Custom steel fabrication services can be crucial if you are working on something that requires a metal part to be created for a specific use. If you do not have a way to make the part yourself, a fabrication shop can take your design and build the part for you, ensuring it meets the parameters you have set for the design.

Designing Your Part

When you need a specific part made from steel, you can draw up the design or bring a sketch to the steel fabrication shop you are working with and have them finalize the design with CAD (computer-aided design) software based on your rough design and dimensions. The drawing does not have to be perfect as long as the measurements for the part are accurate, and once the CAD rendering is done, the designer at the shop will go over the drawing with you to ensure it looks right. 

The fabricator can use the CAD design to create the part in many different machines in the steel fabrication shop, or it can be used as a blueprint if the part is going to be made by hand on mechanical tools. Often the choice of tools will be related to the complexity of the design, and if multiple processes are compounded on each other, that will take a lot of time to do manually. 

Producing Your Part

Once the CAD design is complete, the steel fabrication shop can create it for you. Using a CNC (computer-numeric control) machine to produce the part is often very fast but is best for three-dimensional elements. If you only need a flat steel piece cut, shaped, and drilled in specific spots, a plasma table or water jet is often better and less expensive for the client.

The CAD design can be loaded into the computer, and the part cut or manufactured precisely based on the dimensions and layout in the file. Modern steel fabrication depends on tools like these to increase the efficiency in the shop and turn out products for clients faster while ensuring the ability to produce multiple pieces that are precisely the same, one after another.

The ability to recreate a part or piece is also essential, and in some situations, the fab shop may create a single prototype then store the file until you are ready to produce the final parts. If the piece needs some adjustments or changes, the CAD designer can rework the part in the existing file, and then the fabricator can produce another prototype or trial item. 

Once finalized, the steel fabrication shop can create the pieces for you and then save the file to an archive, so if you need more of the same parts later, they can load the file to the appropriate machine and make them quickly and efficiently.  

Contact a company that offers steel fabrication services near you for more information.