Fabricated sheet metal is an important resource for several manufacturing and assembling industries. For example, companies that make vehicles, aircrafts, watercrafts, mining equipment, shipping equipment and electronics must maintain a steady supply of sheet metal to continue functioning. On the other hand, both residential and commercial construction projects need sheet metal, but the need for this particular resource is far greater within the commercial construction industry. Let us get into more detail about the importance and uses of sheet metal in commercial construction next.

Sheet Metal Fabrication: A Brief Introduction

Before the fabrication process can even begin, there must be a well-defined blueprint to follow as well a sheet metal fabrication company to work with on project. This blueprint is generally supplied to the Sheet Metal Fabricators by their respective customers if they require specific, customized pieces. The design should contain all general and fine details regarding the individual pieces, as well as the final product(s) which they are ordering. The metals and alloys most commonly fabricated are stainless steel, steel, iron, copper and aluminum, but the customer’s choice for each piece should be clearly mentioned as well.

Once a blueprint has been supplied to the fabricators, the metal or alloy of choice is then stretched, bent, cut, trimmed, rolled, flattened, heated and contracted with hydraulic press brakes, gas cutters, laser cutters, swing-beam shears and various other tools (as necessary) to attain the exact shapes, definitions and dimensions specified within the blueprints for each part. Post fabricating the individual metallic pieces, they are then assembled through welding, riveting, fastening, usage of adhesives, etc., to create the final product as depicted in the blueprint. The sheet metal fabrication company will use their own designs to best fit the customer’s needs in case they cannot provide the blueprints.

Fabricated Sheet Metal Buildings

Fabricated, or rather prefabricated sheet metal structures, are versatile commercial buildings. These are fabricated in a factory, delivered to the construction site and assembled there. Prefab metal buildings are fast gaining universal popularity in a whole variety of businesses because of the following advantages:

• Not only are these buildings cost-efficient, but they also cost less than building traditional structures of similar sizes
• When manufactured from stainless steel, the durable structures can last for decades without the need for heavy maintenance
• It takes 5-7 days to assemble the prefabricated parts on site, if not less
• The construction site does not suffer from any significant environmental damage
• Made from fabricated metal, the metallic buildings can be recycled in their entirety, at any time
• The buildings can be designed from the scratch to act as barns, warehouses, garages, sheds, grain stores, metal workshops, private houses and more

Structural Components in Regular Buildings

Hot rolled and cold rolled steel I-beams and cross-sections are manufactured and supplied by fabrication plants. They are structural and integral components for any building, whether it’s commercial or residential. High-rises in particular, would not even be possible without these sheet metal components.

The concurrent usage of fabricated sheet metal is vast within the commercial construction sector, but the future promises much more. Fabricated metal sheets have already proven themselves to be greener alternatives to various other, traditional construction materials. If more metal plants started to incorporate energy-efficient manufacturing processes by default, sheet metal can greatly help in bringing down environmental damages caused by the construction industry every year.