Services
Sheet Metal & Machining Support
Laser cutting, CNC bending, welding and assembly for enclosures, brackets, panels and covers — supplied as complete assemblies with machined parts where needed.
If a part is essentially a plate with a few bends in it, fabrication is almost always far cheaper and lighter than milling it from solid. Enclosures, brackets, mounting plates, panels and covers all fall into that category.
The difficulty is not the cutting or the bending — it is the flat pattern and the bend sequence. A well-placed relief notch saves an operation; a badly ordered bend sequence means the last bend physically cannot be made. Those things should surface at quotation, not on the shop floor.
Capabilities
- Operations
- Laser cutting, CNC punching, press braking, TIG and spot welding, riveting, tapping, assembly
- Material thickness
- Stainless 0.5–4 mm; cold-rolled steel 0.5–5 mm; aluminium 0.8–6 mm (equipment dependent)
- Typical lead time
- 5–10 working days including finishing
- Quantity
- From 1 piece; suits 1–1,000
Solutions
Equipment enclosures and housings
Instrument cases, control cabinets and guards, including ventilation, rail mounting and earthing provisions.
Brackets and mounting plates
Robot bases, sensor brackets and motor plates, combined with machined components where required.
Panels and legend plates
Operator panels with screen printing, laser marking, countersinks and self-clinching hardware.
Fabrication plus machining
Fabricated body with precision machined parts, delivered as one assembly so you integrate once, not twice.
Process Overview
A fabricated part is defined by its flat pattern: the 3D form is unfolded to a flat blank using the material thickness and bend radius, because bending consumes material — that is the bend allowance. The blank is laser cut with its profile and holes, then bent in sequence.
So dimensional accuracy is governed by accumulated bend error, not by cutting accuracy. On parts with several bends, dimension critical features from the direction the first bend establishes.
Materials
- Cold-rolled steel SPCC / S235
- Stainless 304 / 316L (brushed or mirror available)
- Galvanised steel SGCC
- Aluminium 5052 / 6061
- Copper and brass sheet for conductive parts
Surface Finishes
- Powder coating
- Wet painting
- Anodising (aluminium)
- Zinc plating and passivation
- Brushing and polishing (stainless)
- Screen printing and laser marking
- Self-clinching nuts and studs
Tolerances & Size Limits
- Laser cutting
- ±0.1 mm on profile and hole positions
- Single bend angle
- ±0.5°
- Bent dimensions
- From ±0.2 mm; error accumulates across multiple bends
- Post-weld distortion
- Assessed per part; precision mating faces are best machined after welding
Design Guide (DFM)
Bend radius
Inside radius at least equal to material thickness — 1.5× for aluminium, or the outer surface cracks.
Hole to bend distance
Keep hole edges at least 2.5× thickness plus the bend radius from the bend line, otherwise the hole distorts.
Minimum flange height
At least 4× material thickness, or the press brake tooling cannot hold the flange.
Check for bend collisions
On multi-bend parts, verify later bends do not foul already-formed features; adjust sequence or add relief notches.
Send 3D, not just the flat
A 3D model lets us unfold it ourselves and check manufacturability. A flat pattern alone risks a bend-allowance mismatch.
Quality Control
- Flat pattern and bend sequence review
- First-article bend dimension and angle verification
- Distortion check and straightening on welded assemblies
- Post-finishing appearance and fit re-check
FAQ
Do I need to supply the flat pattern?
No — a 3D file is enough and we unfold it using our own thickness and bend parameters. If you already have a flat pattern, we cross-check it against ours before cutting.
Sheet metal or CNC?
Plate-like structures formed by bending go to fabrication, which wins on cost and weight. Solid features and tight-tolerance fits go to CNC. The two combine well in one assembly.
Can you machine after welding?
Yes. Welding distorts, so precision mating faces are best machined to size afterwards — we plan that into the process during review.
Need sheet metal & machining support? Send the drawing to an engineer.
First reply within 30 minutes during working hours (4 working hours at the latest); full quote and DFM feedback typically within 12 working hours.