When you walk into the local coffee shop in suburban Detroit, you will notice a cool metal sign hanging up in the window, it incorporates the company’s logo and craft in a striking and unique way. The owner says it has become quite the topic of conversation in the past few months since he put it up. The clean lines of the metal fabrication are impressive and simple. The logo of a cup with steam hovering over top makes for a hip modern spin on your standard morning beverage container.
A few thousand miles away, a huge processing tank is being installed in a factory down south. This particular tank is being built to clean ground water contaminated with benzene and other chemicals in an old industrial park. This tank will have to perform for years without interruption in order to keep the local community’s water supply safe. It’s a pretty tall order, but the custom finish on the processing tank is key to the success of the project. It’s imperative to finish the tank with the right coatings so it will work for generations to come.
Any time metal is manipulated from one state into another, it is considered to be metal fabrication. It takes skill and education to be able to create these one of a kind custom metal products for various marketplaces. Many companies offer some types of custom metal fabrication, but few can meet the needs of so many varying marketplaces.
Government and military markets have a huge need for custom metal products. Recently, the Department of Natural Recourses (DNR) for the State of Michigan had an unusual need. The DNR needed a 1200-gallon fish tank on wheels for their “Fish for a Future” Program. Since, it is close to impossible to go to your local car or truck dealership and ask for a fish tank, the DNR had to find a company that could handle creating a custom metal fish tank. After some extensive research, the DNR was able to find an excellent company, a great price and the finished product exceeded expectations, now the fish tank on wheels can be seen all over the state.
In order to create these projects, it takes skilled engineers, welders and assemblers. It’s important before you set out to create your custom metal fabricated product that you do your research, there are a lot of things to consider. The biggest consideration may be what alloys you are working with. A36 to A588 carbon steel; 304, 308, 309, 409 and many other grades of stainless steel; aluminum, copper, tribraze, manganese are just some of the alloys that are common in metal fabrication. Be sure the company you are working with is experienced in working on all types of alloys. Don’t forget about location either. A local company is always great, but a company farther from home, may have better value and quality. Do your research; many companies ship their products all over the world.
For a company that is experienced in custom metal fabrication and ships to over 15 countries around the world, look into Cadillac Fabrication at http://www.cadfab.com.
By Dustin Bosscher