Blog - Page 2 of 20 -

Mild steel heater ventilation grilles produced with CNC press brakes

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

Mild steel heater ventilation grilles

Heater ventilation grilles CNC punched and CNC folded from mild steel sheet.

V and F Sheet Metal have manufactured sheet metal work for a wide range of companies since the 1980s. Be it heating, lighting, electronics, audio and a host of other industries. Always looking for anew ways to support our customers with simple tooling to save them money. Clever CNC programming to speed up production. Constant investment in plant and equipment to produce the best parts for the cheapest costs.

Being able to process ferrous and non-ferrous materials from 0.3mm upwards we can offer a complete sheet metal working service. In house production enables us to keep on top of your order and suggest design improvements.

Galvanised mild steel housings, aluminium electronics chassis and stainless steel support brackets have all been used in some of our customers heater units. With a range of ventilation louvres, bespoke form tooling and the ability to laser cut unusual shapes we can manufacture a wide range of heater ventilation grilles.

From the smallest mild steel clip or earth tag right up to 3M long support sections and louvres panels call us for a quote.

Our team will be happy to chat through your ideas on 01489 577786. Otherwise send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk for an estimate.

Laser cut decorative screens produced to your own designs

Thursday, May 30th, 2019

Laser cut decorative screens

If you are looking for complex shapes cut from sheet metal then you have to think laser cutting. With the ability to laser cut around shapes without the need for tooling you can concentrate on your designs without the constriction of thinking of tooling.

Whether the shapes are internal windows or external profiles laser cutting is certainly the way to go. Decorative screens such as these shown here can only really be manufactured by laser cutting when there may only be small volumes. Luckily we have a Trumpf 3030 3KW fibre laser which is more than capable for jobs like this.

If you can draw it there’s a good chance we can laser cut it for you.

The ability to take our customer’s drawings and lay them out to get the best from any standard sheet of metal. To fine tune details to suit the manufacturing process and feedback problems before starting the manufacturing process.

Not sure if your design can be laser cut? Simply send us your designs (sales@vandf.co.uk) and we will run them through our software and send you back an image of the nest of parts for you to check.

Ask us today for a quote and we will be happy to help.

Folded sheet metal chassis panels manufactured in the UK

Thursday, May 23rd, 2019

Folded sheet metal chassis panels

Sheet metal chassis panels come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Perhaps simple flat plates such as 19” rack mounted front panels. Sometimes they will have folds to create a shallow tray. Others may have welded features or are made up from several separate parts.

The panels shown here have been folded up and have a series of threaded mild steel zinc plated studs inserted. These are quite typical of the sheet metal chassis panels we often produce for our UK based customers. With such a wide range of material options, different gauges, finishes and designs no two panels are ever alike. These have been CNC punched and CNC bent up from 1.2mm 5251 aluminium alloy.

They were manufactured in a batch of 100 parts. This volume perfectly suits our manufacturing facilities although we will produce small volumes right up to many thousands when required. For us it’s all about offering a service that can cope with a growing customers needs, “large oaks from small acorns”. We have seen so many customers grow from just a few test pieces to full production runs and it’s great to be a part of that success story.

With so many years experience we always have a solution to your sheet metal problems.

Call us on 01489 577786 to have a chat with our engineering team or e-mail sales@vandf.co.uk with your drawings.

Sheet metal aluminium fibre optic housings manufactured in the UK

Monday, May 20th, 2019

Aluminium fibre optic housings

From a single sheet of aluminium we can produce a number of fibre optic housings. CNC punched and CNC bent to our customers design. With a series of bushes and studs inserted before welding. All details carried out to our customers own design and order volume. In this instance there were 200 to be manufactured and then powder coated.

Housings such as these can be produced to hold electronics, lighting gear, pump sets etc. Being sub-contract sheet metal workers we have to turn our hand to a whole range of projects. That’s what makes our job interesting and at times challenging.

With over 30 years experience in manufacturing sheet metal work we have the skills and equipment to not only produce work but help our customers improve their designs. If we see something that looks over complicated we will comment to reduce effort and save you money. Again and again we have saved our customers money which is what we are here for. A partnership to aid your designer and purchasing team.

Call us up on 01489 577786 or e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk and send us your drawings. DXF, DWG, PDF, SAT, STEP and IGES formats are fine for us. Take the next step to saving yourself time and money with V and S Sheet Metal.

Laser cutting sheet metal work in Great Britain 2019

Thursday, May 16th, 2019

Metal work in Great Britain produced by laser cutting

Laser cutting sheet metal work in 2019

Now this is a perfect example of getting the best out of a sheet of metal. Click on the red image of the 6 metal parts from the CNC program and you will so no waste material. Using the complete sheet wherever possible helps to minimise material waste and reduce components prices. We have been producing sheet metal work in Great Britain for over 30 years and using a laser cutter is just the latest manufacturing development.

Laser cutting sheet metal work in Great Britain 2019

Laser cutting sheet metal work in 2019

Laser cutting Zintec (a zinc coated mild steel) sheet metal material is ideal on our Trumpf laser cutter. The laser cutting process is very quick on a component like this. It has very few holes so the laser can cut around the straight outer and inner profiles very quickly.

Laser cutting sheet metal work in 2019

With an automatic change over pallet the Trumpf fibre laser machine can be kept continually running. This is great when we have a large order or that panic job that comes along from time to time.

Whether we are looking at 0.7mm Zintec, 1.5mm mild steel, 2.5mm aluminium or 6mm stainless steel we can cope with it. Most components when laser cut have very little or no need to have edge de-burring. Not only does this obviously save money but time and energy as well.

So you have a laser cutting job and need a price? It’s easy, all you have to do is send us a drawing. We will happily work through the options you want, volumes, materials and then produce you a range of prices. You can send them to sales@vandf.co.uk or call us on 01486 577786 and have a chat through your ideas if you like.

Aluminium sheet metal workers manufacturing in the UK – 2019

Thursday, May 9th, 2019

Aluminium sheet metal workers manufacturing in the UK

Aluminium sheet metal workers in the UK

Simple aluminium sheet metal frame starts out as a laser cut blank. Producing the parts by laser cutting gave us the opportunity to produce nice clean inner and outer edge profiles. The parts were cut on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine using pure nitrogen to a clean edge cut. The laser cut blanks required virtually no edge de-burring.

Aluminium sheet metal workers in the UK

Being a small part the aluminium sheet metal frames were perfect for bending on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. We make so many small sheet metal parts that we have 3 of these small productive machines. They can cope with work up to 1M long but are mainly in the work shop to produce all the smaller brackets, channels, trays etc.

We have common CNC press brake tooling across these small press brakes and our larger 3M Safan CNC press brake. This enables us to move work around in the work shop to suit our customers order requirements.

Aluminium sheet metal workers in the UK

Trays like these demonstrate just how easy it is to manufacture sheet metal components with standard tooling. Powerful CAD/CAM tools and a wide range of CNC punching and bending tools makes it easy for us to accommodate your design ideas. Interested in talking to sheet metal workers based in the UK with over 30 years’ experience. Send us your drawings and we will be happy to produce quotes of chat through your designs. Please send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk or call us on 01489 577786.

Lighting sheet metal work ideas from the UK

Tuesday, May 7th, 2019

Lighting sheet metal work for the UK

Lighting sheet metal work ideas

Lighting sheet metal work is something we have been involved with since the 1980s. We have helped numerous companies based in the UK to realise their ideas and turn them into practical products. Working with large and small companies we have seen so many products, worked with so many materials and seen the industry change.

Lighting sheet metal work ideas

We have many lighting sheet metal materials in stock and access to a wide range of stockists to source odd materials when needed. Along with a large library of CNC punching and CNC bending tooling we can often manufacture components without the need for new tooling.

Along with a Trumpf fibre laser cutting in house we can produce any complex shape you can dream up. In standard ferrous and non-ferrous materials as well as brass and copper.

Lighting sheet metal work ideas

These simple housings were designed to fit at the end of a standard light batten and hold a motion sensor. By using pre-painted mild steel and easy bends the customer was able to wrap the sheet metal around the sensor and fix it to the batten as a retrofit.

So, what do you do now?

Well if you want to talk to sheet metal worker who specialises on manufacturing products for the lighting industry you really should be talking to us. Send in your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk or call us on 01489 577786 for assistance.

Sub-contract sheet metal workers based in the UK

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

Sub-contract sheet metal work produced to your designs right here in the UK

sub-contract sheet metal work

No matter what sub-contract sheet metal work you are looking for we have probably come up against it before. With over 30 years experience manufacturing sheet metal products in the UK we have the people and the equipment to tackle most projects you are likely to want.

sub-contract sheet metal work

With CNC punching, CNC laser cutting and CNC bending all in house we can manage a project from the start to the finish. Using Radan sheet metal work CAD/CAM software to create 3D models, accurate developed blanks and efficient laser cutting and CNC punching nests.

From the smallest batches and new design prototypes right up to repeating batches of many hundreds or thousands. We can provide you with 3D images before committing to full production if that helps with a new design you may have.

CNC bending sheet metal workers

In addition to a wide range of manufacturing processes that we have in house we also have a tight knit group of finishing companies we can call upon to offer the complete service. Whether it’s anodsing or Iridite NCP treatment of aluminium electronics components. Powder coating or wet spraying components. Silk screening or brush finishing. Zinc plating with colour or clear passivate. You name it and we can get it sorted for you.

For more example of recent sheet metal projects please take a look at our Pinterest Boards.

So if you are looking for sub-contract sheet metal work, give us a call and we will be happy to help you.

Laser cutting stainless steel sheet metal UK

Monday, April 29th, 2019

laser cutting stainless steel sheet metal uk

All our sheet metal components that are either CNC punched or laser cut are programmed off-line. This basically means all the instructions needed for laser cutting stainless steel parts are ready for the machine operator when needed for cutting. A few simple alterations can be made at the laser machine but the part details and the part layout (nest) is set off-line. We use Radan CAD/CAM programming software to control this aspect of the manufacturing. The algorithms within the Radan software instantly find the best fit from any given sheet and the quickest path for the laser head to cut all the internal cut-outs and the outer profile.

laser cutting stainless steel sheet metal uk

When laser cutting stainless steel with a protective plastic coating we have to carry out a vapour laser cutting operation first. This is a quick process with the laser cutter running around the profiles of the holes and profile at low power fusing the plastic film to the stainless steel substrate. This then allows the laser to switch to full power and cut through the stainless steel without the nitrogen cutting assist gas blowing bubbles in the plastic.

laser cutting stainless steel sheet metal uk

Once the laser cutting program has been created. A single part checked out for size and edge quality. There is only the the batch to run and with a 3KW Trumpf fibre laser that is very quick. With an automatic pallet changer we can be laser cutting stainless steel parts while removing the previous nest of parts. This enables us to keep the machine running more of the time saving time and money.

You can now see how easy it is for us to laser cut stainless steel parts to suit our customers designs.

For more information on laser cutting take a look at this page.

Simple send us a drawing or two and we will be happy to take a look and produce you an estimate for supplying materials and manufacturing. Either a direct e-mail to sales@vandf.co.uk or use our contact form on the website.

Manufacturer of sheet metal components in the UK

Thursday, April 18th, 2019

If you are looking for a manufacturer of sheet metal components in the UK take a look at V and F Sheet Metal.

manufacturers of sheet metal components in the UK

manufacturer of sheet metal components in the UK

Perhaps you have to source a small batch of sheet metal work for a special project. You have a new design that requires sheet metal assemblies. You have an established product that needs a cost / design review. Whatever your requirements we are here to help. With over 30 years experience in a wide range of sheet metal manufacturing processes we can apply a keen eye to your designs. If we can suggest small changes to save time or material we will be happy to save you money.

manufacturers of sheet metal components in the UK

Whether it’s laser cutting, CNC punching or CNC bending we have the facilities to support you. Take a look at some of our past projects and I’m sure you will see we have the facilities to support you. Working with all the standard sheet metal materials as well as special lighting materials, many on the shelf. From 0.3mm up to 8mm thick and from small brackets on a few mm across right up to 3M long sections. We can cover the vast majority of sheet metal manufacturing projects required by you.

Call us on 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to talk with you. If you prefer, feel free to send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will work on cost options for you.

Brackets manufactured in the UK to your designs

Tuesday, April 16th, 2019

Brackets manufactured in the UK

Whether you are looking for a few special sheet metal brackets to complete a special installation or repeating batches of brackets for higher volume production we are here to help you. We have over many years produced thousands of different brackets for our customers in the UK. Using a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous material ranging from 0.3mm right up to 10.0mm thick we can cover all your needs.

Brackets manufactured in the UK

Using our CNC punch presses and fibre laser cutting machine to find the best production methods for producing the bracket blanks. Depending on the materials and the gauge as well as the details we will know which way to go and the most cost effective process to suit your needs.

Having a large library of standard CNC punch tooling helps us to keep your costs down, especially if you only have a small order. It’s the same with CNC bending. We have a wide range of CNC press brake tooling which will enable us to fold a wide range of shapes, angles, safe edges and bespoke forms.

For lots of past projects of brackets manufactured in the UK take a look at our Pinterest Board.

Brackets manufactured in the UK

Our customers come back again and again for production but also for advice. Whether it’s manufacturing advice to solve a tricky design problem or perhaps advice when selecting the correct materials. Often a simple phone call is enough to save a lot of money when it comes to production. We are always happy to help and enjoy being part of our customers design team.

Give us a call and we will be happy to help. Alternatively if you wish send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will sort out a quote.

Manufacturer of sheet metal stainless steel brackets

Wednesday, April 10th, 2019

Manufacturer of small sheet metal stainless steel brackets produced in the UK

stainless steel brackets

We have been manufacturing small stainless steel brackets for over 30 years. All the thousands of different types of brackets have been made to our customer’s designs. Whether it’s laser cutting or CNC punching we will produce sheet metal blanks to suit any shape or size that you need.

With 7 CNC press brakes ranging from 600mm right up to 3M long all sorts of brackets can be cater for. You only have to look at the vast range of past projects featured on our website to realise you have come to the right place for your sheet metal work. With a wide range of customers in Lighting, Heating, Audio and Electronics industries in the UK there’s not much we haven’t come across before.

stainless steel brackets

So you have a sheet metal bracket that you are going to need in your next project. Simply send us your drawings or call us up on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to help you. It might be that we only have to take your drawing and produce a range of prices for you. It may be that you are almost there but need some advice to finish off your design. You may have a price target and need a little design advice to reduce costs, talk to our friendly engineering team for help.

Sheet metal work manufacturing in Great Britain 2019

Friday, March 22nd, 2019

Sheet metal work manufacturing in Great Britain with or without Brexit!

Sheet metal work in Great Britain 2019

Taking a quick walk around the factory today and I can see lots of new sheet metal projects. Some are just prototypes for new customers and other projects are in decent volumes. The parts that you can see here are just typical of the manufacturing we produce every day for our customers.

All our customers are keen to explore new ideas and designs that can be used to improve their products. Ideas sometimes come from seeing a past project for a completely different industry and realising it can help them solve a problem. The same is true with materials, some industries prefer particular sheet materials that are unknown to others. A quick look through our website and it can start a discussion which we are always happy to have.

Stainless steel sheet metal work

The same is true for tooling. We have on many occasions brought in tooling to solve a particular manufacturing requirement only to find that it works perfectly for other people’s products. That’s why we have a range of CNC punching tooling tables on the website. You can browse through them and often find something that will do the job. Specify it on your drawing and you have just saved yourself time and money.

Stainless steel sheet metal work

So if you not just looking to have sheet metal work manufactured but also want to save money in your design this is the place to start. You can give us a call if you have seen an image and you want to understand how we have made it. Perhaps you want to know a particular material we have used and the options for your design. For a good range of sheet metal ideas and past projects it’s always worth a look at our Pinterest Boards.

If you are at the quoting stage and have your drawings ready please send them to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will take a look for you.

Laser cut blanks produced from zintec coated mild steel material

Monday, March 18th, 2019

Zintec, a zinc coated mild steel sheet metal which is ideal for laser cutting.

Laser cut zintec brackets

Zintec laser cuts beautifully as it’s basically mild steel but without the oil film. Being dry there are less burn marks with our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter.

Laser cut zintec brackets without the sheet skeleton

You can easily see how efficiently we can lay components on a given sheet of metal. Using Radan CAD/CAM software enables us to program each part and the full sheet away from the shop floor. These laser cutting nests are crated automatically with the software and rarely do we need to amend them. For lots of examples of past CNC programming projects why not take a look at our Pinterest Board.

Laser cut zintec coated mild steel bracket blanks

Laser cut bracket blanks

Zintec coated mild steel laser cut blanks ready to be folded up. Batches of just a few parts up to many thousands are perfect for laser cutting and CNC bending. To see more laser cut zintec coated mild steel components take a look at our Gallery Page.

So, if you have a sheet metal project and it’s being manufactured from Zintec we are the people to help you. Stocking 0.7mm, 0.9mm, 1.2mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.5mm and 3.0mm often on the shelf lead times are kept to a minimum.

Feel free to send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk or call us on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to help you. With over 30 years experience in sheet metal work our team have lots of good ideas to help you save money by simple changes to your designs.

Pre-painted sheet metal heater unit covers manufactured in Great Britain

Monday, March 11th, 2019

CNC punched heater cover blanks

CNC punching is the perfect manufacturing process for making small to medium sized batches of sheet metal work. These pre-painted heater unit covers were CNC punched in a batch of 500 units. Using bespoke tooling to produce the grille cut-outs in single hits reduced punching time and produced nice clean holes. CNC punching is also a good manufacturing method when processing pre-painted sheet metal. Is does not burn the hole profiles as with laser cutting and keeping on the protective sheet film reduces damage and oil stains during the whole manufacturing cycle.

CNC folded heater covers

Before the final curved form was pressed in place the heater unit covers had their sides folded. This process was easy using one of our 3 Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes and a standard set of V bend tooling.

Formed heater unit covers

The final curved form was pressed into the cover with a form tool on our Edwards Pearson CNC press brake. The tooling was manufactured in our factory helping to keep the cost down for the customer. The final covers had a simple earth tag riveted in place and then were packed ready for transit direct to our customer on the south coast of Great Britain.

If you have a design idea and it needs painting it might be worth asking us about pre-painted materials. They can often be used to save cost and speed up the delivery lead times. Not all designs will be suitable but we will be happy to help you explore the options open to you.

Drop us a line at sales@vandf.co.uk or call on 01486 577786 and we will be happy to help you.

Where can I get stainless steel sheet metal work in the UK

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

Here are just some of the services we can offer you to produce your stainless steel sheet metal work in the UK include the following:

• Laser cutting

• CNC punching

• CNC bending

• Rolling

• Power press work

• Spot welding

• TiG welding

• Insertion of stainless steel studs and bushes

Laser cut stainless steel bespoke handrail blank

Great example of using our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutting machine to produce bespoke hand rails. The decorative part details were taken direct from our customers DXF CAD files. Reading it straight into Radan CAD/CAM software was no problem. All we had to do was to clean up the images a little and we were away, laser cutting. All the parts were laser cut for this one off project in under an hour and then onto CNC bending.

TiG welded stainless steel sheet metal work

Stainless steel TiG welds beautifully. Of all the sheet metal materials we are asked to weld stainless steel is the best. These display board housings were fabricated from 304 stainless steel that had been CNC punched, CNC folded and then TiG welded. If you look carefully you can still see the bending marks used on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes to create the curved corner sections. These bend marks were removed during the cleaning up and de-burring process. Once the housings were polished there was no sign of the manufacturing process.

Folding a small stainless steel channel

Some stainless steel sheet metal work needs to be protected when being manufactured. We can specify to the material stockists that we want a peelable plastic film on the surface of the sheet metal. Even with this protective film sometimes the bending process can still press lines into the surface of the sheet from the CNC bend blocks. Using an extra thick bend film, as in the photo, enables us to ensure the part will have no marks on the outside surface of the bend.

For more examples of sheet metal work that might help you with your current stainless steel designs, why not take a look at our Pinterest Board

If you have a good idea what you want to have manufactured but just want us to take a look and produce a range of prices for you please e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help.

Sub-contract sheet metal workers based in England

Wednesday, February 20th, 2019

Being sheet metal workers with over 30 years experience in sub-contract manufacturing there’s no end to the projects we have been involved in. Based in Fareham in the south of England we offer our services across the UK. Family owned and with a solid reputation for the right service at the right price we are happy to help you with your sheet metal work.

Laser cutting mild steel brackets

The images here illustrate the 3 main areas of manufacturing within our company, namely CNC punching, laser cutting and CNC bending. All 3 being controlled using computer programs and a high level of skill and experience. With a large library of standard tooling for the CNC punching and CNC bending there isn’t much we cannot tackle without the need for new tooling.

Using a wide range of sheet metal workers within our factory we have the ability not only to cut and fold sheet metal work but to form, press, weld and clean up in many different ways. Working with our treatment and finishing suppliers we can offer the complete package.

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

Constantly investing in new plant, tooling and software enables us to offer the latest techniques when it comes to sheet metal working. From having a fibre laser cutter to work on any ferrous or non-ferrous sheet metal or 7 CNC press brakes right up to 3M long. Sharing CNC press brake tooling across several machines enables us the flexibility to fold the same job simultaneously on 4 machines. Perfect for that larger volume order or panic job that we all get from time to time.

Folding sheet metal light gear trays

If you are currently looking for sheet metal workers with a friendly can do attitude please give us a try. Our engineering team are always happy to help you improve your designs ready for manufacturing. Perhaps you already have a product and would just like an alternative price, no problem just ask and we will produce some prices options for you. Call us on 01486 57786 or send us your drawing data in 2D or 3D format to sales@vandf.co.uk

Sheet metal work manufactured in the UK to your designs

Friday, February 15th, 2019

Have a design and want your sheet metal work manufactured in the UK? Come and talk to our friendly engineering team here at V and F Sheet Metal. We will be happy to help you with your new design ideas or review ways to save money on existing projects.

CNC punching brackets

Sheet metal work covers such a wide range of manufacturing techniques and materials. From the smallest spring clips through mild steel and stainless steel brackets right up to fully welded aluminium housings. From components just 0.3mm thick up to support brackets and mounting plates 8mm thick. They are all sheet metal work and we support our UK customers in all of these areas.

Spot welded bracket

I’ve shown just a few simple parts to illustrate how many production processes go into manufacturing sheet metal work. These parts are made from mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium. Some have been CNC punched and some laser cut. Some parts have been folded on CNC press brakes with standard V blocks. The stainless steel parts have also been formed into curved shapes with simple form tooling. And finally the mild steel brackets have been spot welded to spring clips.

Curved stainlees steel brackets

If you want to understand in more detail how we go about manufacturing sheet metal products please take a look at our page “What is Sheet Metal work and how is it made?”

You might like to view hundreds of past sheet metal projects for inspiration with your new sheet metal design, our Pinterest Boards are a great place to start.

Sheet metal work manufactured in the UK can be competitive with sheet metal work from the far east. If you have small batches, urgent turn around times or complex parts that you want to talk through in detail the UK is the place to look for you sheet metal work. With the right tooling and design ideas sheet metal work manufactured in the UK can be the perfect fit for your company.

Call us on 01489 577786 or e-mail your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Copper sheet metal work manufactured in the UK

Monday, February 11th, 2019

Copper sheet metal brackets

It’s not often I get to show off a copper sheet metal project. These brackets caught my eye for nothing more than their wonderful colour. In a work shop of mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium, copper sheet metal really does shine out. These simple copper brackets are used as electrical contactor brackets in electrical switch gear assemblies.

The copper brackets were laser cut from C101 copper sheet on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser. It’s the perfect machine for processing copper sheet metal work. Combined with our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes for bending up the brackets they make the perfect sub-contract sheet metal manufacturing team.

We manufacture thousands of different sheet metal brackets for our customers in the UK, take a look at our Bracket and Angle gallery page or our Pinterest Board for inspiration for your next design project.

You may not currently have a requirement for copper brackets, it may be that you need brackets made form brass, stainless or galvanised steel. Whatever bracket you need in over 30 years experience we will have come across it before and can certainly help you out. Our team will be happy to help you with your design ideas, getting the best method for manufacturing and offer price options to suit your batch sizes. Call us on 01489 577786 or e-mail your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk for more information.

CNC punching aluminium circular discs with banana tooling

Thursday, January 24th, 2019

CNC punching aluminium circular discs

When we receive a drawing for a sheet metal part that’s a circle you might think we automatically go for laser cutting. Well laser cutting is a great manufacturing process to use for cutting a wide range of profiles. It is the perfect solution for cutting circular discs but there is another option. By using a CNC punch press with special curved tooling circular discs can be produced very effectively. These curved tools are known as “banana” tools obviously due to their shape.

So why use a curved CNC punch press tool when a laser machine could do the job? Well the biggest advantage is that the curved tooling allows us to combine it with other tooled features not possible on a pure 2D laser machine. For example you may have a circular disc that also has some tapped thread or countersink holes that could be formed. These features are ideal for our Trumpf 3000 punch press enabling us to produce the part much quicker than laser cutting the disc and then having to use secondary operations for tapping the threads or drilling the countersink holes.

Circular aluminum disc

Banana tooling can also be useful with a CNC punch press if the material doesn’t suit laser cutting. For instance highly reflective lighting materials that are cut and folded to make light fitting reflectors cannot be cut on laser machines. Also, pre-painted materials are better suited to CNC punching as the laser cutting edge can burn the painted surface.

The main point to remember is that we have the ability to select the best solution to suit the sheet metal component design and material type. We can also use the machines in combination, perhaps by laser cutting a complex item and then transferring it to a CNC punch press to have threads tapped of a series of dimples of louvre forming

To see hos these banana tools work in action please take a look at our video here. You can see how effective the tooling is and ho quick the parts can be produced.

Fast Tube by Casper

As ever if you have a sheet metal design where it has a circular form or not we will be happy to take a look at it for you. Please send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk as we will work on some price options for you.

Sheet metal work in Great Britain by V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, January 21st, 2019

Sheet metal work in Great Britain

Sheet metal work in Great Britain is still alive and kicking. Here at V and F Sheet Metal we are busy helping to develop products for our UK based customers. We are constantly investing in new sheet metal production machines and software to improve our parts production quality and the speed with which we can manufacture them. Improving turn around times and reducing costs is always on our mind and central to our mission.

As well as producing sheet metal work for you we are also here to help you get the very best from your sheet metal designs. By adding our decades of experience in sheet metal batch production to your design team we can help you produce the most competitive sheet metal parts around. Call our sheet metal work engineering team for a chat and run through your ideas with us. Often just to review the tooling or sizes of a part to get the best from a standard sheet of material can have a big impact on your part prices going forward. Anyway, you have nothing to lose as we help our customers for free.

If you already have finished designs or old projects you might want to swap supplier on then by all means send us your drawings. Using the latest CAD/CAM software we can analyse your ideas and easily produce different price estimate options.

If you want to read in more depth about sheet metal work and how we go about producing components with our production equipment please take a read here.

To see thousands of examples of sheet metal work projects produced in Great Britain you have to have a look at our Pinterest Boards.

Please give us a call on 01489 577786 or e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk to make a start with your new sheet metal work project.

Bending laser cut sheet metal components in Great Britain

Thursday, January 17th, 2019

Sheet metal components can come is a wide range of shapes and sizes. From the simplest flat metal plate to complex intricate welded fabrications. We offer support to our customers’ right across the range with a host of sheet metal manufacturing services. Having control of these manufacturing processes in house enables us to tailor services to suit different designs and production volumes.

Flat laser cut aluminium components

Here is an example of us producing an aluminium bracket. The component could have been CNC punched. We looked at the developed flat blank shape and decided that laser cutting would be better. With its shape and the blending corner radius features on the outer profile laser cutting was the best method to use.

Bent Aluminium components

Once the components were laser cut there was no need to deburr the edges as the cut was so clean. We often find that when laser cutting thin gauges with our fibre laser cutter the edge is acceptable to your customer without further edge finishing operations. We will also include small corner radii to help reduce the chances of people cutting their hands in subsequent assembly processes.

Bending sheet metal components on the Trumpf 7036

Setting up the Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake to fold a component like this is relatively easy. With a simple single top and bottom V tool the whole component can be folded up. Programming the machine allows the operator to control the length or each bend and its angle. The combination of upwards and downwards folds, varying lengths and bend angles enables complex components to be programmed in simple stages. Once a program has been written a single “first off” part is produced. If it’s not exactly to drawing a simple correction can be made on the program to an angle and it will be reflected across all the bends. After the part meets the drawing requirements the process can be repeated again and again until the batch is complete. Depending on the size of the batch of parts, the complexity and drawing tolerances we may stop and check random parts to ensure all is correct.

Fast Tube by Casper

If you are looking for more information on CNC bending take a look at our page, “What is CNC bending?”

Or possibly you would like to see hundreds of examples of CNC folded sheet metal components on our Pinterest Board to give you some ideas for your next new design.

If you have a new sheet metal project and you want us to take a look for you please feel free to give us a call or email sales@vandf.co.uk with your drawings. We will be happy to help with quotes and advice.

CNC punched sheet metal components manufacturers

Monday, January 14th, 2019

CNC punched sheet metal components produced by V and F Sheet Metal

If you are looking for someone to produce your CNC punched sheet metal components we can definitely support you. From the smallest parts the size of a finger nail up to components the size of a 2.5M x 1.25M sheet. Using Trumpf CNC punch presses we can deal with all your CNC punching requirements. However, if your designs really do not suit CNC punching we also have a Trumpf fibre laser cutter. Working alongside our Trumpf CNC punch presses we really do offer the complete sheet metal processing service.

For lot’s of interesting examples of CNC punch presses in action take a look at our YouTube channel.

For a more in depth explanation of CNC punching and it’s uses take a look at this page.

Supported by using the latest Radan CAD/CAM sheet metal software. We are able to read your drawings and help you develop your sheet metal components ready for efficient manufacturing. If you already have a finished design for your sheet metal components please send your data to sales@vandf.co.uk. We can offer you price options to suit your purchase order batch needs. If you have a new design and want some help, call us on 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to help.

CNC punching plastic coated steel

CNC punching with cut blanks

CNC punching in Great Britain

Sheet metal assemblies manufactured in Great Britain 2019

Thursday, January 10th, 2019

Spot welding sheet metal assemblies

Spot welding is the perfect assembly method for joint this sheet metal components together. We would use spot welding processes when the components are manufactured form mild steel, Zintec, galvanised steel and stainless steel. We tend not to spot weld aluminium parts and would look to one of the other processes shown here for those parts. Spot welding is cheap and quick to perform. With simple alignment jigs spot welding is idea for low and high volume batches of assemblies.

For a quick view of spot welding in action take a look at our YouTube channel.

Sheet metal assemblies manufactured in Great Britain

Tack welding using a TiG welding gun is a flexible method of assembling sheet metal housings and enclosures. With simple jigs or sometimes deigning the parts for automatic assembly at the welding stage parts can be assembled with very little fuss. Theses stainless steel housings were assembled together from a number of components to create a range of attractive wall mounted lanterns. The heat marks and weld penetration pips can be quickly cleaned off. In this case the housings were powder coated and showed no signs in the welding process.

Pop riveting in Great Britain

Pop rivets are a quick and cheap method for producing sheet metal assemblies. Dissimilar metals and gauges can be joined together without any problems. There should be no alignment problems either, as the holes can be CNC punched or laser cut in the right place in each part and then brought together with the pop rivet gun without the need for special alignment jigs.

The process is also very reliable without the need to continually test in production joints as with spot welding.

Sheet metal assemblies manufactured in Great Britain

Stud welding is a useful technique to enable us to fix a stud in position with no witness on the other side of the sheet metal. From about 1.5mm and upwards there is no witness on the reverse side to the stud. Under this gauge there can be a slight mark which can easily be cleaned off. This assembly technique is idea when panels are going to be powder coated. These ceiling adaptor rings are a perfect example of using this technique to produce clean surfaces. All we have to do is produce a simple jig to enable us to locate the head of the stud welding gun in the correct position and then fire on the stud.

Sheet metal assemblies manufactured in Great Britain

Where a stronger, water or light tight joint is needed then perhaps a continuous seam weld is the solution. TiG welding either ferrous or non-ferrous materials can produce a neat joint. After welding the seam can be cleaned off using a range of grinders and orbital sanders. Again if this joint is then powder coated there will be no evidence of the initial welding process. The radius of the cleaned off weld can be made to look the same as any bend radii producing a pleasant feel to the complete housing.

Should you want further information on the right process to select for your design then please give us a call. We are always to advise you and offer price options where needed.

Folding sheet metal components with formed joggles using a CNC press brake

Monday, January 7th, 2019

Folding sheet metal components using our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes and special joggle tooling

Folding sheet metal components with formed joggles

Ever wondered how we produce a double bend, often called a joggle? Well this type of Z shape can be produced by simply bending using a V bend block and then turning the component over and bending again to achieve a Z shape. This is easy to achieve with bends that are not too close to each other. When the bends get too close you cannot turn over and get the second bend in position without the first bend hitting the tooling. The only way to them produce 2 bends close to each other is to use special joggle tooling.

Folding sheet metal components with formed joggles

Here you can see some laser cut zintec blanks being formed up using special joggle tooling. The advantages of special tooling is that the exact sizes wanted on the customers design can be achieved. This can allow for sheet thickness and material type. The Trumpf tooling department will work with us to produce the correct tooling to give you what you want.

Folding sheet metal components with formed joggles

If you want to take a look at some of our bending machines folding sheet metal components please view our YouTube channel. You can also see plenty of other sheet metal processes employed by us to produce sheet metal components.

Folding sheet metal components with formed joggles

The best thing to do if you have a sheet metal design and it needs to have tight joggle bends is give us a call. We can go into more depth on the standard tooling we have and the options available to you for special tooling. The costs for special is not as much as you might think.

For more information on CNC bending please take a look at our web page.

Sheet metal assemblies produced to your design in the UK

Thursday, January 3rd, 2019

Sheet metal assemblies manufactured to improve your competitive advantage.

Sheet metal assemblies

No matter what type of assembly work you are looking for we will be happy to help. From the simplest spot welded mild steel chassis with brackets right up to multi-part fabrications. We are happy to look at your designs and work with you to make them suitable for manufacturing.

We often help our customers to redesign an assembly to reduce costs. We are happy for part prices to come down if it means that our customers are more competitive. Working together as a team we all benefit. Sheet metal work is a fast moving and large subject to cover in a few posts. We have a more in depth article that might be of interest to you, “What is sheet metal work and how is it made?”

Our Pinterest boards have thousands of examples of past sheet metal projects, many of them are assemblies. Please take a look for yourself, I welcome any feedback or use them as a starting point for your own new designs.

In conclusion, we are here to support you with our experience in sheet metal design and manufacturing not just to make to your drawing. If you want to chat over some ideas you might have on your sheet metal assemblies just give us a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to listen.

Sheet metal fabrication company based in Hampshire Great Britain

Monday, December 24th, 2018

Sheet metal fabrication and metal work right on your doorstep

We have been manufacturing sheet metal work for our custmomers in Great Britain since the 1980s. Based in Fareham, Hampshire right next to the M27 we are perfectly located to service our customers in Hampshire and beyond.

sheet metal fabrication

Whether you want small mild steel boxes manufactured to your own design of you would like us to help you with development we are ready. Using Radan CAD/CAM software to control our CNC punching and laser machines we can cope with the simplest mild steel box right up to fully welded sheet metal fabrications.

Welded mild steel boxes

Both of the housings you can see here have been TiG welded and were still waiting to be cleaned up. The larger boxes would eventually be powder coated and the smaller zinc plated and colour passivated.

We have been supporting companies in Great Britain for many years with projects just like these. Small batches and special projects right up to many thousands of parts at a time. These sort of projects are just what we are here to help you with. We have plenty of other examples of sheet metal fabrications on our Pinterest Board.

Once you know what you want to have manufactured you just need to call our sheet metal fabrication team on 01489 577786 for assistance. alternatively you can e-mail us at sales@vandf.co.uk and we will sort out your 2D or 3D data.

Sheet metal manufacturing projects produced during December 2018

Monday, December 17th, 2018

Sheet metal manufacturing projects

It’s almost the end of 2018 and we are still involved with sheet metal manufacturing projects. Customers want components and assemblies right up to the last working day. As we have throughout the year we will support them where we can with advice and the right manufacturing processes. Click on the image to get a better view of just 6 of the very latest projects going through our manufacturing workshop. These projects all required CNC programming using Radan CAD/CAM software, CNC laser cutting or CNC punching. They all needed CNC bending which is no problem when you have 7 CNC press brakes.

If you are looking to perhaps review your options for sheet metal work then now might be the time to look at a new supplier. Having a wide range of skills and an impressive selection of modern manufacturing plant V and F Sheet Metal could be the perfect partner you have been looking for. Based in Hampshire on the south coast we are ideally placed to support manufacturing business in the south and across the UK.

Why not take a more in depth look at sheet metal work and how we go about making it.

For a huge range of past sheet metal manufacturing project images why not take a look at our Pinterest Pages.

Call us on 01489 577786 or e-mail your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and our team will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal production in Great Britain – contact V&F Sheet Metal

Thursday, December 13th, 2018

Sheet metal production of sub-contract engineering in Great Britain

If you are looking for a company to support you with the development and production of sheet metal work you need to talk to V and F Sheet Metal. With over 30 years of experience in sheet metal batch production we are ideally placed to support your latest project.

laser cutting sheet metal production

Laser cutting has become a standard method for the production of sheet metal components. It allows for quick and easy development of samples at the early stages of production. No tooling is required and complex shapes can be cut with ease. Once batch production is required laser cutting is ideal for getting the most from each sheet of metal. It’s also a great way to mix and match components from sheets for suites of part increasing sheet yield. Where health and safety is in mind then again a laser cut edge can be smooth and radius corners can be added to your design at no extra cost.

Trumpf 200 CNC punch press producing zintec sheet metal blanks

CNC punching has been the back bone of sheet metal production for many years at V and F Sheet Metal. From early on we have used CNC punch presses to pierce holes and produce component profiles. We now use Trumpf machines for their superior quality, easy of tool setting and CNC programming.

Having a large library of CNC punch tooling built up over the last 20 years enables us to produce many customers parts with no new tooling costs. Working alongside the Trumpf laser cutting machine they provide the perfect team for our customers sheet metal production requirements.

Folding up of components

Most of the components we manufacture for our customers are folded up in some way. This is where CNC press brakes come into action. We currently have 7 machines ranging from 600mm to 3000mm long. We are able to tackle jobs from the simplest 1 bend angle to the most complex folded assemblies. Again, as with CNC punching we have many years of press brake tooling on the shelf and the vast majority of jobs we produce never have the need for new tooling.

TiG welding aluminium housings

After the main production processes of CNC punching/laser cutting and the CNC bending we have a range of ancillary processes. From welding and spot welding we have press work, bush insertion rolling etc. Too many to list here but a quick look at our plant list will show you last we have most processes covered.

So what now ….

If we have interested you in our production abilities then why not contact us with your latest sheet metal production project. If you just want to chat through your ideas our engineering team will be happy to help by calling 01489 577786. If you already have a design then please email your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk. We can read PDF, DXF, DWG, SAT and STEP files.

CNC punching aluminium sheet metal panels

Monday, December 10th, 2018

CNC punching aluminium sheet metal panels using our Trumpf 3000 machine

If you are looking for aluminium sheet metal panels and you want tapped holes, CNC punching can be an idea solution. By incorporating the speed of CNC punching and a tapping head in one machine a very price competitive part can be produced. Parts produced in this fashion have no swarf as we us flutless forming taps. This enables us to process the parts at speed and with a reduced risk of scratches.

CNC punching aluminium panels

The panels look white due to the protective film that is supplied with the aluminium sheet. This protective film can be left in place or removed if finishing or treatment processes such as anodising are required.

CNC punching aluminium sheet metal panels

CNC punching aluminium panels

As well as tapping threads it’s easy to mix several different parts on the same sheet. This CNC punching nest has 2 parts that can easy be seen here. There is also a good example of common line cutting on both parts.

For more examples of CNC punching it’s well worth visiting our Pinterest Board “CNC Punching Sheet Metal Work”

Of course you may already have a design in mind for you CNC punching aluminium sheet metal. If this is the case but you are not quite sure how to go about it please give a call. However, we are always happy to help you with your design or review your drawings. Please send us files to sales@vandf.co.uk and our engineering team will take a look for you.

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