Metal fabrication is a process that involves bending and cutting metal to form a specific, boilerplate structure or product. In comparison, custom metal fabrication involves cutting materials in a specific way to meet the needs of customers instead of attempting to maintain a standard look or size. Custom metal fabrication uses a wide range of specialized industrial equipment to achieve its desired result. The most common metals used in this process include stainless steel, copper, aluminum and carbon steel.

Metals start the process in one of two forms; structural and sheet metal. Sheet metal is available as rectangular sheets or rolls of different thickness and sizes. If sheet metal is thicker than 3/16” it is referred to as a plate. On the other hand, structural metal comes formed into different shapes from the start, the most common ones being HSS, channels, beams and angles. The metal you use is largely dependent on your end goal and the application of its desired use. more personalized projects will obviously require more custom shaping.

The process of custom metal fabrication occurs in three stages; metal cutting, forming and assembly.