At any time of the day or night, a custom-manufactured machine may need a replacement part. Companies call on machine services to make the perfect part on the spot or in the shop. No job is too small or too large for a metal machining and fabrication service. Repairing a small gear box, welding a broken part or creating a huge piece for large industrial system are all part of a day’s work in keeping machines in working order.
Fabricating a part takes attention to detail, knowledge of various specialty materials and perfected techniques. Transforming a piece of metal to a piece of a machine requires working with many types of metals such as copper, steel and aluminum. The right tool is necessary to work with a specific metal. Machine shop workers are able to forge, bend, stamp, grind, weld and assemble. Once a part is created, heat-treating and coating may be necessary to resistance of wear and tear of the piece. Each worker in a machine shop works closely with the others much like the parts of a manufacturing machine work together to create a finished product.
One machine shop worker may be very good at operating all of the machines in a shop. Other workers may be best at operating one specific machine. While one may be expert at operating a lathe, another may be best at welding or assembly. Key seater, bender, hydraulic press, vertical saw and drill press are some of the machines found at a metal fabricating shop. The most common machines found at a machine shops are lathes and mills. There are three basic types of specialty lathes for specific metal-shaping needs.
One example would be the engine lathe which has an automatic feed to the cutting tool of the lathe. Milling machinery (or mills) shave or cut and remove materials from a piece. A machinist may choose which mill to use based the angle of cut needed for the job or the ability to move the machine where needed for the job. Metal machining and fabrication services do not make machines that make machines. They design, specify, create, repair and maintain the cogs of a machine to keep the wheels of machines turning.