Metal-Interface takes great care to protect your privacy: when you submit a request or ask a question, your personal information is passed on to the supplier concerned or, if necessary, to one of its regional managers or distributors, who will be able to provide you with a direct response. Consult our Privacy Policy to find out more about how and why we process your data, and your rights in relation to this information. By continuing to browse our site, you accept our terms and conditions of use.
Discover several solutions for buying sheet metal or mechanical welding parts when you are on a tight budget and deadline. Metal-interface presents an efficient methodology, through real-life examples!
How do you subcontract complete products with sheet metal parts or casings? Technical sheet metal subcontractors offer a wide range of services, such as electrical wiring, electronic component integration, installation, and maintenance services, etc.
This dossier aims to provide purchasers of sheet metal and tube parts or assemblies with answers and food for thought on the issues they may encounter when subcontracting. With this in mind, Metal-Interface conducted a large survey* with a panel of 362 market-representative prime manufacturers. These interviews highlighted certain focus points.
Broadly speaking, this buyer survey reveals three major challenges:
issues relating to technical aspects, when the requirement is either complex or linked to a particular sector of activity,
difficulties in maintaining the guarantee of a good quality product when the project involves strong constraints on subcontracting costs, or even a "target price" to be achieved,
management of projects with short manufacturing times and fluctuating launch quantities.
With these concerns in mind, we then contacted and interviewed about a hundred subcontractors who shared advice, based on their experience, for buyers of sheet metal work parts or assemblies.
Whether in the banking, transport, medical, aeronautics or railway industry, certain products require a general and integrated approach to manufacture products such as vending machines, cash dispensers, toll booths, etc.
Some subcontractors have developed a wide range of skills beyond sheet metal working alone, in order to take on these complete industrial projects, from the raw materials to installation, while taking care of cabling, the assembly of electrical/electronic components, on-site installation, etc.
This article outlines the answers to the following questions:
How to analyse and study a project?
What skills and means of production are required?
How to purchase and ensure the supply of components?
How to evaluate subcontractors?
Pricing and deadlines are very important aspects to take into account when choosing a subcontractor. This article suggests several possibilities, with concrete examples to provide buyers with a clear vision of the methodology and technical solutions that can be implemented!
A wide variety of parts are produced for the construction and building industry, often in small quantities. Depending on the part’s function, its aesthetics may be very important and require specific manufacturing equipment.
This article focuses on the different technologies used, in particular for cutting and flattening parts.
Tube processing is a very specific job that requires skills, experience and machinery that the subcontractor does not always have.
We have therefore chosen to focus on tube cutting and bending in this article.
Micro sheet metal work involves parts that are roughly a tenth of a millimetre thick, made out of various materials, including steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, CuBe 2, nickel silver, supra, etc. These parts are often quite technical, for high-tech industries, such as electronics, aeronautics, armament, medical, etc.
This article explores this little-known cutting technology, based on a chemical process.
* Panel of 362 buyers surveyed between 7th September 2020 and 11th September 2020.
In addition to regular maintenance, a complete overhaul or retrofitting of stamping presses can be required to regain the machine’s initial characteristics and thus gain in quality and reliability. Read on to discover the steps of such an overhaul, and its important aspects.
The ZINSER CNC cutting systems are renowned around the world for its high quality and customized products “made in Germany”. ZINSER combines tradition with innovation and realises the needs of its customers. Our reputation as a world wide known company is based on our expertise in the field of flame cutting, and plasma cutting systems.
Order numbers on the rise, ever-smaller batch sizes and an increasing variety of articles – to master these challenges, the window and door system manufacturer REHAU in Wittmund, Germany, relies on a state-of-the-art production plant with perfectly coordinated manufacturing and logistics processes. The heart of the internal flow of goods is an automatic UNICOMPACT high-bay warehouse by KASTO. Thanks to this system, REHAU has been able to significantly enhance its order picking performance and flexibility – and make working conditions more ergonomic
The bending process is a strategic position in a sheet metal workshop because:
Many areas for improvement can be implemented to resolve difficulties and improve productivity. This approach involves looking at the process as a whole.
With this in mind, Metal-Interface.com has supplied a dossier specifically focused on bending through 12 articles, which will be centered on the following topics:
We developed this dossier on bending processes starting with the problems encountered by manufacturers. We interviewed nearly 50 manufacturers, subcontractors or producers using press brakes, such as the Aimm Group, Extratole, Arcode, etc. over a period of several weeks. The ATDT firm (technical assistance and sheet metal development) also helped as a specialized technical expert in the bending process.
Next, Metal-Interface exchanged with the majority of press brake manufacturers and equipment producers, including Amada, Bystronic, Colly, LVD, SafanDarley, Salvagnini, AJ Concept, PG Tooling, Wilson Tool, and others.
Bystronic is a leading global provider of high-quality solutions for the sheet metal processing industry. The focus is on the automation of the complete material and data flow of the cutting and bending process chain. Bystronic’s portfolio includes laser cutting systems, press brakes, and associated automation and software solutions. Comprehensive customer services round off the portfolio.
AMB Picot has been designing and manufacturing roll bending machines for more than 150 years. Extremly versatile, roll bending machines are used worldwide and in many industry sectors and are suitable for prototyping and small or large series production. All the models can be equipped with numerical control.
The company develops its new products in its design office in the area of Lyon and never stops innovating. Its know-how makes it possible to meet all the requirements whatever the technical constraints.
With over 100 years of experience in machine design, the Numalliance group gathers the know-how of 6 companies specialised in the design of standard and customised CNC bending and forming machines. World leader in turnkey productivity solutions for wire, tube and flat-stock forming, the company developed its expertise beyond bending and forming and also offers solutions for notching, cutting, punching, chamfering, welding, threading, stamping....
