Every time you get in a car, pick up the phone, handle a tool or turn on an electronic appliance, you are looking at the result of custom metal fabrication.

Our economy relies on metal fabrication processes. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to run our electrical systems or create the parts that keep our houses, kitchens, businesses, computers and vehicles operational. Some fabricated metal product examples include bolts and screws, cutlery, pipe fittings, car parts and even hand tools. However, it is difficult for many of us to understand what precision metal fabrication entails, as well as all of the areas of our lives it affects.

This article will serve as a metal fabrication guide, explaining metal fabrication’s definition, history, process, technology, types and applications. By the end, you will have a more in-depth understanding of how crucial this process is to civilization and how many different parts of our lives it touches.

Metal Fabrication Definition

Before we dive into the details of what metal fabrication is all about, we have to answer the main question: what is metal manufacturing and fabrication?

Metal fabrication is the process of manufacturing sheet metal and other flat metals to make them conform to specific shapes. The process starts with sheet metal around a quarter of an inch thick or less. At this thickness, the metal is pliable enough to assume different shapes. Using this metal, fabricators alter the sheet to create a specific shape. This takes place through cutting, stamping, shaping, folding and welding. Another related practice is custom fabrication, meaning the creation of new custom parts using novel combinations of these processes.

All this work is completed by metal fabricators — highly skilled specialists who are trained to cut and manipulate metal with a surgeon’s precision to the desired shape. These fabricators often work out of large-scale manufacturing operations or specialized fabrication shops. The shops themselves vary widely, offering general fabrication services or specialized fabrication for medical and IT industries.

Metal fabrication may require additional parts to be added during the process, including but not limited to:

Plate metal

Expanded metal

Formed metal

Wire for welding

Hardware

Fittings

Castings

Of course, the processes and parts used will vary depending on the job. Essentially, a fabrication shop or machine shop will start with a collection of assorted metals and transform them into the tightly built structures so common in our everyday lives.