When people plan to make their dream house, they always search for some best construction material manufacturers and suppliers. But for the structure of the building, you need materials like hardy and durable sheet metal. Apart from that sheet metal materials are also needed for several construction tasks like for building structure, window frames and beam designs. Steel metal supplies are not only useful for architectural industry, but it also required for the automobile, electrical plant, medical and equipment manufacturing industries.
What is sheet metal?
Sheet metal, very simply put, refers to flat and thin pieces of metal formed by an industrial process. It is the basic material used in metalworking and you can do all types of fabrication with sheet metal supplies like cutting, bending and much more. You can construct all kinds of everyday objects with these sheets. These sheets come in coiled strips as well as flat pieces.
Types of Sheet Metal:
There are various types of sheet metal supplies:
- Light sheet metal: This is thin metal which can be worked upon with hand tools and is ideal for self-use in home projects. This can be used for varied purposes.
- Aluminum and copper sheet metal: These sheets are also lightweight and also have good luster. They are also resistant to rust. These can be handled easily and are good to use for household projects.
- Brass, tin, nickel, steel, titanium, gold, silver and platinum sheets can also be bought as sheet metal supplies.
How to use sheet metal?
Working with sheet metal requires caution, especially after it has been cut. You can cut yourself with the sharp edges and burrs. It is therefore very important to take adequate safety precautions while using any sheet metal. You need to make sure that you wear safety goggles and gloves as well as wear boots while working with sheet metal. You should never run a hand over the cut edges of the sheet metal. Metal sheets need to be handled and used with care.
- Metal sheets can be used most efficiently by first making a pattern, also called a stretch-out, of the object you want to make, on a cardboard or paper. This is called drafting. The large sheets available at various suppliers then need to be cut as per the dimensions drawn, keeping room for bends, folds, seams and hems.
- You then need to transfer this pattern onto the metal sheet by pricking. You can then cut and bend the sheet as required, almost as if you are working with paper! The process of shaping, forming and joining the metal together is called fabrication and it can be done using various tools and techniques.
Metal shaping can be done by bending, cutting, shrinking or stretching the metal. Metal sheet can be bent by form bending or by the use of metal brakes. Cutting can be done with the help of hand shears or power shears, angle grinders and plasma cutters. Metal can be shrunk by tucking the metal or by the use of a shrinker.
- Very thin metal sheets are called foil or leaf. The thickness range of these sheets is up to one fourth of an inch, beyond which it is called a plate. The thickness is measured and specified in ‘gauge’ and higher the gauge number, thinner is the sheet metal. The measurement of thickness, however, can vary as per the type of sheet.
Most metal sheets come in large sizes – approximately ten feet long and four feet wide. Since these can be difficult to handle and carry, you would need to get these cut or rolled by your supplier. So get your sheet metal supplies today, and give a modern design to your project. Be sure to get the metal sheets that are durable and sturdy and yet have an aesthetic appeal! If you want to know more details about Sheet metal suppliers then please follow us today!