Are you planning a project that requires custom metal fabrication? If you want the best results, partner with a company that uses innovative techniques to deliver quality fabricated metal. Keep reading to discover the important role innovation plays in metal fabrication.
What Is Custom Metal Fabrication?
In contrast to mass-produced metal pieces, custom fabrication allows companies to create personalized metal products for displays, prototypes, and parts for industries like aerospace manufacturing or construction. Whenever a company must include custom elements or turnkey products in their design, they need custom metal fabrication.
The most common uses for fabricated metal include the following:
- Hand tools, such as screwdrivers and Allen wrenches
- Hardware pieces like nuts, screws, washers, and bolts
- Cans for food manufacturing and storage
- Customized or branded knives, spoons, and forks
- Pipes and fittings for the plumbing and construction industries
- Doors and windows
- Equipment attachments such as nozzles, handles, or switches
- Car parts, including doors and lug nuts
Why Innovation Is Important
When a company focuses on innovation, its customers receive the following benefits:
- Cost savings: While innovation requires upfront expense, it frequently leads to reduced production and labor costs. When a business passes these savings on to the customer, everyone benefits. When you look for a company that utilizes innovation, you’re searching for a budget-friendly option.
- Improved service: Innovative companies offer better customer service by streamlining their databases and communication ability. Innovation also allows more customization options so customers feel more satisfied and confident the business can meet their unique design specifications.
- Superior products: Innovation in custom sheet metal fabrication has created higher-quality products with greater consistency, durability, and flexibility. When you choose an innovative metal fabricator, you’re choosing a superior product.
How Custom Metal Fabricators Can Innovate
How can you tell when a metal fabricator has successfully innovated? Confirm they’re utilizing the following ideas.
Implementing Software
Software development has significantly increased the quality of the metal fabrication industry. The software can improve the following stages of the metal fabrication process:
- Design: The fabricator works with the customer to draft their project using Computer-Aided Design software during the design process. CAD now offers three-dimensional design capabilities for a more detailed and comprehensive blueprint. If your metal fabricator isn’t using the latest CAD program, they won’t deliver the best results.
- Programming: After designing the project through CAD, the fabricator translates the plan into a language readable by the fabricator machines. Recent advancements in translation technology, such as Digital Factory Software, allow for more accurate translation and quality control, ensuring fast and accurate production of your custom and structural metals.
- Laser cutting: The cutting machine uses CAD plans to shape the metal according to the design specifications during laser-cutting. While some companies use older models, newer technology reduces waste while increasing speeds. This provides cost savings the fabricator can pass on to their consumers.
- Punching: This part of the metal shaping process punches the sheet metal into a specific shape or perforates the metal with the holes required for later assembly. Like laser cutting, the newest technology increases speed and accuracy while reducing waste and costs. Ask how a company uses innovative punching technology to decrease costs and whether it passes those savings onto its clients.
- Folding: Folding the metal into specific forms requires a complex series of machines or robots. Recent innovations to this process include improved speed, accuracy, mechanical integrity, and the ability of a single machine to complete more stages in the process.
Streamlining Administration
While not technically part of the custom metal fabrication process, administration is essential every step of the way. From the time a customer first contacts them through delivering the personalized product, administration, and customer service determine the success of the entire process.
Metal fabricators can innovate their administrative process in the following ways:
- CRM technology: Custom Relationship Management software helps businesses easily access a database containing customer demographics, contact information, buying habits, and complaints and resolutions. If the fabrication company still uses manila files and paper copies, it can’t provide the level of customer service you deserve.
- Cost projection: You deserve an accurate estimate before you partner with a fabrication company. While traditional methods of calculating costs offer a general price range for your product, new technology can calculate the cost more accurately. This allows you to compare prices better and set a realistic budget with less chance of violating your expectations with unforeseen price factors.
- Communication: Proper communication is essential between the client and company but also among the teams of people producing the customized metal. Project management and video conferencing software have never made clear and consistent communication easier. With improved communication, customers receive better service and higher quality products with less stress and hassle.
Utilizing Conferences and Research
If you need metal fabrication long term, you’ll benefit from forming a relationship with a company that can consistently provide for your needs, but how can you tell they’re innovative enough to provide satisfactory results? Attend an industry conference or trade show.
One major function of a conference is to stay current on industry trends and research, so if you restrict your search to companies that have a presence at these events, you confidently assume they’re working hard to innovate their company.
You’ll benefit from talking to an employee in person during a trade show. You won’t have to worry about something becoming lost in translation over the phone, and you can physically examine their products rather than looking at pictures online or taking them at their word about their quality.
Get Innovative Custom Metal Fabrication From Drive Display
If you’re searching for “custom metal fabrication near me,” look no further than Drive Display. Whether you need custom POP displays, injection molding, or unique fabrication, we use innovative techniques to deliver exceptional customer service and high-quality products.
Contact our Drive Display team at (833) 498-8737 to receive a quote and learn how we can take your business to the next level.