CNC bending and folding Archives -

Manufacturing sub-contract sheet metal work in Great Britain

Tuesday, September 26th, 2017

Manufacturing sub-contract sheet metal is what V and F Sheet Metal are all about. We have been manufacturing in Great Britain since the 1980s. We have a company ethos of constantly investing in the latest machinery and software to improve the quality of the parts we manufacture. Managing costs and improving order lead times is an everyday job for us.

CNC punching plastic coated steel

Manufacturing sub-contract sheet metal for our customers can be range from the simplest flat plate right through to complex welded fabrication assemblies.

Laser cutting sheet metal work

Whether we are using the latest laser cutting technology or CNC bending machines people are still the most important factor in any business. With a stable workforce we have a wide range of experience. Manufacturing special projects and prototypes to repeat batch work and kanban systems, we are happy to help you.

Supporting a wide range of customers in the UK and mainland Europe we will often alreadyd have come across a solution you need. Having a large library of standard CNC punching and bending tooling we can usually produce all your work without any tooling costs.

Trumpf 7036 CNC bendingSheet metal angle brackets

If you are looking for a long term relationship with a UK based company manufacturing sub-contract sheet metal then please contact us. We will be happy to talk to you about your latest sheet metal projects on 01489 577786. If you prefer to e-mail us your drawings then please feel free. We can work with STEP, SAT, DXF and DWG CAD data, please send it to sales@vandf.co.uk. We can produce you quote options, price ranges and advice on treatments and finishes to save you money.

Folding sheet metal work in Great Britain using CNC Press Brakes

Friday, August 25th, 2017

Folding sheet metal work is a big part of what we do here at V and F Sheet Metal

From the smallest angle bracket to components up to 3M long we are here to support you. But what does that mean?

small sheet metal folding

Well for us it means not only having the right machines and tooling, you would hope all sheet metal workers would have that. No, it means having the experience to help you with your designs. Selecting the correct materials and thicknesses for a given part with an eye to the cost of the final part. For example why would you use 5251 aluminium if 1050A will do the job and is cheaper. Many of our customers will not know what material to select and we will help them to get it right and at the right price.

Defining a suitable manufacturing tolerance is another area where people can be unsure what can be achieved in practice. Say you want a small stainless steel channel folding up similar to the part shown on the right. It may be fitting into another rightly controlled machined item. Asking for +0/-0.25 across the bends may be required and achievable. Asking for the same tolerance on a much larger support bracket in 4mm mild steel would be adding extra time and scrap where it’s just not needed. Sometimes simply talking through these points with us is enough to get it right and save time and money in production.

We have all experienced the standard drawing border that is applied to every job without any thought.

For more information on bending please check out this link

large sheet metal folding

So you can already see that there are plenty of actions you can take when considering designing for folding sheet metal work. The specific machine we chose and the tooling needed is not your problem. Of course you will want us to have modern accurate machines. We won’t disappoint there with a program of constant investment in plant and tooling. Getting your design right for that tooling is your problem and we are always happy to help you with it. If you want to discuss a current sheet metal project that will need folding please give us a call on 01489 577786. Alternatively you can e-mail us your drawings and we will be pleased to review them for you.

Bending sheet metal work in Great Britain 2017

Monday, August 21st, 2017

Bending sheet metal work in Great Britain 2017

I thought it would be good to show off a few sheet metal jobs that have been bent up on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. These jobs nicely show the versatility of bending sheet metal work on these fast and accurate CNC press brakes.

Fast Tube by Casper

With a large range of tooling that can be shared across all the machines we can tackle all sorts of jobs. From the smallest angle bracket the size of a finger nail right up to 1M on these machines. We can fold up to 3M on our Safan e-Brake CNC press.

Fast Tube by Casper

With sub-contract sheet metal work being so varied they machines are perfect for us. Being so easy to set up when bending sheet metal work in small batches these machines are very cost effective.

Fast Tube by Casper

As well as our 3 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes we also have 2 small Guifil CNC press brakes, an Edwards Pearson 2.5M CNC press brake and a Safan 3M CNC press brake. Please visit the plant pages for these machine or see them in action on our YouTube channel. There is a link at the bottom of the page.

Sheet metal housings and gear trays manufactured in the UK

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017

Mild steel sheet metal housing base

Sheet metal can be used to create a wide range of housings, enclosures and boxes for electronic and lighting products. Whether the housings are made from stainless steel, mild steel or aluminium we have the correct equipment for efficient manufacturing. With a varied customer base demanding a quick service from just a few samples right up to volume production we have a large flexible sheet metal housing production service.

Sheet metal light fitting gear tray

Whether it’s CNC punching or laser cutting that’s needed to start off a sheet metal housing we have the right software to get the best from any given sheet of metal. Using either fresh standard sheets, custom sheared blanks or remnants from previous jobs we can cope with your requirements. Radan CAD/CAM software is very powerful with it’s ability to change a part from CNC punching to a laser cutting job in seconds. This allows us to swap production jobs around when that inevitable panic order comes in.

Linking the flexibility of CNC punching and laser cutting under the same roof as CNC bending is perfect for most people’s sheet metal housing needs. Bending housings as small as the palm of your hand right up to 3M long is no problem for us. With many of our CNC bending machines sharing the same tooling enables us to be flexible when running higher volumes of work. We can set up the same part over several machines to increase work flow when needed.

These small housings are typical of the easier parts we manufacture. If you have something more complex please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to take a look for you. Whether it’s a 3D STEP file or 2D data please give us a try.

Small sheet metal components

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

Small stainless steel sheet metal components

Sheet metal work can come in all shapes and sizes and these small sheet metal components are certainly at the lower end of our range. Manufactured from stainless steel by CNC punching and CNC bending they nicely show the complexity that can be achieved with sheet metal work. They could so easily have been laser cut but having both processes in house we can pick and choose the process that suits the parts. This can be particularly helpful when moving from prototypes and small batches through to higher volumes. One process, say laser cutting, may be perfect initially then with higher volumes and some simple tooling CNC punching may lend itself to be the most efficient manufacturing process.

Small sheet metal components also present problems if they have to be folded up. We are fortunate in having 3 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes which are ideally suited to folding small sheet metal components. With a large range of tooling and an experienced team of machine programmers there aren’t many parts that we cannot fold up whatever their size.

So what do I do next?

If you have some small sheet metal work that might need to be manufactured please give us a call. We are always happy to take a look at new projects are see if we can help you save money with a small design change. We can offer you free advice to improve material usage, reduce production time and select the most appropriate material type and finish. If you have some drawings please e-mail us on sales@vandf.co.uk. If you just want to chat through your ideas please call us on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to talk.

Folding sheet metal work with a CNC press brake

Thursday, July 27th, 2017

Folding sheet metal work with a Safan e-Brake CNC press brake

Fast Tube by Casper

When we are looking to fold sheet metal components we have a number of options here at V and F Sheet Metal. We have a number small CNC press brakes for folding sheet metal work up to 1M long. We also have a 2.5M long machine for forming longer channels and angles. But when it comes to more complex sheet metal work we would use our Safan e-Brake with it’s 3M long bed and 100 tons bending force. The video shown here is bending a typical simple sheet metal tray and it nicely shows the speed with which work can be formed.

Folding with a Safan CNC press brake

Folding sheet metal work needs a good machine, accurate tooling and a skilled work force. The Safan e-Brake is a great machine to program with an easy to understand controller. As we are a sub-contract company we need to be able to move from job to job quickly. Some job changes can take just minutes and with small batch sizes this is essential to get the best from the machines. All our CNC bending programs are saved to our system server and then backed up over night to ensure we also have the right data ready when needed.

CNC punched sheet metal blanks

To achieve an accurate final folded component you need to start with an accurate flat blank. We are lucky to have Trumpf CNC punch presses and a Trumpf laser cutting machine. These machines enable us to produce the correct parts every time. Using Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM software we are able to select the best flat blank production method to suit the parts details.

Folded sheet metal work

The final folded trays are stacked and ready to move to their next production process. The secret to folding sheet metal work is to keep it simple. Easy to use machines, clean accurate tooling, accurate flat blanks and a wealth of experience. This enables us to offer the best solution for folding your parts and keeping the costs down.

If you want to know more or would like us to quote you for your sheet metal work please send us your drawings or give us a call on 01489 577786.

Sheet metal brackets made in Great Britain – contact V and F Sheet Metal

Friday, July 14th, 2017

If you are looking to have sheet metal brackets made in Great Britain then V and F Sheet Metal are a great place to start your search. With decades of experience in manufacturing sheet metal brackets for a wide range of industries we can help you with your designs as well as the bracket production.

Sheet metal brackets made in Great Britain

Brackets can be produced by either CNC punching or CNC laser cutting from a wide range of sheet materials. The majority of our bracket manufacturing then passes through our CNC press brake section where all the folds, joggles and safe edges are produced. We have 7 CNC press brakes using a wide range of tooling from small 600mm machines up to 3000mm 100 ton machines. The brackets shown being folded here are being manufactured on one of our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

Folded sheet metal brackets

Here’s the final finished aluminium sheet metal brackets. These particular brackets are used with a fibre optic lighting system and were manufactured in a batch of 250 parts.

Batches of folded sheet metal brackets

If you were to place and order with us all the design work for your brackets would be carried out using Radan CAD/CAM sheet metal software. We would produce 3D models, developed flat blanks and the fully tooled CNC punch or laser cutting nests. The CNC programs are then ready for production direct to the correct machine at the right time for your order.

So if you still want sheet metal brackets made in Great Britain please pick up the phone and call us on 01489 577786 or e-mail us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal work manufactured for you direct in Great Britain

Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

Sheet metal work from Great Britain

Sheet metal work in Great Britain can take many forms. From simple CNC punched electronics front panels from aluminium alloy. Stainless steel welded fabrications used in the pumping or pharmaceutical industry. Mild steel components for industrial light fittings and ventilation grilles for the heating industry. These are all sheet metal components we often manufacture in our factory in Hampshire, Great Britain amongst thousands of other components. When you are next looking for sub-contract sheet metal work in Great Britain V and F Sheet Metal is a good place to start. With a friendly attitude to work and the ability to support you throughout your design process we are far more than just a “tin basher”.

Sheet metal fabrications in Great Britain

Here’s a great recent image of sheet metal work in Great Britain that we have made using all in house equipment. From using the latest CAD/CAM sheet metal development software to correctly calculate the blanks sizes. Laser cutting the flat sheet metal blanks. Minimal edge de-burring and CNC folding to create a finished electronics housing chassis.

Sheet metal projects manufactured in Great Britain

As well as standard housings folded with simple 45 and 90 degree bends we are asked to make far more complex shapes. By using 3D CAD/CAM to model these complex sheet metal components and the very latest CNC press brakes we can often manufacture items for you without the need for special tooling. By using a series of small bends, each step can produce a part of a much more complex compound curve. Through trial and error and flexible shop floor programming techniques most shapes are achievable. As you can see sheet metal work in Great Britain covers a wide range of designs and materials.

So what do you do now? Well you can give us a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to have a chat on your requirements. If you already have a fixed design then we will be happy to take a look at you CAD files whether they are in 2D or 3D format. We can produce range of prices for different volumes, design options and treatments or finishes that you require.

Sheet metal production in 2017 from V and F Sheet Metal

Thursday, May 4th, 2017

Sheet metal production in 2017 from V and F Sheet Metal covers a wide range of materials and designs. It can simple be mild steel right angle brackets used to support storage shelves. Laser cut aluminium electronics chassis front panels. Welded stainless steel oil tanks with a series of fabricated components. The designs that we are involved with are very diverse and the volumes can range from just a few samples right up to many thousands in a batch of components.

Trumpf 7036 CNC bendingSheet metal angle brackets

CNC bending is a great production method when it comes to folding sheet metal work. It’s quick and easy to set up jobs so small batches can be manufactured at competitive prices. With a wide range of standard CNC press brake tooling over 4 of our machines we can be flexible when it comes to larger volume orders. We also have many special tools that we have made in house. This enables us to form different curved shapes to widen the range of sheet metal work we can offer you.

Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press in action producing circular sheet metal panels with cluster and curved banana tooling

CNC punching is a fast and versatile sheet metal production method. V and F Sheet Metal have been using CNC punch presses for many years to produce components for it’s customers in the UK. The mild steel discs shown here are typical of the sheet metal production that is produced every week of the year. Using standard CNC punch press tooling these parts were programmed quickly and the best fit from a standard sheet was produced to save money. The CAD/CAM software we use also allows us to experiment with designs and nest patterns when quoting for the parts. This enables us to pass those savings onto our customers at an early stage of manufacturing.

Brass sheet metal display housing project

Here is a nice example of the range of materials we use here at V and F Sheet Metal. These menu display panels have been manufactured from CZ108 brass sheet. The panels have been laser cut and CNC folded. The corner seams have had the plastic peeled away ready for TiG welding.

For more information on sheet metal work and how we go about producing it please follow the link.

So you can see that sheet metal production in 2017 covers a wide range of techniques and product designs. If you have a sheet metal design that needs producing in the UK please give us a call and we will be happy to review it and offer price options for it’s manufacture. Please call us on 01489 577786 or if you wish send you drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and our engineering team will take a look for you.

Video of folding sheet metal housings with a CNC press brake

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

Folding sheet metal housings

Fast Tube by Casper

Take a look and see how easy it is for us to produce sheet metal housings. With standard CNC press brake tooling this job took under 10 minutes to CNC program and tool up. A couple of minutes to fold the first sheet metal housing and make a few corrections to the sizes and angles. Then we were off on a batch of 100 units. The ability to move from job to job in a short time makes this method of sheet metal work very flexible. Keeping set up times down to the minimum help reduce prices.

The Safan e-Brake CNC press brake has 100 tons of folding force and a 3M long bed. It works perfectly with our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine. The laser can cut up to 3M long and the press brake can fold up to 3M long.

If you have a sheet metal project that requires folded components we have the perfect machine for the job. Give us a call on 01489 577786 or send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal manufacturing in 2017

Thursday, April 27th, 2017

Sheet metal manufacturing can come in so many different forms and I have chosen 3 to look at today. Things have moved on a lot from manual cutting, marking our, drilling and fly-press piercing and mechanical bending. With modern laser cutting, CNC punching and CNC bending sheet metal manufacturing in 2017 utilises high tech equipment, software and skilled staff.

For a full description of sheet metal manufacturing and all its production processes follow this link.

CNC punching machines

CNC punching machines have been around for many years in one form or another. Our single head Trumpf CNC punch presses enable us to manufacture some very complex sheet metal work. It goes without saying that designs require holes punched accurately and quickly to keep costs down, the Trumpf machines don’t disappoint. With fast controlled punching they also offer thread tapping, forming, bending and engraving. They can be thought of as a factory in one machine. And where they cannot cope on thicker gauges the laser machine is ready to take over.

Laser cutting zintec fit fitting gear trays on our Trumpf 3030 3KW fibre laser machine

Laser cutting is perfect for cutting through thick materials in ferrous and non-ferrous grades. But having a fibre laser cutter enables us to not only process thinner material extremly fast but copper and brass alloys up to 6mm thick.

Sheet metal folding facility

No look at sheet metal manufacturing would be complete without a look at our bending facilities. We are very proud to have a large range of CNC bending machines here in Fareham, Hampshire. We manufacture sheet metal components ranging from just a few mm across in materials as thin as 0.3mm right up to sheet metal sections 3M long. All sheet metal materials are processed through a wide range of standard CNC press brake tooling. Our 3 Trumpf 7036 and Safan e-Brake CNC press brakes share the same bend tooling for ease of production. This also allows us to move jobs between several machines when needed e.g. during busy times or if machines are being serviced.

This short blog post is only to whet your appetite, if you want to know more please explaore our website or give us a call and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal bending using a Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

Thursday, March 30th, 2017

Sheet metal bending using a Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

Bending stainless steel brackets

Bending mild steel brackets

CNC bending sheet metal tabs

Well it’s hard to think that a quarter of 2017 has gone past already. With time to look back I have picked out 3 sheet metal parts to show the versatility of our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. All three parts were manufactured in batches around 100 to 200. They were all folded using standard tooling that we hold on the shelf and were all programmed within minutes of hitting the shop floor.

With the recent investment of a third brand new machine we now have the perfect facility for folding small sheet metal brackets, angles gear trays, boxes etc. right here in Fareham, Hampshire. Sheet metal components up to 1M long are ideal for these machines and their fast acting electric drives produce very quick production cycle times. Add to that a simple programming and machine setting system making them idea for small batch volume work and prototyping as well as higher volume sub-contract sheet metal work.

Whether your projects need sheet metal work containing such items as aluminium trays, stainless steel clamps, mild steel brackets or copper earth tags we can fold them up and maintain the highest tolerance and work quality at a very competitive price.

We are always keen to look at new sheet metal bending projects and hope to keep our sheet metal factory busy throughout the rest on 2017. If you want more information on this service or have a look at your specific project please call us on 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to help you.

New Trumpf 7036 brings extra bending capacity at V and F Sheet Metal

Tuesday, March 28th, 2017

Ready to join the gang

Our new Trumpf 7036 is now ready to bring extra bending capacity at V and F Sheet Metal. Working alongside our other two Trumpf 7036 CNC bending machines we think we may have the most on any single site in the UK. Always looking to invest in our services we are really proud to have another high tech bending machine working for our customers. If you are ever in Hampshire please feel free to contact us and call in to see the machines in action producing sheet metal work.

New machine starts work straight away

The extra bending capacity at V and F Sheet Metal makes an impact straight away by getting down to work. Folding hundreds of lighting reflectors with multiple bends the 7036 is soon earning its keep. With common tooling across the range of machines and access to a huge database of existing CNC programs this machine will immediately be very productive.

Now all 3 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes are working toegther

Not to be left out all 3 machines are busy

If extra bending capacity is what you are looking for in your sheet metal working company then give V and F Sheet Metal a call. With 7 CNC press brakes from 600mm long to 3000mm long we can handle most sheet metal bending project and your rush orders. We are waiting to take you call on 01489 577786 or take a look at your drawings if you send them to sales@vandf.co.uk

Brand new sheet metal bending facility in Fareham Hampshire

Monday, March 20th, 2017

We are expanding our sheet metal bending facilities here at V and F Sheet Metal with a brand new Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

Almost there now

The new CNC bending machine is almost there and ready to take its place in our sheet metal bending facility.

At last in it’s new home

We have managed to move a couple of smaller CNC bending machines around so that our new Trumpf 7036 can sit with our other two 7036s making a very powerful bending cell. One of the smaller machines now sits next to our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine. This enables us to use it as a back up machine when the laser operator is watching a long running job. We are always trying to get the best of the machines we have and work in the smartest way we can. This helps us to keep prices down and reduce order lead times.

Trumpf 7036 soon up and working

With so much of our sheet metal manufacturing being under 1M long the Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake is perfect. It’s ability to tackle the simplest single bend angle bracket right up to complex chassis work and multi-bend curved shapes makes it ideal for a busy sub-contract sheet metal work shop.

If you have a sheet metal component or set of parts that you need to get prices on please give us a call. We are always happy to help you out with free advice and suggestions to help save you money in manufacturing. Call us on 01489 57786 or e-mail sales@vandf.co.uk

For more information on our sheet metal bending facility take a look at BENDING UNDER 1M LONG and BENDING OVER 1M LONG

Getting ready for our new Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

Monday, March 13th, 2017

Getting ready for a new CNC press brake at V and F Sheet Metal

Getting ready for our new 7036 CNC press brake

We are really pleased to be able to announce a further investment here at V and F Sheet Metal. We have a third new Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake about to be delivered. This machine will increase our total CNC bending facility to 7 machines ranging from 60mm up to to 3000mm long.

Here’s our new press brake

Our new Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake has come all the way from Austria and we can’t wait to get it off the lorry and into our factory.

Should fit, I did measure it!

Being so compact there is no chance that the new machine won’t fit. The machine was unloaded and positioned ready for commissioning within 1.5 hours, good work.

The machine was simply wired up, connected to our company computer network, set up and calibrated within the same day. Along with brand new tooling to expand our existing tooling library the machine was producing components on the same day, brilliant service from Trumpf, thanks.

If you want more details on this new CNC press brake please read our Trumpf 7036 web page.

Where is the best place to get sheet metal work in the UK

Monday, February 27th, 2017

Where is the best place to get sheet metal work in the UK?

We believe V and F Sheet Metal are a good place to start your search for a supportive flexible sheet metal working company based in Hampshire UK.

CNC punching sheet metal work

When you are selecting a sheet metal working company to partner you with your manufacturing needs you need a company who is prepared to listen to you and offer a range of ideas, manufacturing services and competitive prices. We have the ability to manufacture a wide range of sheet metal work in house using a comprehensive range of modern CNC productions techniques. Techniques ranging from CNC laser cutting, CNC punching and CNC bending to welding processes and many ancillary manufacturing processes allowing us to cope with the most demanding sheet metal work. When you are looking for sheet metal work in the UK you want a company that speaks your language when it comes to talking through design ideas and possible ways to help you save time and money, we are here to help.

Laser cutting zintec fit fitting gear trays on our Trumpf 3030 3KW fibre laser machine

Having the ability to provide CNC laser cut and CNC punched sheet metal work in the UK allows V and F Sheet Metal to give our customers a definite advantage when manufacturing in the UK. Whether you are only looking for a few laser cut stainless steel plates, some bent aluminium angles or a more complex welded fabricated enclosure we have the skills and equipment to help you. With connections to a wide range of treatment and finishing companies we can offer the complete project manufacturing service. Whether it’s a special one off project, regular batches of sheet metal work or larger volume projects we are here to support your needs.

Sheet metal work

Sheet metal working is an exciting and growing industry with many new developments which have lead to the increased quality of work being produced often at reduced prices and with ever shorter lead times. The ability to set up manufacturing machines in ever shorter times allows us to offer smaller batch sizes at the prices of larger productions runs of years gone by. This has enabled many of our customers to reduce stock holding requirements and still maintain their product lead times.

So in conclusion if you are looking for sheet metal work in the UK then please give us a call on 01489 577786 or if you prefer send us your 3D design ideas or 2D drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and our engineering team will be happy to help you out and produce competitive prices for you.

Where can I purchase sheet metal work in the UK

Thursday, February 23rd, 2017

If you are looking for a place where you can purchase sheet metal work in the UK then you should contact V and F Sheet Metal.

Based in Fareham right on the M27 in Hampshire we are ideally placed to service local companies through Hampshire with their sheet metal working needs. With connection to next day UK delivery we can be your local sheet metal worker wherever you are based in the UK.

Sheet metal work

From simple one off projects and new design prototypes right up to high volume production we are ready to help you with your sheet metal work right here in the UK. The vast majority of the work we manufacture for our customers is repeating batches of many 10’s to many 100’s and we have just the right equipment to efficiently support them.

Sheet metal work in Hampshire

Where can I purchase CNC folded sheet metal work in the UK?

Having 6 CNC press brakes we are well placed to support you with folded sheet metal work up to 3M long. From the smallest angle clips and brackets right up to simple structure channels and angles we have the tooling and machines to help you produce your sheet metal designs. We have 2 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes which are idea for sheet metal work up to 1M long. They are so efficient at producing angles, boxes, covers and complex enclosures that we have another one on order and it will be installed during March 2017.

CNC punching sheet metal work

Where can I purchase CNC punched sheet metal work in the UK?

With both a Trumpf 200 and Trumpf 3000 CNC punch presses we are able to offer you an excellent service when it comes to CNC punching sheet metal work. We have a large library of standard and special CNC punching tools to help you with whatever design you want manufacturing.

Laser cutting 3mm thick galvanised mild steel sheet on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser

Where can I purchase sheet metal laser cutting in the UK?

We have a Trumpf 3030 3KW fibre laser cutting machine and can use it to cut a vast array of sheet metal. Laser cutting mild steel, stainless steel and zinc coated steels is no problem for us. We can also laser cut aluminium alloys and being a fibre laser we can also laser cut brass and copper sheet.

Basically if you want to have sheet metal work produced in the UK we would be pleased to help you. Either give us a call on 01489 577786 or send our engineering team your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will produce some estimates for you.

Welded fabrication aluminium sheet metal work UK

Monday, January 30th, 2017

Welded aluminium fabrications

Aluminium sheet metal work in Hampshire UK

If you are looking for a sheet metal working company that is capable of manufacturing your work in aluminium then please give us a call. We can laser cut and CNC punch your aluminium sheet metal work as well as CNC bend and weld fabrications using TiG and MiG welding techniques. Aluminium sheet metal work along with mild steel and stainless steel is a service we offer to a large range of companies in the UK. We manufacture a wide range of aluminium sheet metal work including electronics front panels, brackets, housings and chassis components.

These aluminium welded fabrications have been manufactured to be used with a ceiling system to support light fittings. After this image was taken we cleaned off the welds and powder coated each aluminium housing matt black to the customers specification. There were 200 aluminium housings that were produced for this specific customer order but we can manufacture much larger batches if that is what you need or just a few parts for small orders or prototypes.

If you have a specific project in mind and want us to help you with various design options or you simply want some alternative prices then please give us a call of 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to help you. If you have drawings we will be happy to work with them and review your options, please send them to sales@vandf.co.uk

Joggled sheet metal brackets and their uses in UK industry

Monday, January 16th, 2017

Aluminium sheet metal bracket folded with CNC press brakes and fly presses

Joggled form on aluminium bracket close up image

Sheet metal brackets containing joggled featured are often created by V and F Sheet Metal to meet our customers design requirements. Over the years we have built up a tooling library of simple tooling that we can use to press joggled forms in a range of materials and gauges. The joggles can be created either in the CNC press brake bending machines that we use or the flypresses that are used on smaller sheet metal work. Joggled sheet metal brackets are often needed to join 2 or more sections together which are a gauge apart. They a commonly used to enable sheet metal housings and covers to be fixed together with a smooth outer profile.

These simple joggled sheet metal brackets are typical of the type of sheet metal work that we are often called upon to help design and manufacture for our UK based customers. Sheet metal brackets such as these have been CNC punched, CNC bent and have joggled featured created with fly press tooling.

We can adapt many of our joggle tools to suit a wide range of design features and may well already have a tool that can satisfy your design ideas. If you send us you drawings we will easily be able to check out our nearest tools by cutting a piece of stock material forming it to shape and reporting back to you. We can post it to you or send a photo all free of charge. Once you are happy we can then produce the production brackets knowing yo will get what you want. Send us your ideas to sales@vandf.co.uk or give our engineering / programming team a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to chat through your ideas and help where we can, again all for free.

Folded stainless steel brackets produced on a Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

Thursday, December 22nd, 2016

Trumpf 7036 set up ready for production of stainless steel brackets

If you are looking for folded stainless steel brackets then V and F Sheet Metal have just the facility to help support you. Through 3D software modelling, CNC punching and laser cutting to CNC bending we will take care of the whole production process for you all under one roof. These folded stainless steel brackets are typical of the sub-contract sheet metal work that we produce every day of the week for our customers all over the UK. The Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes we use to bend up small folded stainless steel brackets are ideally suited to this type of work. They are quick to program and set up as well as very fast in their production rates, all leading to very competitive prices for small and large batch metal work. Although we have shown them folding up small stainless steel brackets they can fold sheet metal profiles up to 1M long and will cover the vast majority of the sheet metal folding that we produce in our factory in Fareham, Hampshire, UK.

Laser cut and folded stainless steel brackets

You can easily see that these brackets have radiused end and teardrop shaped holes which would have been very difficult to produce on a CNC punch press without bespoke tooling. With our Trumpf fibre laser these shapes are easy to produce and cost no more to produce than a standard square ended bracket with round holes. The Trumpf fibre laser machine really comes into its own when cutting thin sheet metal work or with small batches where the cost of CNC punch press tooling would not be viable.

Putting these cutting and folding machines together truly offers you a great manufacturing service right here in the UK.

What do I do next?

Perhaps you have a sheet metal bracket that you need to have manufactured. Why not give us a call on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk. We will be happy to take a look and produce some prices for you. We can also see whether your design can be improved for manufacturing saving you further time and money.

Sheet metal brackets manufactured to your own designs

Thursday, December 8th, 2016

When you are looking for sheet metal brackets manufactured to your own designs you need to speak with V and F Sheet Metal. Based in Fareham, Hampshire we are ideally placed to service the sheet metal working needs of companies across the south of England and further afield.

CNC punched and CNC folded mild steel fixing brackets

We love manufacturing sheet metal brackets and have all the equipment you could possible want to make the job of producing your bespoke brackets as easy as possible. From 3D CAD/CAM software to model your brackets. Through sheet metal bend blank development and bend allowances, CNC tooling and laser paths efficient CNC punch or CNC laser cutter nesting. We have CNC bending machines that allow us to try out programs to calculate bend sequences and check off flat pattern sizes before committing to cutting and sheet metal materials. The CNC bending press brakes can handle a vast range of small brackets everyday ranging from small spring stainless steel angle brackets, electronics chassis aluminium support brackets, mild steel, zintec or galvanised steel clamping brackets, stainless steel mounting brackets through to copper bus bar brackets and pre-painted steel decorative brackets.

Where your bracket design needs manufacturing with plunged self tapping holes, threads built in, pressed in bushes, stand-offs and studs we can sort it all out for you. Perhaps you need to have several parts welded together to make a fabricated bracket assembly? We can cope with ferrous and non-ferrous MiG and TiG welding techniques as well as spot welding for lighter gauge brackets. We will advise you on your designs if we feel they can be improved from manufacturing and always try and get the price down if we can see a better way of producing your brackets.

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

If you have sheet metal brackets for a new project or possibly you are thinking about a new design then please send us your drawings in STEP, SAT, DXF, DWG or PDF format to sales@vandf.co.uk. If you are not sure quite sure what is possible please give our engineering team a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to chat through your options.

CNC folded sheet metal work – manufacturing in the UK

Monday, December 5th, 2016

CNC folded sheet metal work – manufacturing in the UK

CNC folded sheet metal work

CNC folded sub-contract sheet metal work

CNC folded sheet metal work

Here are another 2 examples of folded sheet metal work recently produced within our production facilities in Fareham, Hampshire. These particular parts were manufactured for a lighting company and a ventilation company both based in Hampshire. With 6 CNC press brakes ranging from the small 600mm wide CNC press brakes for simple angle brackets and channels, through more complex brackets and chassis components on our Trumpf 7036 machines right up to our Safan e-Brake 3M 100 ton new CNC bending machine.

Whether it’s a few sample brackets for a new design, batches of folded profiles or custom built cabinet projects we have the folding capability to produce sheet metal work from as thin as 0.3mm tin plated mild steel screen cans, 0.9mm zintec angles brackets, 3mm aluminium enclosures, 5mm steel channels right up to 10mm thick steel support brackets.

With the ability to save all CNC bending programs to our system server we can recall past projects within seconds and load up tooling to repeat parts without delay. For a fast and accurate service please give us a call on 01489 588876.

Zintec sheet metal brackets produced in Hampshire UK

Friday, December 2nd, 2016

Zintec brackets produced in Hampshire UK

If you are looking for sheet metal brackets for your latest project look no further than V and F Sheet Metal. With the ability to take your basic design ideas right through to fully details 3D models we can support you with design advice for manufacturing and a range of cost estimates to suit the volume of work you will need. Often we have manufactured sheet metal brackets very similar to the parts you may want and can easily produce your work from stock materials and standard CNC tooling that we hold here in our factory in Fareham, Hampshire.

The s[ecific zintec sheet metal brackets shown here were produced by CNC punching and CNC bending in our factory in Fareham, Hampshire UK. They are typical of the sheet metal work that we produce everyday for our customer base across the UK and into Europe. All sheet metal projects start by creating design data within our Radan CAD/CAM system and then this is used to power our CNC punching and CNC laser cutting machines.

What to do next?

We are always looking for a new challenge when it comes to the manufacture of sheet metal brackets so if you want to talk through a design you are working on or have a specific purchasing need for sheet metal brackets please call us on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal folded profiles using our Safan e-Brake CNC press brake

Monday, October 24th, 2016

Sheet metal folded profiles produce by V and F Sheet Metal

Safan e-Brake CNC press brake in action

These components are typical sheet metal folded profiles produced on our Safan e-Brake CNC press brake. Simple folded profiles like these are produce all the time here at V and F Sheet Metal. These profiles were folded from 0.5mm aluminium alloy and will be used in the building trade. The blanks were easily cut on our guillotine and then straight to the CNC press brake for folding. All the tooling used was from our standard tooling range which we can share with our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. The use of common press brake tooling allows us to be more flexible when it comes to rush jobs and production bottlenecks. The ease with which folded profiles can be CNC programmed and then set up ready for production is a real plus with the Safan-Brake and enables us to try out pre-production parts quickly when needed. All the CNC program data is then stored on our company server ready for any repeat batches of components.

Sheet metal folding with a CNC press brake

Here are the folded profiles stacked us ready for packing and shipping to our customer in Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK. Although these folded profiles were simple with just 2 bends in them much more complex sheet metal work can be folded up on this press brake and up to 3M long. With 100 tons forming capacity the press brake covers all the needs we have for folded profiles that our customers have.

If you are looking to purchase folded sections of aluminium, mild steel or stainless steel please give us a call and we will be happy to produce price breaks to suit your needs. Call us on 01489 577786 for more details or e-mail us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk

Brass sheet metal used to produce electrical contactor brackets

Thursday, October 6th, 2016

Folding brass sheet metal contactor brackets

It’s not often that we manufacture components in brass but on this occasion brass sheet metal was used to produce these electrical contactor brackets. Small brackets like these can be cut out from brass sheets by either CNC punching using a range of our standard CNC punch tools or by laser cutting with our Trumpf fibre laser cutting machine. Being one of the new breed of fibre laser cutting machines it is able to laser cut brass and copper sheet materials, up to 6mm thick. These materials were previously very difficult or impossible to laser cut with CO2 laser cutting machines. As well as copper and brass our fibre laser cutting machine can laser cut mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium enabling us to offer our customers a wide ranging service in processing sheet metal blanks. In this case the small flat blank was then edge de-burred to make it smooth and safe to handle before being folded up with three 90 degree bends. Using basic CNC press brake tooling a whole range of simple and more complex bends can be performed on any material to make bespoke sheet metal work.

Folded brass sheet metal contact brackets

Although these small brass sheet metal brackets are simple they nicely show the ease with which sheet metal components can be formed up using bends on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. You only have to look through a few of the blog posts on this site or the sheet metal component gallery pages to realise just how flexible sheet metal manufacturing can be when you have the latest CNC manufacturing technology.

If you want to know more about how we manufactured these brass electrical contactor brackets or any other sheet metal ideas you might want to discuss please just give us a call on 01489 577786. If you already have a sheet metal component design that you want us to take a look at, so much the better. Just send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal brackets made to your own bespoke designs

Monday, October 3rd, 2016

Sheet metal brackets made to your own bespoke designs using ferrous and non-ferrous materials

Mild steel brackets with formed sections

If you are looking to have brackets made from sheet metal then we have a wide range of manufacturing techniques that can help you achieve your goals. It might be that you need just a few sheet metal brackets to enable you to complete a special project. Perhaps a range of sheet metal brackets for a regular enclosure assembly that you fabricate or a large batch of small sheet metal brackets to support an electronics assembly. Whatever your requirements might be we are here to help you achieve your production goals. The mild steel brackets that you can see here have been CNC punched out, had their edges de-burred and then formed up with customer made fly-press tooling to produce the curved clamping section in the middle of the bracket.

Sheet metal fixing brackets folded using CNC press brakes

These sheet metal brackets have been manufactured from mild steel sheet by CNC punching. They could just as well have been laser cut and the bracket blanks would have been exactly the same size. Having both CNC punching and CNC laser cutting machines right next to each other within our sheet metal work facility enables us to pick the right manufacturing process for your bespoke sheet metal brackets. Sheet metal brackets made to your own bespoke designs are just what we specialise in and can produce your bracket with the right manufacturing method regardless of the material, thickness or complexity.

Sheet metal angle brackets

These angle brackets differ from the other two angle brackets already discussed in that they have been manufactured from angle extrusion. Rather than CNC punching or CNC laser cutting flat sheets of metal and then folding the brackets these have been sawn off from a standard angle section. Once the bespoke bracket was sawn to length it had its holes pierced in position using punch and dies on one of our fly presses. The final manufacturing operation was to barrel the metal brackets to take off any sharp edges left from the sawing and piercing operations.

So you can see that if you want sheet metal brackets made to your own bespoke designs we are the people who can help you. All you have to do is give us a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to discuss your ideas for your own bespoke bracket. If you already have drawings then that’s great, you can send them to sales@vandf.co.uk as DXF, DWG, SAT, STEP or PDF format and we will be happy to take a look and sort out some prices for you. Either way we are here ready to help you.

Sheet metal workers in Alton Hampshire

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016

Serving companies in the Alton area of Hampshire with sheet metal work

Folded sheet metal work

From our base in Fareham, Hampshire we supply sheet metal work right across Hampshire and the UK. We manufacture a wide range of sub-contract sheet metal products for our customers using laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC bending and welding fabrication techniques. If you are looking for mild steel housings such as these, stainless steel brackets, aluminium front panels and heat sinks, zintec boxes, galvanised steel mounting plates etc. we can provide you with the perfect service. We will take your designs and produce you a range of prices options and advise you on your designs where necessary to help you reduce costs in manufacturing.

Mild steel housings

With the latest CNC driven manufacturing equipment and sheet metal CAD/CAM software we can manufacture small batches of parts very efficiently enabling you to enjoy low prices and at the same time maintain low stock levels. These mild steel boxes have been CNC punched and CNC bent up using Trumpf sheet metal manufacturing equipment for a great quality job. If you are looking for a sheet metal working company in the Alton area of Hampshire or further afield please give us a call.

If you are looking to gain an advantage with your sheet metal purchasing please give V and F Sheet Metal a call on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Folding sheet metal boxes with special RollBend tooling

Monday, July 25th, 2016

Bending aluminium boxes

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we are folding up a wide range of sheet metal components on a daily basis. They can be small electronics screening cans in 0.3mm tin plated mild steel, 0.4mm special pre-anodised reflector aluminium alloys, 0.9mm zintec coated mild steel channels, 1.5mm pre-galvanised mild steel lighting gear trays, 2mm brushed stainless steel housings, 3mm copper bus bars, 4mm mild steel support angles, 19” rack aluminium components and so much more. The sheet metal work that we fold up may have just a single simple angle bend right through to multiple bent complex parts with easy bends, safe edges and multi bent curved sections. When folding sheet metal boxes we can employ a number of different machines and tooling techniques to make the right part for you.

Today we are going to look at a component that has electrical cut-outs cut in a 3mm thick aluminium part which will cause a problem is they are folded up with normal air bending V tooling. The problem with using standard V bend tooling with cut-outs that are too near the bend line is the unsupported material that will be in the die bend zone will not fully bend up. This problem is increased with the increase in the sheet metal component thickness. Once way around this would be to bend up the components first and then machine in the cut-outs after which is acceptable but slow and would lead to an expensive part. The tooling technique we use to solve this problem is to use a range of RollBend tooling from Trumpf. This tooling can be used in both our Trumpf 7036 and Safan e-Brake CNC press brakes enabling us to cover a wide range of tricky bending work.

The RollBend tooling rotates around 2 fixed points enabling the bottom tool to fully support the material as its being folded with no air gap. The machine can be set up with the standard top V tooling and can be run at the same speed as normal so importantly the part price is not affected by using this type of tooling. The set time is just as quick as using the normal bottom bend tooling and just drops straight into place in the bed of the machine.

Folded aluminium boxes

Here is the 3mm thick aluminium gear box folded up and ready to have a number of bushes and studs inserted before powder coating. You can see that the 2 circles and the 2 rectangular cut-outs have all the material between the cut-outs and the bend line bent up properly and require no other operations to straighten out the material. For more general information on CNC bending and CNC press brakes please follow the link.

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Folding sheet metal housings

Friday, May 20th, 2016

Safan CNC press brake in action

Our Safan e-Brake CNC press brake is such a versatile sheet metal folding machine. We can fold up sheet metal components from just a few mm across to 3M long sections all with the same bend tooling. Programming is so easy that a new project can be programmed in a matter of minutes and saved away to our system server to be called back whenever the part is needed for repeat orders.

Mild steel housings folded

Simplicity is the key to a quick setup of a sheet metal component. When you are moving from one job to another throughout the day it’s not just about the speed of bending that saves time and money but the machine setup and programming time. The Safan e-Brake scores well on this account with a clear, simple touch screen control system and a full library of CNC tools shared with our 2 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes.

Mild steel housing CNC punched blank

The initial product blanks were produced on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press from 0.9mm mild steel. Products like this are typical of the sub-contract sheet metal work service we offer our customers, taking a design and programming it to be CNC punched or laser cut and folded up ready for welding, bush and stud insertion and powder coating.

If you need to purchase some sheet metal housings or brackets please give us a call on 01489 577786 or e-mails us your drawings or photos to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Looking for sheet metal workers in the Winchester area?

Friday, May 13th, 2016

Manufacturing sheet metal work for companies in and around Winchester

Folding long sheet metal profiles

V and F Sheet Metal have been manufacturing sheet metal work and welded fabrications for over 30 years now. We supply a wide range of sheet metal products from our base here in Fareham, Hampshire to companies in Hampshire and right across the UK to the lighting, heating, electronics and professional audio industries as well as a wide range of specialist companies across the UK. We often deliver products to Winchester, Eastleigh, Southampton, Portsmouth and Basingstoke as well as using overnight services to Scotland, Wales and the rest of the England.

When you are making long channel sections like these you need a bending machine that can provide the bending power and accuracy on bend size and angle right up to 3M long. Our Safan e-Brake 100 ton CNC press brake is just such a machine. Installed new in 2015 this machine is perfectly suited to the range of sheet work we tend to bend and provides a bending force that matches the longest work we can laser cut.

Sheet metal bending

You can see here the guillotined blanks on the right hand of the bending machine and the finished folded U channels on the left hand side of the machine. You need a fair bit of space when it comes to producing parts like these and our 13,000 sq. ft. factory provides the flexibility to take on this type of work as well as higher volumes of smaller parts. You only have to look through some of our past blog posts and the gallery pages on the website to see the wide range of sheet metal work that we get involved with for our customers. From these 3M long sections to CNC punched and folded aluminium lighting gear trays, stainless steel support brackets, mild steel electrical cabinets, copper bus bars, brass display units, aluminium LED display PCB plates etc.

Bent galvanised steel sections

The final 3M long galvanised mild steel sections stacked on a pallet ready to be wrapped up and delivered to the customer. This batch was for 2 different channel cross sections and approximately 350 of each type.

If you are based in Winchester or the surrounding areas of Hampshire and you want to visit us to discuss your sheet metal projects in more depth or you simply want to send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk please don’t hesitate and we will be happy to help you.

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