The sheet metal forming industry in the United States alone produces millions of tons of metal annually. As the industry continues to expand and advance, so do the capabilities and services provided by these trained professionals who perform the sheet metal work. While the initial production of the thin plates of metal known as sheets involves the heating and rolling of raw materials such as aluminum, steel or stainless steel; the creation of finished metal products is often much more complicated. Once sheets are produced and quality inspected, the men and women of the industry provide numerous secondary and finishing operations such as bending, welding, annealing, cold rolling, drawing, extruding, spinning and forging as needed.
The variety of fabrication processes is not only convenient, but essential. Sheet metal suppliers produce an impressive range of unique and everyday items. From automotive and airplane paneling to bridges and architectural panels and even kitchen utensils or ornamental objects, sheet metal products are ubiquitous. Service centers provide various components to food processing, automotive, aerospace, construction, architecture, heating and cooling, telecommunications, medical and defense industries to name a few. Precision sheet metal design is crucial to many of these applications, though especially in construction, aerospace and other high stress applications where product failure can be costly and devastating./p>
