engineering Archives -

Laser cut small components in Hampshire, Great Britain 2018

Monday, April 2nd, 2018

Laser cut small components

Looking for a company to produce your small components in large batches? Here at V and F Sheet Metal we’re ideally placed to do this for you using our Trumpf laser cutting machine. Small flat components, such as the examples shown here, are ideally suited to production on this machine and we love to use it!

Small components ready for powder coating

The laser cutter is extremely versatile, being able to cut any shape into mild steel sheet without the need for dedicated tooling. This is a real advantage for many of our customers with smaller batch size projects. In addition we’ve found that most laser cutting nests that we have converted have shown a better yield of components from a given sheet size. Always an attractive feature. For mild steel there is the need for cutting head assist gases which can be compressed air, oxygen or nitrogen, all of which we have available here at V and F Sheet Metal. The extra cost of the gases can usually be offset by the reduced material usage and the reduction in de-burring time offering a better quality part that is cost neutral for our customers.

Laser cut components

The Trumpf laser can easily handle a range of metal gauges and its versatility lies in the array of complex shapes it’s able to produce. As you can see from the photos, this machine has the advantage of being able to generate a smooth consistent arc as compared to a standard punching technique.

Selection of small components

The small components here are made of mild steel, 2-3 mm thick and will either be powder coated or zinc plated further down the line. If you take a closer look, all of these components demonstrate “safe designs” with rads on corners making them safe and easy to handle. Always a feature worth considering. These are typical examples of the repeating batch work we are involved in and usually, although not exclusively, for UK customers.

Perhaps you have some small sheet metal components that need to be manufactured? If so then please feel free to give us a call. We are always happy to take a look at new projects, we may be able to save you time and money with only 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.

Please e-mail us on sales@vandf.co.uk with your drawings attached.

Alternatively give us call on 01489 577786 and we will be more than happy to talk.

Let’s talk about grades of commercial stainless steel in Hampshire 2018!

Tuesday, March 13th, 2018

Grades of commercial stainless steel and sheet metal brackets

It’s time to look at some recently cut stainless steel brackets as this gives me the ideal opportunity to talk about the different grades of commercial stainless steel available. We often find our customers are unsure about the grade of stainless they require and turn to us for advice. Sometimes we find the grade is stated but it may be incorrectly specified which could have an impact on the durability of the final product. Moreover it could effect the final cost of each component through “over specification” when a lower grade stainless would have “done the job” adequately.

Laser cut brackets

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we mainly use three different grades of stainless steel. Grade 430 is the cheapest, lowest grade with good formability and ductility. It displays magnet properties but is not very corrosion resistance. With these properties in mind, its easy to see why its uses lie in decorative trim and domestic situations.

Setting up the press brake

Grade 304 is a mid range versatile and widely used stainless. It contains more chrome and nickel and displays good corrosion resistance. It’s found in outdoor settings, such as sign production where the exposure to water is not a problem.

Grade 316 is a high quality stainless with an addition of molybdenum giving rise to improved resistance to corrosion. This renders it particularly useful in chloride environments and makes it the stainless of choice in marine environments where metal work is constantly under attack from salty water. It is also used in the catering industry and in the production of high quality surgical components.

Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake

The batch of 250 laser cut brackets shown here were made for an outdoor setting using grade 304 stainless. They were folded on one of our Trumpf 7036 CNC controlled press brakes. Obviously the laser cut components are flat to begin with but they need to be curved and this is achieved using a multiple bending technique, all carried out on the press brake. There is no end to the flexibility of these machines when it comes to bending!

Curved stainless steel brackets

If you are unsure about which grade of stainless you need for your next project then please contact us at V and F Sheet Metal on 01489 577786 or email sales@vandf.co.uk. We look forward to giving you the advice you need and producing your components.

Sheet Metal work in Great Britain 2017

Monday, November 13th, 2017

Sheet Metal work in Great Britain

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we are proud to be able to offer a wide range of sheet metal services to all our customers. Whether it’s laser cutting stainless steel fixings plates or CNC punching aluminium front panels. CNC folding electronics chassis components or mild steel angle brackets. Welding in a wide range of materials and gauges using modern welding techniques. We are here to help you with your designs and provide the best choice of manufacturing techniques to produce your sheet metal work in Great Britain.

With an active program of investment in sheet metal working equipment we are helping to keep sheet metal work in Great Britain. In the last year we have purchased a brand new 1.5 ton fork lift. We have invested in 1M power rolls for rolling up circular sections. We have also invested in another Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake to strengthen our folding section. Along with our other 6 CNC press brakes we have a great range of services to support the most complex sheet metal work.

Using the latest sheet metal working CAD/CAM software we can tune designs to suit the correct and most efficient manufacturing machines. If you have a project that needs some input from a friendly sheet metal working company we are here to help. We can take a quick look at your designs and suggest areas that can be improved with a view to saving you money. Simply send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will take a look for you.

Sheet metal work with pressed inserts for quicker assembly

Sunday, January 1st, 2017

Sheet metal work with pressed inserts really does speed up your assembly times saving you money. Pressed inserts can also offer a more reliable method of servicing sheet metal parts for break downs and regular service inspections.

Black anodised angle brackets

Black anodised aluminium angle brackets are typical of the sheet metal work containing pressed inserts that we produce for our UK based customers. These angle brackets have had mild steel zinc plated bushes inserted after the bracket have been treated with an anodising and black dye process. The brackets are used by an electric motor company in one of their pumping units and we normally manufacture them in batches of 100 at a time. The bushes are used to replace M4 nuts in assembly and speed up the time taken to screw them into their pump chassis. The principle can be applied to any fixing bracket whether it’s mid steel, stainless steel or aluminium.

Folded zintec sheet metal chassis panels

Here’s another simple folded chassis manufactured from 3mm thick Zintec, a form of zinc coated mild steel sheet. The chassis components have been laser cut and folded up using CNC production equipment for speed and accuracy. The bushes are again pressed in to speed up the assembly times of our customer once they take the parts from us. The chassis are powder coated and all the inserted threads are blanked off prior to powder coating to enable easy assembly for our customers.

We have a range of equipment designed to press these inserts into sheet metal quickly and without leaving any witness marks. We insert hundreds of thousands of bushes and studs every year and will have a solution to your sheet metal design needs.

Sheet metal work with pressed inserts can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and we have lots of examples in our Insert Gallery.

To really understand how we can help you with the vast array of bushes, studs and stand-offs that can be selected we suggest you give us a call and our engineering team will be happy to help. Alternatively, if you wish to send us your drawings we can check through them and suggest better alternative inserts when needed.

Welcome to our new V and F Sheet Metal website

Friday, July 22nd, 2016

We are really pleased to be able to launch our new look website. Designed to be more flexible when viewed on the go now you can access tooling data, machine videos, the latest news etc. in the office, at home or where ever you need it. We will be adding more examples of sheet metal projects to our gallery pages soon and expanding on the design data pages.

So if you are looking for more information on the full range of sheet metal services we can offer you here in Hampshire, UK or are interested in looking back at our past sheet metal projects for design ideas to help you with your latest sheet metal project, please take a look at our new website.

Sheet Metal Components Manufacturers

Thursday, October 22nd, 2015

Sheet metal components manufacturers

Sheet metal components can be manufactured in a vast array of sizes, materials, thicknesses and designs. V and F Sheet Metal are a sheet metal component manufacturer who love to take your designs and turn them into reality. With the ability to take your 3D and 2D CAD data and analyse it for the best methods of manufacturing they can help you to receive sheet metal components that are to your requirement and at a competitive price.

Here we have a recent manufacturing project, these aluminium brackets are typical of the sheet metal projects that they get involved with. The processes involved with manufacturing these sheet metal components were CAD/CAM CNC programming, CNC punching the sheet aluminium, edge de-burring, countersinking, solid riveting, cleaning up the rivets so they were invisible on the outside of the bracket and CNC bending. If you take a look at the list of posts on the website you will see an interesting range of sheet metal components and the processes used to manufacture them.

If you have sheet metal components that you want to purchase and have a drawing or even just an idea of what you want please contact V and F Sheet Metal and they will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal 3D models

Monday, September 14th, 2015

Here’s some more sheet metal work examples that have recently been manufactured by us by CNC punching, laser cutting and CNC bending. All three parts have been generated within Radan sheet metal software before generating the CNC programs needed to drive equipment to cut and fold the parts. The 3D models allow us to test out design ideas, check that parts can be manufactured correctly and that features work such as hole alignments, fit clearance and that we have the correct tooling to suit the customers designs. The 3D models can be generated by us here at V and F Sheet Metal or imported direct from our customers when needed. We can also export the model data if needed by our customers to aid their design assemblies.

If you have a sheet metal work project and you want us to create a 3D model first please contact our programming team for more information.

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 panel

Friday, August 9th, 2013

Sheet metal panels

Ventilation panels

Ventilation panels
These ventilation panels are used on heating units with formed extruded sections. The ventilation panels are used to support the heating coils within the heat unit body (which can be up to 2.5M long) and are manufactured from Zintec coated mild steel. The extruded forms are produced in the panel by first piercing a pilot hole smaller than the final extruded hole in the sheet metal and then a second operation of a male and female former tool come together to push the excess metal through the sheet. Each formed extrusion is produced in a second on one of our Trumpf CNC punch presses making the process very easy and cheap to perform and yet perfectly repeatable within the program right across a full sheet of metal. The depth of the form within the panel can be controlled by altering the size of the initial pilot hole within the CNC program.

Ceiling adaptor panel for light fitting

Ceiling adaptor panel
This 2.5mm thick 304 type stainless steel plate is used as a ceiling adaptor or mounting panel for a small replacement light fitting. When a ceiling has lighting replaced there may be a hole that is too large for the replacement lighting and rather than renew the whole ceiling sometimes ceiling adaptor or mounting panels can be used to allow new smaller light fitting to be used with the minimum disturbance to the original ceiling structure. This ceiling mounting panel has been made from stainless steel sheet metal and has a machined beveled edge all around to produce a pleasing effect once installed in the ceiling. There are weld studs on the back face to fix the light fitting to and the front face has been posy op polished to give the clean smooth effect seen here.

Mounting panel for electronics housing

Electronics mounting panel
Here is a simple mounting panel used within an electronics housing. This panel has been manufactured from 1.2mm aluminium sheet on a Trumpf CNC punch press, edge deburred and then had 5 self clinch bushes pressed in place on our Haeger inserter press. This small panel is typical of the huge range of simple sheet metal components that we manufacture in batches from just a few to many thousands. The advantage of CNC punching is the ease with which you can change batch sizes and create bespoke CNC programs just for one batch if needed to match production with customer order requirements or even KANBAN call off if required.

LED display panel

LED mounting panel
LED PCB mounting panels used within LED display board units for moving image and text signs. These mounting panels have been CNC punched and CNC bent using Trumpf equipment in our manufacturing factory in Fareham, Hampshire. They are an example of a large range of display panel work that we make from aluminium sheet metal. The patterns of holes have been CNC punched using special cluster tooling which helps to reduce the time and cost of each part. The customer purchased the tooling for this panels and they are used across the range of their LED panels and they savings per part have paid for the tooling many times over.

Sheet metal housings

Sunday, July 21st, 2013

Sheet metal housings

3D software model

3D software models used to help develop sheet metal housings
Whenever we have a new housing that needs to be developed for a customer we use 3D sheet metal modelling software from Radan. We can easily create a 3D model (of either a single part or a complex assembly of parts) ourselves from scratch or import your 3D data in either SAT or STEP format. The 3D model can then be used to calculate all the correct blank sizes, hole positions and corner notches needed to produce the correct CNC punching or laser cutting programs. Once folded up on one of our CNC press brakes or fly presses the final part will replicate the 3D model.

Mild steel spot welded housing

Spot welded mild steel light fitting housing

Here is a great example of a sheet metal housing we manufacture for a UK lighting company. The housing has so many different manufacturing techniques needed to produce it including CNC programming, CNC punching, de-burring, CNC bending, bush and stud inserts pressed into place, spot welded fabrication and powder coating with the bush and stud threads being masked off to stop them filling up with powder when coating. The perforated sheet metal end plates act as added ventilation for the light fitting housing and have been CNC punched out of pre-perforated mild steel sheet. This sheet metal housing holds all the electrical control gear needed to drive a fibre optics bedside lighting unit often used in hotel bedrooms.

Aluminium light fitting housing

Aluminium light fitting housing components

This light fitting housing was again developed in Radan software using the 3D modelling tools to ensure all the fixing holes lined up and the cover of the housing correctly fitted over the body of the housing. The housing assembly was complex and many points had to line us correctly with bushes and screw clearance holes. Some of the countersunk holes were produced in our CNC punch presses using form tooling allow us to press the countersink form in 1 second. The blue and green plastic coating the aluminium sheet is to help protect the surface and reduce scratched in production. Once the housing parts have been finished they have the plastic film removed and then silver anodised.

Welded aluminium housing

Sheet metal fabricated housing

Strong sheet metal housing constructed from aluminium. All the corners have been fully seam welded together with various plates inserted into the housing. Once again, 3D software helped us to develop all the correct sizes needed to manufacture the housing and to produce 2D drawings with inspection points. With all these housings whether they are just folded up to fit together, spot welded fabrications and fully welded the importance of producing the correctly sizes parts starts from accurate CNC punch press or laser programming. If you have a housing that needs to be manufactured from sheet metal we will have the right approach to produce the housing efficiently, accurately and at a price that will help you be competitive, please give us a call or send you drawings to us for a quote.

Sheet metal channel

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

Sheet metal channels manufactured from ferrous and non-ferrous materials in Hampshire, UK

Sheet metal channels in aluminium alloy grade 5251

Whenever you want a sheet metal section bent up as an “L” angle, U channel, “Z” section or more complicated cross section we are here to help you. You may want a small bracket bent into a “Z” shape or a 2.5M long “U” channel either way we can help you. With standard CNC press brake tooling, over bend tooling, safe edges tooling and swan neck tooling most shapes that you come up with in many materials from 0.4mm thick to 6mm thick we will be able to help you with. We can even produce curved sectioned without special form tools by using a multi-bend technique allowing a series of close bends to form a curve section in small steps.

If you want to see some of the standard sized sections that can be bent with standard tooling please take a look at these links:

Single “L” bend

Double “U” bend

“Z” bend

Small joggle bend sections

Mild steel sheet metal work

Friday, June 7th, 2013

Mild steel sheet metal work from our recent projects.

With such a large range of sheet metal work going through our factory here in Fareham, Hampshire every day of the week it wasn’t difficult to find a few good examples of mild steel work to show off today. Being able to manufacture single parts and completed welded assemblies from mild steel sheet we can produce a range of parts from the size of your little finger nail up to 2.5M long and in a range of material thicknesses. You may want just a few samples or higher volume repeat production, either are fine with us. Using flexible CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines specifically designed to manufacture sheet metal work enables us to offer you the complete sub- contract engineering service. You only have to look at our gallery pages and plant pages to see just how many different types of sheet metal work we manufacture be it mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium or more exotic materials.

Explore the images above to see just how flexible designing and manufacturing with modern sheet metal CNC machine can be.

If you want to learn more about mild steel sheet metal and it’s different form please take a look at our web page.

Bushes, studs and standoffs in sheet metal work

Friday, May 10th, 2013

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

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

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

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

Sheet metal work in 3D software

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

Sheet metal manufacturers

Monday, December 31st, 2012

Sheet metal manufacturer in Fareham, Hampshire moves to a new manufacturing base.

We are pleased to share with you the news that we have moved to our new factory in Fareham, Hampshire. This factory has been laid out for the efficient manufacturing of batches of sheet metal work for our customer in the UK and Europe. Over the next few weeks we will post a series of updates detailing how we moved all our sheet metal manufacturing plant and set up our new facilities.

For more information on sheet metal manufacturing processes, manufacturing equipment and examples of sheet metal work take a look at our sheet metal gallery pages

Sheet metal fixing plate

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Sheet metal fixing plate with M10 hank bush

Sheet metal fixing plates are often used inside larger sheet metal enclosures, wooden cabinets or plastic mouldings. They are usually used to help reinforce an anchour point in a material that cannot take a full load without distortion or shearing. In this case this small sheet metal fixing plate is manufactured from Zintec mild steel with a captive M10 threaded bush inserted on one face. We produce many thousands of these plates by simply CNC punching the holes and profile, barrel de-burring and inserting the bush on one of our hydraulic fly presses. The M10 bush is zinc plated and the Zintec sheet metal gives some corrosion protection to this little sheet metal component. The fixing plate is screwed inside a wooden cabinet and acts as a screw point when the cabinet is fixed to the wall or mounting brackets. paint

Zintec hanging brackets for track light fittings

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Zintec hanging brackets for track light fittings

Support brackets manufactured from Zintec mild steel ready for hanging light fittings

Not all lighting installations are permanent. A lighting scheme is often used for only a short length of time and then needs to be removed or reconfigured to suit a new layout. This can be the case where an exhibition stand needs lighting for just a few days and then needs to be quickly removed or perhaps in a museum exhibition where specific points of light are needed for just a few weeks. Lighting is often changed in retail outlets where different displays are created as the seasons change.

One solution for this requirement for flexibility is to install lighting tracks where the individual light fittings can be moved along the track to any given point and angled to highlight any object. Hanging brackets such as those shown here can be used to support the runs of tracking from a ceiling of frame work structure simply and cheaply. These particular brackets are manufactured from Zintec and can be powder coated to suit any installation colour. The hoop has been formed on a CNC press brake and the joint has been tack welded shut to maintain its shape and increase its strength.

This type of bracket work is typical of the sheet metal work that we are often called upon to manufacture and help design. Perhaps you have an idea for a supporting bracket or angle and need a little help to finalise your design or advice on materials, please give us a call and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

Professional audio equipment chassis

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Audio chassis assembly

Professional audio equipment chassis

We are really excited to be able to help our customer develop a new range of high end hifi and studio audio equipment. The entire range has been developed over the last 2 years and is growing thanks in a small part to the flexibility of manufacturing with sheet metal. We have been able to offer advice on the most efficient design for manufacturing with sheet metal and swap data in 2D and 3D. All the chassis parts, front panels and covers have been produced in relatively small numbers so far but when the quantities grow we will easily be able to expand our production with the same CNC driven manufacturing equipment. This flexibility has proven invaluable to several of our customers when prototyping new product ranges and then running in larger volumes.

Audio front panels

If you have a new project that needs sheet metal components and you want some advice on the best manufacturing option or a design that needs refining to cut costs, please give us a call or e-mail a drawing for review.

LED display boards for car parking

Monday, March 12th, 2012

LED display boards with mild steel sheet metal housings

Sheet metal fabricated LED display boards for car parking signage

Sheet metal work can be so versatile with today’s powerful CNC manufacturing equipment. We have produced a series of sheet metal mild steel housings, covers and LED chassis plates in various sizes for LED signs. These particular signs have been used to indicate empty spaces in multi-storey car parks in a range of countries in Europe and further afield. Once a basic design format has been established and proven different lengths and widths of housing and associated parts can easily be manufactured from existing developed blank data within our Radan software. This offers the advantage of mixing some standard units and special sizes together in manufacturing without stopping the flow of work and maintaining the lowest cost price per part.

With any bespoke manufacturing project work the emphasis has to be on flexibility and for us this means the ability to change from one sheet metal part to another with little machine setting up time in between. With the design of the Trumpf CNC punch press single head design system we can change from job to job in minutes enabling us to punch out sheet metal prototypes within the mix of standard production work without any appreciable delay.

LED display boards with sheet metal enclosures

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Sheet metal LED display board housing

When manufacturing bespoke LED display boards where the length, width, height and LED PCB layouts can change from project to project CNC punched sheet metal work is the way to go. With the ability to take previous CNC programs and adapt them to suit using parametric programming techniques new sheet metal fabrication projects can be created quickly with the knowledge that past cut sizes which have been proven to be correct can be retained as the basis for each new project. Our customer often has little time to get the initial order, write the software, design the LED PCBs and the mechanical parts for their LED display projects so knowing that the sheet metal work is sorted easily is a great help. Our relationship with the customer is such that the detailed drawings are given to us as DXF files with no dimensions and we are left to work from previous proven examples and take what data we need from the DXF. This saves our customer lots of time and enables us to solve our own problems using their DXF for sizes.

Sheet metal inserts, bushes and studs

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Sheet metal inserts - Hank bushes

Using screws and nuts to fasten sheet metal components together has been a production method used for centuries. To speed up the assembly process or to fix a nut in an awkward or blind place is where self-clinch and anchor rivet buses really come into their own. We use a Haeger bush inserter and various manual and hydraulic fly-presses to press the fixings into our sheet metal work in all sheet materials from 0.7mm thick and upwards. Single side approaches, such as tubes, can also be dealt with by using Avdell style single side bushes.

As well as standard metric and imperial thread bushes we regularly insert stand-offs, studs and many specialised inserts into our sheet metal work for example captive thumb screws. Have a look at our Haeger bush inserter webpage for more information on this plant and links to more detailed information on self-clinch and anchor rivet bushes. If you have an odd requirement and are not sure whether there is a sheet metal insert solution available for you give us a call and we can investigate it for you.

Sheet metal fabrications tested as 3D software models

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Sheet metal 3D CAD/CAM model used fro stainless steel assembly

Being ‘tin bashers’ is not all hands on production when it comes to sheet metal work. Obviously the actual sheet metal work has to be produced on the shop floor with our skilled staff using cutting, punching, bending and welding equipment but there is a lot of preparation that has to be completed before any sheet metal work can be started. We often have to start with the clever computer bit as with this 3D sheet metal fabrication assembly that was created to check out the fit of all the parts. These 3D models, as well as allowing us to better understand the components we are going to manufacture, are an important source of manufacturing information. This information can lead to the data needed to program our CNC punching and bending machines. The process can work in reverse with us using our production data to generate CAD drawings and 3D models for our customers to take back into their systems to be used again in new sheet metal designs.

Sheet metal manufacturing in 2012

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Contined investment in the best new manufacturing equipment

Well what a year 2011 has been.

We have had periods of being very busy and of being quiet during 2011. We have kept moving forward with this new website and blog which has been a big step for us from our old static website. We have tried to offer more than just a few images of sheet metal work and sheet metal machines and include more detailed information on processes and tooling as well as data to help you when designing new sheet metal components. The inclusion of video on the website has been mentioned by several customers as of interest as they are too far from us to pop in and see for themselves what we do.

We have also not stopped investing in V and F Sheet Metal, we have added a second brand new Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake this year to go with the new one we installed in May 2010. They are both proving to be a good move as they have both enabled us to turn sheet metal work with bent features around quicker for customers with their shorter set up times over our older machines.

Looking forward to 2012 I can see that we will continue to keep up to date with the latest software to enable us to maintain communication with our customers and ensure we have the most efficient nesting software for laying out sheet metal CNC punching. We continue to invest in new tooling to maintain the quality of the CNC punched and CNC bent components we are producing. What will happen to the markets in the UK and Europe is beyond our ability to influence but what we can do is to keep ourselves as flexible and responsive to our customers needs as possible and be ready for whatever they throw at us.

Have a Merry Christmas and hopefully a prosperous 2012.

Ray Frith

Sheet metal fabrication manufacturing using CAD/CAM and CNC punching

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Sheet metal fabrication manufacturing using CAD/CAM software and CNC punching

I thought it would be useful to explain in a little more detail the processes we go though as a sheet metal fabrication company when taking information from our customers and producing sheet metal fabrications by CNC punching on our Trumpf CNC punch presses.

The whole process can be broken down into 10 basic stages from receiving the basic design information from our customers to the final CNC punched components.

Stage 1. A 3D software model is created of the sheet metal component or assembly

The design information we receive from our customers can be in many forms but the most common are 3D STEP files, 3D SAT files, 2D DWG and DXF drawings, simple PDF files or still occasionally printed paper drawings. Sometimes our customers will be give us a sample sheet metal component to copy or adapt to their specific needs on a particular project. Most of the time if the sheet metal fabrication is not just a simple flat component we will create a 3D model as the starting datum for the project. This enables us to examine the assembly fit of several associated sheet metal components that might have to work together for instance a sheet metal folded box and a cover where the fixing holes need to line up. We can feed this design information back to our customers to be checked out with their non sheet metal parts before we start any actual manufacturing. This can also be a help for our customers in checking their own designs and we can at this stage feedback possible design improvements to help with production and reducing the sheet metal component price.

Stage 2. Developed flat 2D sheet metal blanks from the 3D model

The 3D software model of the sheet metal component is used to create an ‘unfolded’ developed flat blank of the part. At this stage all the manufacturing information such as material type, sheet density, sheet thickness and corner bend radii will have to be correctly applied to the sheet metal component model to create the correct bend sizes. Once done correctly this will enable a sheet metal component to be CNC bent and to fold up back to the correct sizes to match the original 3D design model. This has a great advantage for us as do not have to try out sample sheet metal parts before batch production of sheet metal work as all the trial and errors can be carried out within the software, thereby saving material costs and time.

Stage 3. Developed sheet metal blank profile is cleaned up with any inspection information added to aid shop floor production

The next stage is to refine any corner notches that will not fit standard CNC tooling, check that all the details on each face of the box are correct to the 3D model and add any required inspection information that might be needed to the manufacturing processes for the sheet metal fabrication.

Stage 4. Sheet metal parts are CNC punch press tooled

The Radan software we use can apply a standard CNC tool library that we have built us over many years to try and match features in the sheet metal component with the correct CNC tooling. The library of existing parts can be seen on the website under the tooling sections. This is the stage where the skill of the CNC programmer is also required to ensure the correct CNC tooling is selected and the least number of hits is used to produce the most efficiently CNC punched part. This is also the stage where we have to decide how the sheet metal work will be removed from the parent metal sheet. It may be tagged at its corners and then removed by hand, CNC punched completely out of the sheet to be removed by hand or CNC punched out and allowed to drop through a chute in the bed of the Trumpf punch presses into a collecting bin below. This method is usually best applied for small sheet metal parts that may not have an important cosmetic surface finish. There is a video link of our Trumpf 3000R CNC punching some mild steel bracket through the machine chute straight into a bin below.

Stage 5. The sheet metal components are CNC nested for the best sheet layout within the parent sheet

Our Radan CAD/CAM software nester utility is then used to find the best fit of the parts from a given sheet of metal. Odd shaped parts can be fitted together and smaller parts CNC punched from the gaps between larger sheet metal parts or even from within another part’s window features. The better the fit that we can achieve at this stage the higher the sheet metal material yield the cheaper the final part price will become. This has become all the more important with more expensive materials such as stainless steel, aluminium alloys and brass or thicker sheet materials. With the Trumpf CNC punch presses we can program to produce sheet metal work from between the machine clamps enabling still more components to be squeezed from each sheet of metal.

Stage 6. CNC punch press tooling clearances within the sheet metal CNC nest

The software is also used to check that all the CNC tools and individual sheet metal components are not overlapping each other. It is also very important that the CNC nested metal sheet is stable enough in production to hold together whilst being CNC punched at speed on our Trumpf punch press machines.

Stage 7. Order text is generated to guide the CNC punch press production in the correct order of production

The exact order that the individual CNC tools are punched into the sheet metal can be controlled which is important if you have forms in the sheet metal fabrication such as dimples, louvres, tapped plunged etc as they need to be CNC punched after any other holes or they will be damaged by the head of the Trumpf machine moving over them.

Stage 8. CNC production verification is carried out within the CAD/CAM software

This stage of the CNC programming allows us to see within the CAD/CAM software what the Trumpf CNC punch presses will do when the sheet metal is being punched. At this stage any strange movements of the parent sheet metal can be corrected to give the most efficient and the safest punching path is production.

Stage 9. CNC punch press code blocks are generated

The ‘blocks’ are automatically written as the code needed to talk to the Trumpf CNC punch presses to instruct them when to punch, which CNC tooling to use, the sequence that the CNC tooling is used in and where to punch on the metal sheet. This code should need no alteration by us as Radan automatically writes this code based on the order text written in step 7.

Stage 10. Final manufactured sheet metal fabrication

The final part after CNC punching, de-burring and CNC bending. The sheet metal work is now finished.

For more information on sheet metal work and how it’s made please take a look at this in depth review.

V and F Sheet Metal, 28 Brunel Way, Segensworth East, Fareham, Hamsphire, PO15 5SD

Sheet metal 3D software models gallery

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

: Sheet metal assembly of a fibre optic lighting housing

We have just added a new gallery web page of examples of sheet metal components and assemblies we have developed using radan 3D software. The 3D images show how single sheet metal components and sheet metal assemblies can be used to develop the correct flat pattern blank which can then be CNC punched and CNC bent to produce the final parts.

Please take a look at http://www.vandf.co.uk/sheet-metal-3d-software-models/ for more examples or http://www.vandf.co.uk/software/radan-software/ for more information on Radan software.

Stainless steel lighting chandelier housing

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Stainless steel chandelier housing

These stainless steel chandelier housings are fabricated by CNC punching, rolling, CNC bending and welding. After basic cleaning up of the Tig welds the final cosmetic appearance is achieve through polishing. This installation was a bespoke design so needed a quick turnaround on manufacturing but also the minimum of time spent sorting out all the component part designs and production details. Whenever a special project needs manufacturing the sheet metal components need to be designed, developed and CNC programmed as quickly as possible so that the overall project price is kept to a minimum. Using Radan and Trumpf software we can achieve this quickly with the minimum time spent getting the job to the shop floor.

Fibre optic lighting illuminates glass drop rods

Special one off projects are just part of the services we offer to lighting companies in the UK. We help with their sheet metal fabrication designs, special projects, repeat batch work and volume production.

If you have some sheet metal fabrications that you need a second opinion on or a target price that you need to get to then give us a call and let’s see if we can help you.

Air-conditioning ducting galvanised steel support straps

Monday, September 19th, 2011

V and F Sheet Metal, supporting the Olympics – well sort of!

Air ducting supported by sheet metal fabricated straps

We manufacture a number of galvanised steel formed straps to help support air-conditioning ducting in buildings. The galavanised steel straps are CNC punched out of 2mx1m and 2.5m x 1.25m sheet metal, CNC bent and then formed around curved former jigs. Some of the smaller units have bends that are formed up on our Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press using multi-bend tooling. The sizes of strap range from under 100mm in diameter to over 1250mm and in gauges from 1.2mm thick to 3mm thick material. The galavanised steel straps are semi-circular in form and used in pairs to trap the galvanised ducting and suspended from the ceiling on steel drop rods or threaded studding. The picture here shows a partial installation for one of the new building for the Olympics media centre. Only a small sheet metal component but we are proud to have been involved with the 2012 Olympics project.

We have a range of other brackets and profile sections that we manufacture for the building trade such as wall cladding, roof brackets and ceiling adaptor plates and would be happy to talk with you if you have similar projects that you might require in sheet metal.

recycling sheet metal materials

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Aluminium scrap CNC punching nest frames

I have just seen on the BBC website that the Somerset and Avon Police (over 300 officers) have raided scrap yards across their region looking for stolen goods including ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal. With the global requirement for certain metals pushing the costs up and up for example copper at over £5,000 per tonne and lead at over £2,000 per tonne its very tempting for some people to help themselves. The police are saying that with man hole covers, roof lead on churches and schools, copper wiring from telecoms systems, railway signalling and thefts from industries scrap bins it could be millions or even billions of pounds per year that is going missing. We have to be very careful with our scrap and store it all indoors until we are ready for the scrap / recycling companies to come and collect the metals ready for processing.

As a sheet metal manufacturing company the “waste” metals that we produce from our sheet metal guillotining and CNC punching manufacturing processes can all be recycled. We just have to be aware of the materials types that we are using to make our sheet metal work when saving them for recycling. We separate out the stainless steel, mild steel with zintec and galavanised steel, aluminium alloys, copper and brass into different bins ready for collecting. They are all collected and melted down with other scrap metals and prime material ores to produce more sheet metal or other metal items.

Stainless Steel scrap CNC punching nest frames

You can see in the images here various sheet metal that has either been produced as waste material from CNC punching through the dies known as slugs. These slugs are collected as the CNC punch presses punch holes in the sheet metal with the slugs being sucked away under a vacuum system. The CNC punched scrap frames is the material that is left around the sheet metal components that are CNC punched out. With our Trumpf CNC punch presses we will try and utilise as much of the sheet metal materialas possible to manitain a competitve piece part price but some material will do be used. Again, this sheet metal scrap is collected into material types before recyling.

Scrap CNC punching slugs

I guess being able to recycle so much of our prime manufacturing materials makes use quite a green company.

Casting with pure and re-cycled metal

Image: Kittikun Atsawintarangkul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Galvanised steel light fitting loft cover

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Galvanised steel loft light fitting protective cover

We were pleased to look at this new sheet metal project for an existing customer as it meant keeping some press work in the UK here in Fareham, Hampshire. These galvanised steel enclosures are used to stop loft insulation from smothering any down light fittings that may be fitted to upstairs ceilings and protruding into the loft void above. The sheet metal enclosures are easy to fit being adjustable for the standard loft timber spacing. They are supplied in a flat pack form for ease of storage at our customer factory and transport to the installing contractors.

We manufacture each item of sheet metal work from a rolled coil of galvanised steel which is fed through our CNC de-coiler line and into our HME power press. They are produced by one action in a dedicated power press tool. They are then packed, including an instruction sheet and labelled up by us and delivered directly to our customer’s stores ready for them to send out to their customers when needed.

If you have a project that might need sheet metal work in higher numbers than that which may be suitable for CNC punching why not give us a call and we can look into press tooling for you. You might be surprised at how cost effective it can be on projects with lower quantities as well where complex piercing is needed.

CNC Plunged and Tapped threads

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Nickel plated sheet metal fabrication

When you want to fix 2 or more sheet metal components together you have many design options. If the joint needs to be permanent and depending on the material and gauge you may wish to have the components spot welded or Tig / Mig welded together. If however you need to separate the different parts at a later stage this will not be a practical solution. With low volumes the simplest method of assembly will be to used a screw or bolt with washers and nuts with mating clearance holes or slots in each part, which is quite acceptable. When the volumes increase and a more efficient method of assembly is needed then sheet metal inserts such as anchor rivet hank bushes or self clinch nuts can be used to take away the need for loose nuts. These “captive” nuts have the advantage of being in place where it may be difficult to access a nut by hand. The other solution is to insert a fixed flush head stud into the sheet metal and then have a loose nut and washers to fix the 2 or more parts together. Either fixing type can be inserted with our Haegar Bush / Stud inserter.

If the volumes are greater still then a formed plunge in the component’s parent sheet metal is an elegant design solution. The plunge on its own can be useful with self tapping screws where the sheet gauge is very thin and would be prone to stripping if the screw is over tightened. If the screw needs to be removed and inserted several times a thread form will be a better solution. This manufacturing operation can be carried out on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press, the pilot hole is CNC punched in the sheet metal, a pin is forced through the hole to form the plunge form and finally a CNC tapping head is used to create the formed thread.

CNC plunged and tapped threads in sheet metal fabrication

You can see here a thin mild steel nickel plated front panel support bracket that has been CNC punched, plunge formed and tapped all in the Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press.

If you want to know more about this process and its advantages and limitations please give us a call.

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