Why Quality Fabrication Matters

Running a successful engineering company with high quality fabrication services requires knowledge, experience and continuous investment in the latest machinery. Investment in equipment and staff should be extremely high on anyone’s priority list. Quality and customer service excellence are two of the most important factors and in order to provide that, equipment and staff must be of the highest level.

What Exactly Is Fabrication?

The word “fabrication” means to make something from a raw material. It involves various methods from cutting and bending to machining, welding and assembly. The fabrication process essentially involves creating machined parts and structures from various raw materials. It plays a pivotal role in the manufacturing process of so many different products across a vast list of industries.

What Are The Different Types Of Fabrication Processes?

In today’s modern manufacturing world, engineering companies use many different processes. While the oldest method involved using a saw, modern methods include laser, plasma and waterjet cutting among others. The most common fabrication methods are as follows:

Machining

Machining involves removing metal from a material using a lathe or drill. When using a lathe, the material moves against it where using the drill, the tool will rotate in different ways against the fixed object. The motion range of the cutting head is specified by the number of axes. Take a closer look at what 5-Axis Machining can do.

Cutting

There are several methods of cutting which often depends on the complexity of the project and the cost factor. Examples include using a saw, lasers, waterjet cutting or plasma torches.

Folding

Parts often need to be bent and the most common method is using a brake press where the dies form creases in the metal by pinching it. While extremely useful, this method is only used for very specific projects.

Punching

Punching involves a process using the punch and the die where it cuts out the piece of metal and makes a hole. The punch and die must be the same size and shape as the required hole. In some cases the main piece is kept and the holes are used for fastening while sometimes the removed part is actually the desired product. This is called the blanking.

Stamping

Stamping is similar to punching except that the material is not cut. The die is made so that the material is raised instead of penetrating the metal.

Shearing

Shearing is a process usually done on sheet metal where a long cut is made on a metal piece. It can be compared to the old guillotine with the long handle for cutting paper.

Welding

Welding is essentially the process of joining together two metal pieces. There are several kinds of welding methods for different metals used in a variety of applications. Four of the most common methods include the following:

• Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
• Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG)
• Flux Cord Arc Welding (FCAW)
• Gas Tungsten Arc Gas Welding (GTAW/TIG)

Fabrication Equipment At PRV Engineering

PRV Engineering manufacture for a wide range of industries from food and chemical processing, oil and gas to railway, aircraft and automotive, pharmaceutical, defence and construction. In fact, all types of industrial and specialist engineering is catered for at our facility.

The reason behind PRV’s continued investment in staff, premises and state-of-the-art equipment is to provide the best possible service to all of our customers. Quality is at the top of our agenda in terms of the product produced and services provided as they essentially go hand in hand. More and more customers asked us to produce larger components so we had to invest in additional machinery.

Leadwell V50-L

PRV Engineering have a number of Leadwell machines and believe in the brand as they offer exceptional reliability. The machine comes with a high standard specification like a 12000 rpm, 30 tool change and through spindle cooling so there was no need to delay installation waiting for additional requirements. PRV chose the Siemens control panel and as Simon Jones, Managing Director stated, “When it comes to one off projects, the Siemens panel is so user friendly – it’s quick and easy for anyone to use”.

The versatility of the material that can be machined is also vital and the V50-L has already been used to cut a variety of different materials since it was installed. The envelope and access of the Leadwell V50-L fit our requirements perfectly.

Takumi H22S

PRV required a machine with larger cutting dimensions that could cope with high speed aluminium cutting. The acquisition was as a result of a big manufacturing contract for large format components. In order to complete the project, we needed a machine with 2.2 in X and 1.6 in Y, linear scales, face and taper spindles. With a high speed spindle at 15000 rpm and spindle cooling, the Takumi H22S fitted the bill perfectly.

For the type of work that the Takumi H22S must perform, the ability to get the job off the machine quickly while maintaining high levels of accuracy is essential. We want to remove metal as quickly as we can and the high speed spindles removing the chips from the cut helps achieve this.

In addition to the high speed cutting capabilities, the capacity inside the machine and access for loading materials are big contributing factors. This machine is ideal for getting large fabrication jobs done. The rear and front access doors mean that PRV can complete odd shaped or long jobs in stages because we can open the machine at both ends.

Idroline S1730 Hydro-Abrasive Waterjet Cutting System

This is an elite design ensuring superior technological and productive performance. It is capable of cutting a wide variety of materials using a very high pressure jet of water or a mixture of water and abrasive. Waterjet cutting is often used during fabrication of machine parts.

Waterjet cutting is often the preferred method when the materials being cut are sensitive to high temperatures from other methods. PRV Engineering applies waterjet cutting to various projects in industries such as mining and aerospace for cutting, shaping and reaming.

Fabrication Services At PRV Engineering

There are three factors that determine success in manufacturing and they are production cost, quality and speed. While each component plays an important role, manufacturers must fully commit to all three to truly achieve success.

While there are some industries PRV Engineering specialise in; high voltage power gear is one of the biggest. However, they make parts for various industries including parts for the automotive industry and auto sports. They also make busbars for energy storage systems, valve work and extensive projects for the defence industry. They have heavy fork truck and lifting gear which means they can do almost anything.

“Our large format equipment allows us to machine large aluminium plates and structures as well as large steel components and structures. If somebody wants something made, we can make it and in any material from the most exotics to wood and plastic.”

PRV Engineering Fabrication Projects

Over time PRV Engineering developed an extensive fabrication department capable of handling very small to much larger projects. They provide high quality services and have a comprehensive portfolio of completed projects. Some are listed below:

• Aluminium Framework
• Architectural Steel Fabrication
• Boat Cradles
• Canopies
• Catwalks
• Cover Plates
• Fabricated Brackets
• Fabricated assemblies
• Gravity Conveyor Systems
• Juliet Balconies
• Mezzanine Floors
• Roof Walkways

With more than 20 years supplying steel fabrication services to various industries, our staff can successfully manage your project from start to finish. Get in touch if you have any questions about PRV Engineering or if you need help with your fabrication project. You can also follow our weekly blog posts for more interesting articles on engineering, manufacturing and developments in technology.