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Zintec hanging brackets for track light fittings

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Zintec hanging brackets for track light fittings

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

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

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

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

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Sheet metal suppliers in Hampshire

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Sheet metal suppliers and sheet metal fabrications

Sheet metal suppliers of CNC punched and CNC bent components

We have been supplying sheet metal components and welded fabrications to the UK market and increasing to Europe since the mid 1980s and we are still working on new designs for sheet metal components every day of the week. Over the years we have seen a general shift from product designs that have a life cycle of several years and remain relatively stable to sheet metal work that almost changes with every batch. With our investment in Radan sheet metal design software we can play a big part in helping our customers with their designs and converting their ideas from CAD to CAM and into working CNC programs to quickly drive production.

Sheet metal suppliers

We have also seen the reduction in batch size from hundreds and thousands at a time to smaller quantities which has been met with our investment in Trumpf CNC punching and CNC bending machines. These sheet metal processing machines enable us to change from job to job very quickly when we are supplying sheet metal products to so many different people. We can be CNC punching electronics chassis housings like these shown here and minutes later we will be punching lighting reflectors or stainless steel angle brackets such is the variety of sheet metal work we are involved with.

The range of products we manufacture enables us to keep in touch with many people and pass on tips for designs when they have a problem and are not quite sure how to solve it with sheet metal. Why not give us a call today to discuss your new designs and see if we can suggest a way to reduce your costs in manufacturing.

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Sheet metal electronics chassis plate production

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Sheet metal electronics chassis 3D CAD model

Most of the sheet metal work projects that we get involved with here in Fareham, Hampshire start off with a 3D model or 3D assembly created in Radan CAD/CAM software. These models may come directly from our customer via a SAT or STEP file or we may generate them ourselves from their drawings, the model shown here was generated by V&F Sheet Metal from PDF files. It gives us a really good start in fully understanding the sheet metal work design and how we can best go about manufacturing it before we commit to CNC punching any materials in production. The 3D model also enables us to feedback design ideas directly to our customers as we put the virtual parts together and identify any problems or opportunities to save money in manufacturing.

 

 

Sheet metal chassis plate unfolded from 3D model

Once the 3D model is complete it can be used to produce a flat developed sheet metal blank. This is the correctly calculated shape and size of sheet metal needed to produce the final bent up part taking into account the material type, thickness (gauge) and bend radii. Any problems with sheet metal faces clashing can be spotted at this stage and referred back to the original design for amendment before proceeding further with any production.

 

 

 

 

 

CNC punched tooled sheet metal chassis plate

Once the developed blank has been cleaned up and any amendments made the CNC part can be tooled. This is an automatic operation with CNC tooling being applied to the component’s outer profile and any internal cut outs and holes. There is often the need to improve the automatic selection of CNC tools within the software to ensure the optimum CNC punching path to help reduce production time and tool wear. All these small improvements help to maintain a competitive sheet metal component price.

 

 

 

 

Layout of CNC punched chassis plates on a 2m x 1m sheet of aluminium

Once the single sheet metal component has been sucessfully CNC tooled it can be applied to a full sheet of metal. The sheet maybe a standard industry size for volumes or parts of sheets for small quantities. The best fit can be achieved using software tools to automatically try different orientations of the components with grain direction taken into account where necessary. As we use Trumpf CNC punch presses we are not contrained to the orientation of the parts on the sheet as we can rotate all the tools in the punch head enabling us to get the best use of material per part.

 

 

 

 

Sheet metal chassis plate with engraving produced on a Trumpf 3000 CNC punch press

This chassis plate needed to have the customer’s part number engraved into it for traceability, something that was easy to achieve with our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press. The engraving is carried out with a hardened stylus which can be used to produce a continualy line if needed but in this case a simple number pattern was acceptable and more cost effective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished black anodised sheet metal chassis with inserts

The final completed chassis plate with all the features CNC punched and CNC bent. The aluminium has been black anodised and has zinc plated bushes and captive thumb screws inserted ready for use by the customer.
This is just one of hundreds of different components we are manufacturing every month, if you have something you need manufacturing in sheet metal please give us a call or e-mail your drawings and we will be happy to help you.

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Stainless steel sheet metal brackets after CNC bending

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Stainless steel sheet metal brackets after CNC bending

Here’s an interesting collection of 304 stainless steel brackets stacked in a tin in our factory. The spiral pattern looks similar to that found in a sea shell. Each stainless steel bracket has been CNC punched, de-burred and then CNC bent to complete the sheet metal parts to drawing. Sheet metal brackets such as these are produced every day of the week here at V and F Sheet Metal in our factories in Fareham, Hampshire. These particular brackets are used to support cable runs around marina board walks where boats plug in their batteries to re-charge.

If you have a design requirement for stainless steel brackets or any other sheet metal material please give us a call and we will be happy to quote you for production.

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CNC punching of sheet metal mild steel brackets for pump housings

Monday, March 19th, 2012

CNC punching of sheet metal mild steel brackets for pump housings

CNC punching of sheet metal mild steel brackets for pump housings

These mild steel plates will be bent up and have a formed hook on them before being zinc plated and clear passivated to protect them from rusting. They have been manufactured by CNC punching on our Trumpf 3000R CNC punch press with a special shaped single hit tool. The window in the middle of the plate is a special shape designed to fit around the front of a pump and allow the drive shaft to fit through. For small batches the window profile was produce with a series of overlapping standard CNC punch tools which worked fine. When the batch quantities increased a time study was undertaken for the customer and it was cost effective to invest in a single hit tool to produce the window much quicker and with the added benefit of a cleaner hole at the same time.

If you have a sheet metal component that you are looking to reduce the cost of we are always happy to look at simple tooling options to help you, please give us a call on 01489 577786.

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