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Fabrication Services

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Direct Metals® offers various value-added fabrication processes to our complete line of specialty metals and fiberglass inventory which includes wire mesh, perforated metal, expanded metal, bar grating, safety grating, fiberglass grating, and architectural metal. We are eager to save you time and money by processing these materials to your specifications in an economical and timely manner.

As an architectural metal supplier, we offer a variety of processing capabilities to meet the demands of many diverse industries.

 

CUTTING

If your job calls for it, our gratings can be fabricated with rough cut or finished edge cutouts for structural members, process piping and access holes. This service can make for an easier, quicker installation and cut down or eliminate on-site fabrication. This is just one example of how our cutting and banding can save you time and money and maybe improve your processes.

 

SHEARING

Shearing is a fabricating process used to cut straight lines on flat metal stock, without the formation of chips or the use of burning or melting processes. Metals that are commonly sheared include:

  • Aluminum
  • Brass
  • Bronze
  • Mild steel
  • Stainless steel

Direct Metals® capabilities allow us to produce the exact sheared size components you need to meet your custom fabricated requirements.

 

LASER, PLASMA AND WATER JET CUTTING

This process includes producing a shape, design, or pattern into metals through CNC machine programming and cutting for artistic, structural or architectural purposes. Our equipment can handle a broad range of metal plate sizes and thicknesses. The following are some of the features of each type of cutting process.

Laser Cutting

  • Cuts a variety of metals and non-metals
  • Can cut thinner metals at over 1000 IPM

Plasma Cutting

  • Cuts a wide variety of metals
  • Can process 16-gauge mild steel at over 200 IPM and 1” thick mild steel at over 45 IPM

Water Jet Cutting

  • Cuts nearly any material
  • Can cut materials over 10” thick

 

STAMPING

Metal Stamping is the process of converting flat sheet material into specific shapes using a punch or a die. It can be a simple stamp or can be more complex by adding other metal forming processes like blanking, bending, punching and piercing to complete simple or complex parts. This process is an excellent way to produce large quantities of high quality repeatable parts.

 

DRILLING

Drilling is a cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut or enlarge a hole in solid metal materials. Our drilling machines are able to handle any operation, from basic to complex.

 

BLANKING

Blanking is the process of repetitive cutting or shearing material to a predetermined size. Some of the characteristics of the blanking process include:

  • The ability to produce holes of varying shapes quickly
  • The production of a burnished and sheared section on the cut edge

The most common materials used for blanking include:

  • Aluminum
  • Brass
  • Bronze
  • Mild steel
  • Stainless steel

We operate a number of low and high-volume blanking presses to meet your requirements.

 

WELDING

Welding is the process of permanently joining two or more metal parts by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a strong bond. With the latest equipment and a highly skilled staff, Direct Metals® can provide a variety of welding services to meet your every need.

We weld according to NAAMM standards using MIG, TIG, and Stick welding techniques for the best, most permanent connection for our many different metal alloys.

 

SAWING

This involves using a band saw, cold saw, or abrasive wheel cut off saw to cut your material to your required length. A saw blade uses sharp teeth to chip away at small amounts of material.

 

PUNCHING

Punching is the process of putting a round, square, or slotted hole into any of our specialty metal products. Some of the characteristics of the punching process include:

  • Cost effective
  • Ability to create multiple shaped holes
  • Creates a burnished region roll-over and die break on sidewall of the resulting hole
  • Quick process

 

ROLLING

Rolling involves bending sheet metal to a round or conical shape. These tubes or cones can be made to almost any length or diameter and can be lap seamed or seam welded. The rolling process can also build strength into the finished product.

 

SLITTING

Slitting is the process of converting rolled metal products (typically wire mesh or expanded metal) to smaller width coils to suit your requirements. During the slitting process, the metal coil passes lengthwise through the slitter’s circular blades. Some of the characteristics of the slitting process include:

  • Ability to be used on both ferrous and nonferrous metals
  • Categorization as a high production designed to control metal coil width
  • Can be used for both metal sheet or steel coil rolls

 

Specialty metal that we offer that can be fabricated include:

  • WIRE MESH - Stainless Steel mesh, Aluminum mesh, Copper mesh, Brass mesh, Bronze mesh, Mild Steel mesh, and Pre-Galvanized mesh
  • PERFORATED METAL - Stainless Steel, Carbon Steel, and Aluminum
  • EXPANDED METAL - Stainless Steel, Carbon Steel, Aluminum, and Galvanized
  • BAR GRATING - Stainless Steel, Carbon Steel, Aluminum, and Galvanized
  • SAFETY BAR GRATING
  • FIBERGLASS GRATING
  • ARCHITECTURAL METAL

 

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