has to be flat ready for the arrival of our new Trumpf 3030 laser cutter on 22nd October. The floor is rolled and then power floated to produce a smooth even surface in line with the existing factory floor.

Main concrete level now finished

The floor ready for power floating. Power floating can begin once it has dried out more and ready to walk on, now the wait begins.

New flooring area taking shape for Trumpf 3030 laser

Monday, October 21st, 2013

At last, stopped digging down now building up

It’s good to finally see some building going on and not destruction! Now things seems to be moving faster and we can see what is really happening. The hard core was soon filled in and pressed down hard ready for the next stages, laying a membrane sheet and reinforcing steel mesh right across the floor area.

Tie bars in place

All the holes drilled in the side walls of the existing floor had reinforced steel bar pushed into place which could then be tied into the new reinforcing steel mesh. The 2 layers of reinforced steel mesh were kept apart from each other with spacers to prevent the mesh being forced to the bottom of the cutout with the weight of the concrete.

Floor area ready for the concrete mix

The final floor is now ready to have concrete poured into place. We must be in the final leg now, surely!

Sheet metal forming

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

Different methods of sheet metal forming

Sheet metal bending

Sheet metal bending

Simple zintec coated mild steel sheet metal tray formed by 90 degree angle bends on a CNC press brake. The circular hole has been CNC punched out using a banana tool with the wasted disk removed at the same time as the outer profile from the parent metal. Bending using standard “air bend” tooling on a CNC press brake is very flexible enabling diffferent bend lengths and bend angles to be changed easily via the CNC program with no change to the tooling. This method allows for design changes without any cost implication for the customers. This tray is known as a ceiling adaptor tray and is used to house a round light fitting that needs to be positioned in a square ceiling grid.

Sheet metal forming

Sheet metal forming

If a components cross section isn’t a simple shape that can be produced with single angle bends (as above) or a continual rolled radius it may need to be formed. Making an upper and lower tool that can produce the formed section in a given sheet metal material and gauge will save time if there are lots of components to produce or many repeat batches. The form tooling may be used in a CNC press brake or a power press enabling a repeated form each time. The down side of this tooling is that is the design needs to change then the tool will need modifying or at worst replacing so form tooling should only be considered when a design is stable and good production volumes are needed.

Sheet metal multi-bends

Sheet metal multi-bending

There is an alternative to form tools for cross sections that cannot be rolled and that’s multi-bending in CNC press brakes. If a component is not wanted in large numbers or if often changed in it’s design then multi-bending may be considered. The ability to program into the press brake a series of small bends to simulate a curve is very effective when trying out prototypes or for small batch volumes. The curve accuracy can be tuned to suit the customers requirements with the amount of bends and the gap between each bend, the smaller the gap giving more bends but long production time and a higher prices part.

Sheet metal rolling

Sheet metal rolling

The final solution to forming sheet metal components is to roll their section. This band was rolled as it had a constant radius and was quite small. Some parts like this can be formed but if the volumes are only small the form tools would be worth the investment.

We can always help advise you on the most effective method of production to suit the complexity of the form you are trying to create with reference to accuracy and costs. Give us a try, we won’t bite!

Building works get going at a pace ready for a new Trumpf 3030 fiber laser

Monday, October 14th, 2013

The work progresses

Once the pecker had manged to break up all the old concrete floor it was time to remove all the waste broken concrete and steel reinforcing bars. The small digger soon made short work of the task and the floor was then cleared right down to the base ground level. Now all the work could be put into building up a new floor rather than taking away the old shallow floor.

Floor area is now at the correct depth for the Trumpf laser

Once all the old flooring material had been removed we could get the base floor leveled off and compacted down to create a hard based to build the new flooring layers onto.

Drilling tie bar holes

So that the new flooring pad, once laid in position, wasn’t just a free floating island it was necessary to drill into the side walls of the existing concrete and push reinforced steel bars in place. These steel bars could then be tied into the reinforcing mesh that would be laid into the new floor giving a more stable floor pad. AS with all these jobs in was slow going but when you are investing a lot in a new laser cutting machine the job has to be done properly.

V and F Sheet Metal start preparation for a new Laser Cutter

Thursday, October 10th, 2013

Existing floor area before preparation for the laser cutter

So this is where our new Trumpf 3030 3KW fiber laser cutter is going to go. The good news is that when we moved factory from all our small units in Mitchell Close to one building in Brunel Way we knew a laser cutter would be on the cards so we planned in the space to allow us to install one. The bad news was that the flooring wasn’t quite deep enough to take the machine so we have had to take the decision to reinforce the area that the new laser cutter will sit on. The laser cutter will sit next to our 2 Trumpf CNC punch presses enabling us to keep all sheet metal profile processing together. This should allow us to be more efficient in our material handling.

Cutting out concrete floor pad area

With help from Trumpf UK, our laser machine, CNC punch press and CNC press brake supplier, we surveyed the area and investigated several machine configurations before mapping out the size and position of floor that would need to be reinforced. After marking out the concrete floor it was cut out surprisingly accurately with disk cutters. The process was noisy (luckily we are used to that so it was ear defenders on again) and time consuming but it did mean we would get a good edge finish eventually.

Digging out the existing concrete

Once the floor area was cut out to the defined size it had to be broken up. The machine for this was the pecker which was used to break away the surface of the concrete from the middle of the floor back out to the sawed edges. We thought the disk cutting was noisy but this was another level but the builders got there in the end. Slow work but within a day they had cleared out all the old concrete and we were the proud owners of a rectangular hole in the ground!

Sheet metal chassis

Monday, October 7th, 2013

Sheet metal chassis examples from our factory in Fareham, Hampshire

CNC bending chassis plates

CNC bending chassis plates

Great image of our 2 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes here in Fareham, Hampshire in the process of bending chassis plates used in the lighting industry. These chassis plates have been CNC punched from 0.9mm thick mild steel and de-burred before being CNC bent here. The tooling used to bend the chassis plates is part of our standard bend tooling range so there was no tooling charge for our customer. The CNC bend program was also written at no charge to our customer making it a very flexible manufacturing method if design changes are needed from batch to batch. Each bend has been formed into the sheet metal at a time in a sequence that has been programmed into the machine. The sequence is repeated again and again until the batch is finished producing consistance results across the batch. These chassis plates were made in a batch of 250 and this type of work is typical of the sheet metal work that we regular manufacture for our UK customers. If you have similar sheet metal projects for chassis plates, boxes, covers, front panels, brackets etc we would be very happy to quote you for your prototypes and volume manufacturing or perhaps you need some help with your designs, please just give us a call.

Chassis waiting to be bent

Chassis for a light fitting

Mild steel chassis plate for a light fitting manufactured right here in the UK. The stand off dimples and the electrical knockout features as well as all the holes and outer profile were CNC punched on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press in one punching cycle and completely designed using Radan sheet metal software. The radiating pattern of obround slots was easily produced with the Trumpf’s rotating single head design. The chassis plate will be bent up and create the back of a larger fitting using LED lighting on one of our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

Audio electronics chassis

Audio electronics chassis components

Here we have a batch of sheet metal chassis components that will be used to house electronics for an audio company. The top face shows countersink forms that have been pressed in place rather than drilled. The finished chassis components were finally wet sprayed and silk screened.

Mild steel sheet metal work

Thursday, October 3rd, 2013

Mild steel sheet metal work

Our sheet metal work projects cover a vast range of sizes and complexities for our customers and here are a few manufactured in September 2013

CNC bent mild steel brackets

Mild steel brackets

Here a complex mild steel sheet metal bracket has been stacked ready to be sent off for zinc plating and clear passivating. The brackets were CNC punched on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press and bent on one of our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. These particular brackets are used for mounting pumps inside an electrical housing and are similar to many others that we produce every month in mild steel from 0.7mm to 4mm thick for a range of customers.

Mild steel U clamps

Mild steel U clamp brackets

These simple U clamp brackets have been bent up using one of our swan neck tooling sets on a CNC press brake. The tooling enables a very deep U shape to be wrapped around the tooling for the second bend and still be released after bending. We have sets of swan neck tooling for all 3 press brake ranges we have here so this detail can be achieved in small parts like these right up to 2.5M long sheet metal profiles. For more examples of sheet metal bend tooling please take a look at tooling tables.

Mild steel housings

Mild steel housings

Simple mild steel housing CNC punched form 0.9mm mild steel sheet. The 4 dimples have been pressed in during the CNC punching cycle using one of our standard up-form tools. All the CNC punch and CNC bend programs are saved to our system server and are ready for recall whenever the job repeats. This is a practice that we apply to every job no matter how small so that no time is wasted when a repeat batch of components is needed.

Sheet metal profile

Monday, September 30th, 2013

CNC punched sheet metal profiles

CNC punched profiles in plastic coated aluminium

Typical simple CNC punched component profile produced from aluminium alloy with a white plastic peelable film. The plastic helps to keep the component scratch free and clean from oil and finger marks in production. We only CNC program one component internal and external profile and then use our Radan programming software to multiply the components across the sheet. The edge tooling is used to common line cut (producing the right side of one component and the left side of another at the same time). The part are held in with an edge profile that has a 0.1mm tag in each corner which is easily broken off after CNC punching has taken place.

Sheet metal CNC punched profiles

This part also produced on the same sheet uses a 4 corner radius profile tool to produce a small corner rad in several places. With a Trumpf it’s easy for us to turn the radius tool to whichever angle we want and create the correct profile. This particular CNC tool has a R2, R3, R4 and R5 built into it making it very flexible for components with a variety of corner rad profiles. There is also a single D profile punched into the component, we have a range of single and double D tooling which can be specified in your sheet metal component designs for free, follow the link to our tooling pages Single D and Double D.

CNC punched 2 part nest

A recent project needed a small box and cover to be manufactured both from the same material and thickness. The ideal solution was to CNC punch them from the same sheet of metal as seen here. This has the advantage of using material with the same tensile strength enabling easier setting for us when CNC bending and punching the whole project to production at the same time. These were simple parts but sometimes when there are complex profiles one part can be nested within another, say inside an internal window or between two parts with a hollow profile. We are always looking for ways to reduce CNC punching time and materials used to help keep your part prices down.

Sheet metal lighting reflectors

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we often manufacture sheet metal reflectors for our lighting customers these above just being a small range. Some of the reflectors may only be powder coated steel or pre-coated white mild steel. Others, as above can be manufactured from specialist anodised reflector aluminium. These materials are usually 0.4mm thick and can be successfully CNC punched and CNC bent without any special tooling needs. The reflectors can be small parts such as these shown here right up to 6 foot long T5 reflector profiles.

If you have a sheet metal lighting reflector that you need manufacturing then please give us a call on 01489 577786 or send us a drawing by e-mail and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal covers

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Sheet metal covers

Brass display panel covers

Sheet metal brass covers

Here’s an eye catching example of brass sheet metal covers in production at V and F Sheet Metal. These brass covers make up the front of an illuminated display board system completed with a 304 stainless steel back panel or optional 316 stainless steel front cover. These brass covers were manufactured from CZ108 brass sheet with a protective peelable plastic film. The plastic film helps to keep the material scratch free in production. Once the corner joints have been welded up they are cleaned off smooth back to the parent metal and bright polished all over before being clear wet sprayed to protect them from most atmospheric corrosion.

Zintec sheet metal covers

Sheet metal Zintec covers

These Zintec coated mild steel covers were recently manufactured in our Fareham factory. They are used in some pumping equipment and cover the electronics protecting it from the atmosphere that its working in. The Zintec covers were CNC punched and CNC bent up on our Trumpf manufacturing equipment and then powder coated for our customer. All the bends of the covers were simple bent tight without any welding as the finish covers were screwed down in place locking all the joints together.

Pre-coated mild steel cover

Sheet metal pre-coated mild steel cover

This small cover was developed to cover a motion sensor on a T5 light fitting. The cover was CNC punched with a series of slotted lines allowing the cover to be hand folded over the sensor covering completely before being screwed down. This type of “easy-bend” design is useful in a number of applications where a standard press braked bend cannot be achieved or when a final bend is needed after some equipment has been inserted into the cover. The material shown here is a pre-coated white mild steel sheet with a peelable plastic film and is a cost effective alternative to mild steel and powder coating.

Sheet metal bracket

Thursday, September 19th, 2013

Sheet metal bracket

CNC punched Zintec brackets

Zintec brackets

Zintec is a zinc coated mild steel sheet metal whcih is often used for internal components with larger assemblies or where the final component is not effected by a corrosive environment. Good examples of this are PC back panels, components in fridges, light fittings, electrical enclosures etc. These particular brackets will be bent up and then used inside a control box used in the brewery industry. You can see that the curved profiles were created using banana shaped tooling on our Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press.

Folded stainless steel brackets

Stainless steel brackets

These brackets have been manufactured from 304 stainless steel on our Trumpf CNC punch presses and CNC press brakes. The bracket is quite complicated with many bends of different sizes and angles and yet the whole cycle of bending was carried out from one set up on the Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake. The bracket is used to suspend metal ceiling panels in large ships and is a great example of the versatility of brackets that can be manufactured with our plant on any one day for our customers.

Bent galvanised steel brackets

Galvanised steel brackets
These brackets have been produced from pre-galvanised mild steel sheet metal. They have been CNC punched out with all their holes and outer profile produced in seconds. The bends have all been produced on a Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake. These brackets are used inside a large flood light and carry all the electronics equipment needed to control the lamp.

Sheet metal rolled sections

Monday, September 16th, 2013

V and F Sheet Metal are happy to produce flat sheet metal work in the form of plates and panels, perhaps used as front panels, rear panels, mounting plates etc. We are equally happy manufacturing bent up housings, cabinets, boxes used for a wide range of products including electronics enclosures, light fitting housings. screen cans etc. We can also produce curved sheet metal forms in a variety of ways.

Formed curved sections

If we have a form tool that it the exact radius or form then this is the quickest and cheapest way to go.

Multi bend curved sections

If we don’t have a standard form tool and then numbers don’t justify manufacturing a special tool then using this production method on one of our CNC press brakes is a good idea.

Rolled curved sections

Again some parts lend themselves to being rolled up especially if the curve needed is a consistent radius and over 180 deg.

To view more examples of sheet metal rolled sections please follow the link.

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