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

Monday, February 27th, 2017

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

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

CNC punching sheet metal work

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

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

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

Sheet metal work

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

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

Where can I purchase sheet metal work in the UK

Thursday, February 23rd, 2017

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

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

Sheet metal work

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

Sheet metal work in Hampshire

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

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

CNC punching sheet metal work

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

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

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

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

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

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

Design ideas for cnc punching sheet metal work with Trumpf punch presses

Tuesday, February 21st, 2017

If you are looking for design ideas for CNC punching sheet metal parts then here are some useful tips for you.

Nibbling with a CNC punch press

If you are looking for a particular shape to be produced by CNC punching it may not always be a standard shape we would have a tool for. By using a series of standard CNC punch press tools we can create a more complex or non standard shape. These ventilation slots are a great example of combining 2 shapes together to produce a the desired effect without the need for new special tooling. We have used a standard rectangle and standard obround slot to produce the correct shape for this customers sheet metal box.

Tapped threads using a CNC punch press

If you need to secure two components together you will probably want to use a screw. Your options could simple include a nut in assembly or we could press in a sheet metal insert such as a Hank bush to create a fixed thread point. We can also tap a thread directly into the sheet metal. This technique is nicely demonstrated here using our Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press. The thread has been formed straight into the sheet and is ready to use without any further production operations.

CNC punching with banana tooling

Producing curved shapes in easy when laser cutting but needs a little more thought when using a CNC punch press. With the correct tooling curved shapes can be successfully produced. They may be large circular cut-outs, curved component outer profiles or curved slots such as these. This pattern of slots are used for a ventilation area with a small fan and was punched using curved banana tooling.

CNC punched mild steel

And here’s the complete component in its CNC punched nest. These are just a few of the design ideas which make CNC punching such a flexible technique when it comes to manufacturing sheet metal work in the UK. If you want to investigate further the standard CNC tooling we have available please take a look at our tooling pages. All these design features are supported by Radan CAD/CAM sheet metal software which we use across the board on our CNC punch press and laser cutting machines.

If you are looking for design ideas for CNC punching your sheet metal project please give V and F Sheet Metal a call. We often save our customers money by suggesting alternative ideas using standard tooling that we already have on the shelf.

CNC programming punch presses for punching sheet metal work

Thursday, February 16th, 2017

CNC programming using Radan CAD/CAM sheet metal software

3D models of sheet metal housings and covers

Most of the sheet metal work that we manufacture starts off as a 3D model. This could be a simple single part, 2 parts like this aluminium housing and cover or a more complex assembly of parts. The 3D model may be created entirely by us here at V and F Sheet Metal or it might be one given to us by our customers as either a SAT or STEP file. Either way the 3D model helps us to establish an unfolded blank size and check that all parts together correctly. A 3D model can also be helpful for our customers who don’t have 3D software as we can give them images to check out their own design before we commit to manufacturing and sheet metal work.

CNC punching nest for aluminium housings and brackets

If you look carefully you can see the aluminium housing shown in the 3D model unfolded and tooled up in a punching nest created by CNC programming. The other parts shown with the housing blanks are part of the same set of parts and were punched form the same material so speeding up production and saving what would have been waste material within the sheet. Any combination of parts form the same sheet is possible when using a Trumpf CNC punch press with its flexible single punching head. Being able to rotate all tools through 360 degrees in the head enables us to be really flexible when producing either prototype or production runs of sheet metal work.

CNC punching sheet metal components with a Trumpf 3000R punch press

And finally here is an example of CNC programming being used to create a range of sheet metal parts all from the same sheet. The range of parts that can be produced using CNC programming techniques and CNC tooling is huge. From small earth tags, support brackets, electronics front panels, lighting reflectors, sheet metal housings up to long punched sections and most with standard CNC punch press tooling that we hold on the shelf.

If you have a sheet metal project and you are not sure whether it should be laser cut of CNC punched let us take a look for you. Using our CNC programming software we can produce test programs for both types of machines and feedback the best option for price before you finalise your design ideas.

Very fast CNC punching of sheet metal brackets from V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, February 13th, 2017

If you want to see just how fast a Trumpf CNC punch press can produce sheet metal blanks for brackets then take a look at this video.

Fast Tube by Casper

These galvanised mild steel brackets used in the building trade are typical of the work that we produce on our CNC punch presses. The ability to punch out parts and send them straight down the machine chute into a collecting bin is really helpful when processing large volumes of work. Running 2 of these machines in our factory here in Hampshire, UK enables us to be very flexible when it comes to your rush jobs or trying out new prototype parts. CNC punching of sheet metal brackets is not the only way we can manufacture these parts. We also have a Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine to offer the complete sheet metal cutting package. The laser is perfect for thicker gauges and those awkward shapes that would need special tooling on a CNC punch press. If you get the chance please have a look at our gallery pages.
We have a large range of past sheet metal projects that should help to illustrate the range of services we can offer you.

When offering a sheet metal manufacturing service in the UK it’s all about flexibility. The ability to offer different solutions for your purchasing needs when you need them. Being able to quickly take your CAD data and come back with quotes and design options. Basically being able to speak your language, understand your needs and save you time and money.

If you want to learn more about the way we go about CNC programming these machines please follow this link.

If you have a live project that needs manufacturing, give us a go. Call us on 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to take you call. If you already have drawings or 3D data then please send them to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will take a look for you.

Sheet metal angle brackets manufactured to your designs in the UK

Thursday, February 9th, 2017

Trumpf 7036 CNC bending metal angle brackets

Trumpf 7036 CNC bending angle brackets

Perhaps you have a need for sheet metal angle brackets in your products. V and F Sheet Metal are based in the UK and here to help you quickly get the angle brackets you want. Whether they are simple galvanised steel angle brackets like the one shown here or much more complex brackets we can help you. With a range of CNC punching and CNC bending machines to produce accurate sheet metal flat blanks our CNC bending machines are feed with just the parts they need. Small sheet metal angle brackets with tolerance of +/-0.2mm on bends is no problem for us. The Trumpf 7036 CNC press brake is a great machine for this type of sheet metal bracket manufacturing. Very fast and accurate and so simple to set up for small batches of components. With standard CNC bend tooling on the shelf the vast majority of work we produce for our customers needs no new tooling keeping the costs down for each part made.

Sheet metal angle brackets

The angle brackets show here were part of an order for 3 types of similar bracket and 6000 in total. The brackets were used in the building trade but we manufacture brackets for the electronics industry, lighting, heating equipment, professional audio equipment etc.

If you have a bracket design please send it to us by e-mail or give us a call and we will be happy to chat through your ideas. We can often suggest a few simple changes to save you money when it comes to production.

Give us a call.

CNC punching sheet metal work at V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, February 6th, 2017

CNC punching sheet metal work

CNC punching sheet metal work can cover such a wide range of components. From small spring clips, mild steel angle brackets and aluminium front panels right up to stainless steel doors and galvanised steel drip trays. The CNC punch presses are the machines to have when it comes to producing sub-contact sheet metal and Trumpf are the best of the lot. With the Trumpf single had design we can produce complex shapes and designs very easily with our standard CNC punch tooling. Most parts are produced without any extra tooling costs for you.

These sheet metal motor support brackets have been CNC programmed to fill the complete 2M x 1M sheet for maximum material efficiency. The Trumpf 200 machine shown here is supported by it’s bigger brother the Trumpf 3000 to offer a great sub-contract CNC punching sheet metal work service to companies right across the UK. When CNC punching isn’t quite right for a design, it’s no problem as we can also offer laser cutting with our Trumpf 3030 3KW fibre laser machine.

CNC punched brackets produced from 3mm zintec coated mild steel

Using radius tooling, standard round holes in multi-tool set ups and rectangular tools these components were each produces in seconds. V and F Sheet Metal have been CNC punching sheet metal work for over 30 years with a range of machines. These Trumpf machines are the best for accuracy and flexibility. Components can be transferred between our two CNC punch presses and our laser cutting machine. This flexibity is supported by our Radan CNC programming software and on larger volume can lead to the same parts being produce together on different machines to reduce manufacturing times.

The best way to really understand how we can help you is to simply send in a new project or even a sheet metal CNC punching projects you are currently purchasing and we will be happy to give you some pricing alternatives.

Laser cutting galvanised mild steel sheet metal plates

Thursday, February 2nd, 2017

Laser cutting galvanised mild steel is simple with a Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutting machine

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

We have all the power we need to laser cut through galvanised mild steel. With the 3KW Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter we can produce parts faster than ever before. This service is a great bonus to you if you need a few parts in a hurry to prove a new design or perhaps you have an urgent requirement for sheet metal work to satisfy a short lead time order from your customer. Laser cutting galvanised mild steel either with compressed air or pure nitrogen gas is easy for us with our powerful Radan CAD/CAM CNC programming software.

This picture captures perfectly the explosive power of the laser cutter just as it’s piercing through 3mm thick galvanised mild steel. To see the speed of the laser cutter while cutting a range of materials and thicknesses take a look at our YouTube channel. Real life sheet metal projects laser cut in our factory in Fareham, Hampshire, UK.

Laser cut galvanised steel plates

These galvanised mild steel plates were laser cut, edge de-burred and then folded up to size to produce mounting plate for LED display sign housings which we also manufactured in aluminium for our customer.

To fully appreciate the advantages of laser cutting when designing your sheet metal products it’s best to give us a call and we will be happy to talk through your options. Our engineering team are available on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk

Welded fabrication aluminium sheet metal work UK

Monday, January 30th, 2017

Welded aluminium fabrications

Aluminium sheet metal work in Hampshire UK

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

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

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

Where can I find a sheet metal working company in Hampshire

Thursday, January 26th, 2017

The ideal place to start if you are looking for a sheet metal working company in Hampshire is V and F Sheet Metal.

Laser cutting sheet metal work

When you are looking to have sheet metal work manufactured for your own designs you will often need many different machining processes to successfully complete a project. V and F Sheet Metal have a wide range of manufacturing processes all under one roof in Fareham, Hampshire. Sheet metal work can be cut from fresh sheet by guillotining but nowadays we mainly CNC punch or laser cut the sheet metal blanks direct from standard sheet. This process enables us to CNC program the parts accurately and quickly to your design taking into account the material thickness, material type and any design features in the final component.

Having both CNC punching and laser cutting under one roof enables us to quickly decide which production method is most suitable for your sheet metal work and get on and cut your parts without compromising on quality or delivery. Here I have shown a photo of our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutting machine cutting through brass sheet metal. The fibre laser can cut through the brass sheet still leaving the peelable plastic coating in place to help protect the work in production and during transit to your factory.

CNC bending from a sheet metal working company in Hampshire

CNC bending sheet metal work

If you are looking for a sheet metal working company in Hampshire who can handle sheet metal work up to 3M long then I’m sure we can help you. With the ability to laser cut and fold up to 3M long we can handle most peoples requirements.

Sheet metal work in Hampshire

Here’s a typical group of sheet metal work which we have produced in our factory in Fareham, Hampshire. These parts have been laser cut, edge de-burred, they have been CNC folded up and have sheet metal inserts pressed in place.

What do I need to do next to gain an advantage?

So, if you are looking for a sheet metal working company in Hampshire the first place you should be looking at is V and F Sheet Metal. Please give us a call on 01489 577786 to speak with our engineering team or e-mail us on sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to take a look at your drawings and produce a range of price options and comments on your designs.

CNC punched light fitting reflectors produced at V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, January 23rd, 2017

CNC punching anodised aluminium reflector materials for industrial light fittings

Trumpf 200 use to produce CNC punched light fitting reflectors

Here’s our Trumpf 200 CNC punch press busy producing CNC punched light fitting reflectors. This machine is more than capable of punching out all of these types of part. The reflector parts are normally 0.4mm to 0.5mm thick so machine tonnage is never an issue when you have 19 tons to play with. The reflector materials we use are special pre-anodised aluminium with protective peelable films to keep the reflective surfaces clean and scratch free while in production. The Trumpf 200 as another advantage in that its acceleration is smooth and the punching speed can be slowed down. This is great when it comes to the end of a CNC punched nest of parts from a whole sheet. The final stages of CNC punching can make the sheet very weak and there is a risk that the very components we are trying to produce fall out of the next and we lose the whole sheet. With the Trumpf 200 this seldom happens enabling us to produce prices without the need for much allowance for scrap which is really useful with expensive light fitting reflector materials.

CNC punched light fitting reflectors

A closer look at the lighting reflectors being CNC punched in the image above. You can see that the components fit really nicely into the standard sheet size saving material and money. We would normally produce these parts in batches of 400 at a time and CNC punching is ideally suited to this type of work and volumes. All the features shown here have been punched out with standard V and F Sheet Metal tooling and are freely available to you if you want any sheet metal work.

Light fitting reflectors

A totally different light fitting project required thousands of CNC punched light fitting reflectors to be made in a short space of time. Again, the Trumpf 200 CNC punch press was used to produce many different light reflectors which were then folded up on our Trumpf 7036 CNC press brakes. The whole project took several weeks with over 120,000 bends being needed to complete all the parts.

We have lots of examples of past sheet metal projects we have manufactured for the Lighting Industry, please follow the links here for more general information or our Lighting Reflector Gallery.

If you have a light fitting project and you need lighting reflectors manufacturing out of sheet metal please give us a call and we will be happy help advise you and produce a range of prices if needed.

Sheet metal work laser cutting programs

Thursday, January 19th, 2017

Sheet metal work laser cutting programs produced for our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser machine using Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM 2016 software.

The images shown here are typical of the laser cutting programs used to manufacture sheet metal work with our laser cutting machine. The laser cutting programs can be used to cut a single part from a sheet, a full sheet of a single parts or a range of parts to make a set ready for a project. This flexibility in being able to quickly create a program that suits a one of part, small batch or higher volume part with the same software in essential when offering a sub-contact laser cutting service. The parts that we laser cut may simple be blanks used direct by our customers or the starting point for a more complex part that may be folded up and welded etc.

We are always up with the latest version of Radan CAD/CAM software so that we can communicate with our customers using Solid Works or AutoCAD via DXF, DWG, STEP or SAT files. If you only have a PDF or JPG we can still take that information and create the right CAD data to program the laser and send you back a drawing if needed. If you want us to produce you some prices for your next sheet metal work order please send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to take a look for you.

Laser cutting sheet metal work CNC program nest

Laser cutting programs

Laser cutting sheet metal work CNC program nest

Joggled sheet metal brackets and their uses in UK industry

Monday, January 16th, 2017

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

Joggled form on aluminium bracket close up image

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

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

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

Assembly work and Sheet metal fabrication Hampshire UK

Thursday, January 12th, 2017

Sheet metal fabrication Hampshire – assembly of light fitting gear trays

Sheet metal fabrication Hampshire UK

V and F Sheet Metal have been based in Hampshire UK for over 30 years growing in the range of sheet metal fabrication services we offer our customers. In that time we have built up a sheet metal working service for a huge range of companies right across the UK. As well as CNC laser cutting, CNC punching and CNC bending we can offer a wide range of ancillary manufacturing services. You just have to take a look at our website to see the comprehensive range of services offered. With the latest CNC sheet metal working processes covered in house we are proud of the service we can offer you. A good starting point is to look at our gallery pages to see the range of sheet metal components and sheet metal assemblies we manufacture.

We are often called upon to simple supply sheet metal components to our customers drawings and that is fine with us. Some of our customers will want us to arrange to have their components powder coated, zinc plate or anodised which again is not a problem. We do also get involved with sheet metal fabrication assembly work. This maybe simply spot welding several parts together to create custom built sub-assemblies. Parts maybe welded together to create complex fabrications in ferrous or non-ferrous materials. We are also asked to pop rivet parts together so final assembly is much quicker for our customers. The sheet metal fabrications shown here have been CNC punched, CNC folded and then pop riveted together. These assemblies are part of a control gear tray in a large industrial light fitting for one of our UK lighting customers.

The method of assembly you want will depend on the needs of your product but we can support simple hollow and solid pop riveting, spot welding, tack welding, solid riveting, assembly with self tapping screws etc. It’s easy for us to provide you with prices with and without assembly so you can see which way you want to go in production, we are here to help you during the whole design to manufacturing cycle.

You can always give us a call or e-mail our engineering team to discuss your ideas and how we can support you to speed up the production time for you designs.

CNC punching UK at its best with V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, January 9th, 2017

For CNC punching UK at its best contact V and F Sheet Metal

CNC punching aluminium electronic housings

CNC punching formed CSK in aluminium blanks

CNC punching fibre optic light box blanks

If you are looking for a great example of the versatility of CNC punching UK when it comes to producing sheet metal work, look no further. Using our Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press we have been able to punch out the profile, all the round holes and slots using standard CNC punch press tooling that we have on the shelf for any of our customers to use. The fan ventilation pattern was produced with custom tooling for a neat and quick solution in 3mm thick aluminium. All the countersunk (CSK) hole forms have also been pressed into the sheet metal using a range of our own tooling after a pilot hole has been punched in the sheet.

For a quick guide to all out standard CNC punch press tooling take a look at our tooling library. You should be able to find enough tooling to suit most of your sheet metal component design needs. Many tools can be used in combination to create more complex patterns and cut-outs. Tools can also be hit and indexed multiple times to create longer slots or larger window cut-outs. If you are still not sure you only have to call our engineering programming team and we will be happy to help advise on the best tooling to use on any given material type and thickness.

We also have a CNC punching gallery with many past projects to take a look at. It may be that there is something that we have made in the past which can give you the inspiration you need when thinking of your new sheet metal component design.

Still not sure about designing sheet metal products for CNC punching?

So for CNC punching UK at its best please give V and F Sheet Metal a call on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to produce estimates for you.

Laser cut and CNC punched sheet metal panels manufactured direct to your designs

Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

CNC punched sheet metal panels

Laser cut sheet metal panels

Sheet metal panels come in such a wide variety of shapes and sizes. These sheet metal panels have been CNC punched and CNC laser cut. The slightly green image is the laser cut panels viewed through the fibre laser safety glass of the laser cutting machine. We have many examples of sheet metal panels on our website pages and blog posts. A good place to find more examples of sheet metal panels is our gallery pages. Which manufacturing machine we use depends on the material type, thickness and complexity of the sheet metal panels. If the panels are over 4mm thick they would definitely be laser cut. If the panels have very complex cut-outs or an outer profile that is difficult to produce without special CNC tooling then again they would be suitable for laser cutting. If however the panels have formed features such as tapped threads, formed ventilation louvres, raised dimples or self tapping screw forms then CNC punch would be the way to go.

We can often produce panels with either machine and have on occasions made large batches on both types of machine together. This flexibility of manufacturing service is something we are proud to offer our customers. We are here to help wherever we can with a flexible approach to production and with free advice on designing for manufacturing.

Perhaps you have some panels you need to have manufactured and you would like us to produce prices for you. Just send you drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to take a look and help advise on your designs and offer competitive prices.

Still not sure? Give us a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to chat.

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.

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

Thursday, December 22nd, 2016

Trumpf 7036 set up ready for production of stainless steel brackets

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

Laser cut and folded stainless steel brackets

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

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

What do I do next?

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

Sheet metal working projects review for 2016

Monday, December 19th, 2016

Sheet metal working projects from V and F Sheet Metal during 2016

Here are just a few of the sheet metal projects that we have posted on our sheet metal blog this year. The range of materials, sizes and complexities of sheet metal work we manufacture never ceases to amaze me.

I want to wish a big thanks to all our customers for their support and orders during 2016. Please keep your ideas and orders coming so we can expand our service and help you further in the future.

CNC punching sheet metal work

CNC punched brackets produced from 3mm zintec coated mild steel

Light fitting reflectors

Laser cut aluminium sheet metal projects

Laser cut aluminium sheet metal work

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

Typical 3D model of a galvanised mild steel bracket produced by V and F Sheet Metal

Black anodised angle brackets

Laser cut sheet metal panels

Sheet metal fabrication assembly of light fitting components

Sheet metal fabrication assembly of light fitting gear trays

Folding brass sheet metal contactor brackets

Bending aluminium boxes

Video of CNC punching sheet metal ventilation grilles

Thursday, December 15th, 2016

CNC punched grille with bespoke punch press tooling

CNC punch presses are so flexible when it comes to producing bespoke sheet metal work and our Trumpf machines are the best of the bunch. With their single head design allowing all punch and form tooling to rotate through 360 degrees we can produce some very complex components with the simplest of standard tooling that we have “on the shelf”.

The ventilation grilles shown here were produced with standard CNC punch press tooling and one specially made bespoke tool. This special tool was purchased by our customer to allow us to produce a repeating pattern across a range of grille sizes for them quickly, cleanly and cheaply.

The punch press video shows our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press running with the presser foot option engaged. This system allows the stripper plate to positively press the sheet each time a hole is punched. This technique reduces the amount of distortion that is produced when CNC punching a series of close pitch holes such as the ventilation pattern in these sheet metal grilles.

CNC punching machine video

Fast Tube by Casper

Run the video and you will see that even with the presser foot activated the machine still has an impressive turn of speed.

Perhaps you have a sheet metal working project that needs a ventilation pattern CNC punched, we have lots of standard tooling we can use for you. If you want a bespoke shape the tools are surprising cheap for the life and volume of work that they can produce. Please call us on 01489 577786 to discuss your project.

Laser cutting sheet metal electronics enclosures with a Trumpf 3030 fibre

Monday, December 12th, 2016

Just take one look at our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutting out these electronics enclosures and you will realise how flexible this machine is when it comes to producing sub-contract sheet metal work. Whether it’s laser cutting special connector cutouts, complex outer profiles or intricate fan apertures this machine can cut through all sheet metal materials in seconds. We use our fibre laser cutter mainly on thinner gauges materials from 0.7mm to 3mm but it’s more than capable of laser cutting through 20mm mild steel. Driven by Radan sheet metal software it allows for the most efficient component nesting to keep material costs down and use up off cuts from parts projects.

Fast Tube by Casper

The fibre laser’s ability to cut through ferrous and non-ferrous materials including copper and brass set it apart from the traditional CO2 laser enabling us to offer you the complete sheet metal working service. Our website has many pages and photo galleries illustrating the range of sheet metal work we have produced from this machine in the past 3 years. It still amazes me today the speed and accuracy of this machine of the wide range of work we get involved with for our customers across the UK. If you are ever passing Fareham, Hampshire and want to come and witness laser cutting in action feel free to drop in and say hello.

If however you would prefer to e-mail us some drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk our engineering team is ready to produce competitive quotes fro you and help manage your laser cutting projects.

Sheet metal brackets manufactured to your own designs

Thursday, December 8th, 2016

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

CNC punched and CNC folded mild steel fixing brackets

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

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

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

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

CNC folded sheet metal work – manufacturing in the UK

Monday, December 5th, 2016

CNC folded sheet metal work – manufacturing in the UK

CNC folded sheet metal work

CNC folded sub-contract sheet metal work

CNC folded sheet metal work

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

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

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

Zintec sheet metal brackets produced in Hampshire UK

Friday, December 2nd, 2016

Zintec brackets produced in Hampshire UK

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

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

What to do next?

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

CNC punched sheet metal work manufactured to your own designs

Thursday, November 24th, 2016

If you are looking for CNC punched sheet metal work manufactured to your own designs then you really must give V and F Sheet Metal a try.

CNC punched sheet metal work manufactured to your own designs

The flexibility of produce sheet metal blanks on a CNC punched press is illustrated here. Some parts have been punched out along the length of the sheet and some across the sheet. These efficient CNC punch nests have been produced automatically using Radan sheet metal software. Whenever we can we will extract as much value out of a sheet of metal, saving waste and helping to keep down your piece part prices.

CNC punched sheet metal work produced to your own designs

This is a simple sheet metal surround CNC punched on our Trumpf 200 CNC punch press. It could just as well have been CNC punched on it’s bigger brother, the Trumpf 3000 or even laser cut on our Trumpf 3030 fibre laser cutter. Having all these machines under one roof enables us to use the correct option for your sheet metal design when is comes to prototyping or volume production. Produced in a thin gauge zintec coated mild steel substrate these parts are perfect if they need to be powder coated or can even be left self colour if they are used in a dry and warm environment.

For more help on your sheet metal work designs or any manufacturing advice please give our engineering team a call on 01489 577786 or send us your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.

Sheet metal workers in the UK, contact us for manufacturing your sheet metal work projects

Thursday, October 27th, 2016

CNC punching sheet metal workers in the UK

CNC punched aluminium sheet metal housings

Sometimes we have to manufacture a range of parts all on the same order for our customers. If the sheet metal work if all designed to use the same materials and thickness we can produce them as families of parts from the same sheet. The aluminium parts shown here are just such a case in point. We have CNC programmed the housing bases and covers together to ensure that they can be CNC punched out together. This then allows us to fold them together and check all the holes align and the cover is a good fit on the housing base before they are sent off to be powder coated. This technique is often useful if the sheet metal parts do not fit a standard sheet very well. By looking at several parts to be nested together we can often eliminate waste in the sheet and then reduce the sheet metal component costs.

Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press producing sheet metal housing blanks

I have managed to capture the Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press in the middle of CNC punching out the aluminium housing bases. Being sheet metal workers based in the UK we need to use manufacturing equipment that is flexible for any size of project we are asked to make for our customers. The Trumpf 3000 is a very powerful machine being able to produce samples, small batches and large production volumes with very little tooling set up times. This makes it the perfect sheet metal working machine to produce CNC punched parts for the starting point of the manufacturing process. Added to the ability of the punch press to tap threads and form up bent sections the machine is the best you can get when manufacturing sheet metal work.

CNC punched sheet metal work produced at V and F Sheet Metal

Here’s a perfect example of the type of sheet metal work that we can produce on our CNC punch presses. Both of the examples selected here could have been CNC punched on either machine. This leads to a more flexible approach to production demand planning and security of supply for time sensitive orders.

Trumpf 200 CNC punch press in action, sheet metal workers in the UK

Trumpf 200 CNC punch press producing zintec sheet metal blanks

Although our Trumpf 200 CNC punch press is an older simpler machine it is still the work horse that just goes on and on. Punching out sheet metal work in a range of materials and thicknesses is easy for this machine. With a wide range of CNC punch tools and the right software we can CNC punch most sheet metal work that our customers need without any new tooling. For more information on our standard CNC punch press tooling which can be used in your designs please take a look at CNC punch press tooling tables.

If you have a sheet metal project and it needs CNC punching let us know and we will be happy to produce a quotation for you.

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

Monday, October 24th, 2016

Sheet metal folded profiles produce by V and F Sheet Metal

Safan e-Brake CNC press brake in action

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

Sheet metal folding with a CNC press brake

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

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

Sheet metal components manufactured with pressed inserts

Thursday, October 20th, 2016

Stainless steel front panels with pressed inserts

Stainless steel front panels with stainless steel stand offs.

If you are looking for sheet metal components manufactured with pressed inserts you have certainly come to the right place. Based in Fareham, Hampshire, UK right by the M27 for over 30 years we have produced a wide range of sheet metal components with inserted studs, bushes and standoffs. Whether it is stainless steel panels, aluminium enclosures, mild steel angle brackets or welded fabrications we have a vast experience of pressing in a wide range of inserts. The 2 sheet metal work examples shown here happen to both be manufactured from 304 stainless steel. As well as the components being in different ferrous and non-ferrous materials we can also insert stainless steel, aluminium alloy and mild steel zinc plated fixings. With the wide range of designs available to you there is always a solution that we can use to help speed up your assembly.

Pressed insert studs in sheet metal panels

Sheet metal work with pressed studs inserted

All the sheet metal components that we manufacture here at V and F Sheet Metal have inserts pressed in either on our Haeger bush / stud inserter or various fly-presses. Both methods work well in pressing inserts into pre-punched or laser cut holes. The positional tolerances are to within +/-0.2mm and they are very reliable. As well as the standard self-clinch and hank style anchor rivet style bushes / studs there are many specialist parts that can be inserted. For example there are inserts allowing PCB to be snapped in place or bushes with nylon rings to prevent screws vibrating out when in operation.

If you want more information on the types of pressed inserted that we can source and insert for you please give us a call on 01489 577786 and we will be happy to advise you on the right solution for your sheet metal component design.

CNC punching sheet metal work with folded tabs from V and F Sheet Metal

Monday, October 17th, 2016

CNC punched sheet metal with folded tabs

Here at V and F Sheet Metal we have been CNC punching sheet metal using CNC punch presses for many years. We have used them to produce all our sheet metal blanks and they are for most jobs the first operation in the manufacturing sequence. Whether the CNC punching is carried out with turret machines or single head (Trumpf) style machines the process is designed to punch holes into a single sheet of metal as quickly as possible. We use the Trumpf style CNC punch presses as we feel they are the best machine when offering a sub-contract sheet metal work service. These CNC punch presses are so flexible and quick to set, helping us to keep components costs low even when only small batches on components are required. Both of our CNC punch presses are programmed with Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM software. Having common programs and common tooling across both machines enables us to plan production more efficiently to smooth out the inevitable rush job that comes along.

CNC punching with multi-bend tooling

Multi-Bend tooling

As well as being able to punch holes, slots, forms and outer profiles we can produce folded tabs in our sheet metal work. The special CNC tooling that enables us to do this is called a multi-bend tool. The tool can form up tabs up to 40mm long and 20mm high and is great on applications like these aluminium lighting gear trays. These sheet metal trays have 4 tabs folded up on the Trumpf 3000R punch press and then the remainder of the folds bent on our Safan e-Brake CNC press brake.

The multi-bend tooling is very quick to use and can on the right job form up more than 2,500 bent tabs per hour. The size and angle of each bend is controlled from the Radan software and only adjusted at the machine for sheet gauge fluctuations.

If you would like to know more about CNC punching sheet metal with this tooling option or any other features that we can use to enhance your sheet metal designs please give us a call on 01489 577786 and our engineering team will be happy to help you.

Welded sheet metal fabrications from V and F Sheet Metal

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

Spot welded sheet metal fabrications

Today I thought it would be good to show off a couple of welded sheet metal fabrications that have been recently manufactured. As well as TiG and MiG welded sheet metal fabrications we often get involved with supplying our customers with spot welded fabrications. These zintec cages have been CNC punched out on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press and then folded on one of our CNC press brakes. The final manufacturing operation was to spot weld together folded flaps to the side panels to create a complete strong cage. These cages were then powder coated before shipping to our customer.

Aluminium TiG welded sheet metal fabrications

Sheet metal enclosures with welded corner joints

These aluminium cases and end caps are typical of the welded sheet metal fabrications produced here at V and F Sheet Metal. They have been CNC punched out and folded up before having their corner joints TiG welded. The final manufacturing operation was to clean off the welds so that they were nice and smooth ready for powder coating. Once they were powder coated there was no witness of the welding or cleaning up operations.

Both the spot welded enclosures and the TiG welded aluminium cases have been CNC programmed using our Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM software. The software is great at enabling us to experiment with initial 3D model design ideas, laser or CNC punching tooling options, the best corner treatment for bending and welding and nesting the most parts for a given sheet of metal.

Please contact us and we will be happy to discuss the right time to use spot welding or Tig / MiG welding in you sheet metal designs. If you are happy that you have the right solution please send your drawings to sales@vandf.co.uk and we will be happy to produce estimates for you.

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