Metal Fabrication

A Metal Fabrication Company reviewing and reflecting with Thanksgiving

When looking for a metal fabricator do you need only the basic operations which include some type of metal cutting with possibly metal bending and welding?  Or is it beneficial to find a metal fabricator who can handle your project from start to finish with the most efficient equipment?  At Noble Industries we continue to look for ways to improve our processes.

When we started in 1968 making metal fabrication products, we only had basic information to get by and service a few customers.  Today we have a 70,000 sq ft facility, a process engineering department, quality department , several people in the administrative office, 55 – 60 employees on the floor with some in the powder coating and packaging area, 3 people dedicated to shipping and receiving.

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The Secret to a quality powder coat finish on your metal parts – Part 1

6 stage powder wash system at Noble Industries

Power Spray with heat is the best way to remove impurities on metal parts

 

Custom Powder Coating of an OEM Metal Part

 

 

To have a powder coated part with a finish that lasts, you must start with pretreatment to ensure a totally clean part.  Pretreatment process can be broken down into two areas of operation:

  1. Cleaning
  2. Phosphatizing

This article will address the most important phase which is the process to obtain a clean part.  All contamination, dirt and oil must be removed.   Most metals will have rust inhibitors, oil, cutting fluids, drawing compounds, grease and dirt.  If powder is applied to a metal part that has not been thoroughly cleaned adhesion will not occur or the powder coat finish will not stay on the part over time.

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Metal Fabrication Case Study for an Automotive Aftermarket Customer

Metal Fabrication Case Study

Customer:   Automotive Aftermarket

Product:  Metal Bracket

Type of Fabrication:  Laser Cutting, Press Brake Metal Forming, Powder Coating, Packaging & Shipping

Problem:  Needed a heavy duty bracket with a lance and formed area which would include a square hole for a carriage bolt

Noble Industries solution:

One of our automotive aftermarket customers came to us with a need for a bracket with a lance and form section to allow a carriage bolt to be used with the part.  A lance and form tooling can be purchased for a punch press or for a brake press.  For our application we created tooling for an Amada press brake form operation.  This part also has an offset and 90 degree bends around the lance and formed area and the part number stamped into the part.

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Commonly Used Materials in Metal Fabrication

COR-TEN A is a premier high-strength, low alloy steel, with its combination of greater strength and exceptional resistance to corrosion (5 to 8 times carbon steel for COR-TEN A and 4 times carbon steel for COR-TEN B).  This high strength steel is ideally suited for applications where weight reduction or long term maintenance fees are key considerations.

ASTM A-36 is a structural quality carbon steel which can be used in riveted, bolted and welded metal parts needed for structural purposes and general purposes where strength is needed.  A-36 does not come in light gauge materials.

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Our new Mazak FMS system is up and running!

Advanced Laser Cutting FMS system

Flexible Manufacturing System by Mazak added at Noble Industries

The Mazak FMS system has a material storage tower that can hold 10 different sheet metal material.  It also has a pneumatic load system to accurately position the sheet on the laser and automatic unload capability.  Laser cutting jobs are loaded into the computer.  While both lasers are cutting the parts of the material already loaded, the FMS system automatically locates the material for the next job and has it waiting.  Once the machine has finished laser cutting the parts on the laser, it will call for the FMS system to unload that sheet and load the material for the next job.  The FMS system continues to get the material ready for each job while the machine cuts metal parts.  This allows the same number of operators to run twice as many lasers at one time.  It can also be scheduled to run parts in the “lights out” mode so that employees can go on a lunch break and machines continue to run.

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