Safire Water jet additional services:
Sheet Metal Folding & Fabrication
Safire Water jet is a part of Safire Associates which offer other a wide range of services and abilities and here we are highlighting our Sheet Metal fabrication services as they can compliment our water jet cut parts.
We can offer a full service from concept and design to completed parts. We start
with 2d and 3d cad to design sheet metal parts and flatten them out ready for cutting
on our waterjet cutting process, after water jet cutting the profiles we can then
fold, form and fabricate them in many ways to get the final result.
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We can offer from a simple bracket to full fabrications, to find out more in detail please read on:
Once we have the design we then waterjet cut the flat patterns!
Shown above is one of our machines which is a Flow water jet profiling machine, with this machine we can cut virtually any material to virtually any 2D shape, this is demonstrated very well throughout this safire water jet web site.
Sheet metal companies will use a variety of different processes to cut out their flat patterns, using laser and punch presses amongst other processes, however we prefer to use the water jet cutting process as it can cut virtually any material cleanly with little or no burr on the edges, Also there is no heat effected zone common with other processes and this is a major benefit especially if the parts are to be welded as the clean edges from the water jet cutting procedure need little of no finishing prior to welding, with other processes the edges can be contaminated from the heat of the cut or can be deformed by a punch process.
If you would like to know the difference between processes or what the heat effected zone is please see here:
Cutting Flat Patterns
Generally we will start on the computer in 2D or 3D cad software!
We use a variety of software packages to assist us in our designs and work, for really basic shapes we often just use 2d cad programs to draw up the required shapes but for 3d shaped metal parts in sheet metal a big part of our work is modelled up in 3D cad, we use Autodesk Inventor a lot in our sheet metal designs as it has a huge range of facilities to use in the sheet metal environment. This enables us to concentrate on the design intent.
In the picture above on the left you can see a sheet metal part being drawn up in
3d cad ready for sheet metal fabrication and you can see the green hi-
We can also make use of the powerful Autodesk Inventor software to sketch on faces of the sheet metal fabrication and apply geometry to make cut outs and then copy and repeat the placed geometry to build up very complicated cut outs that could form the likes of grill vents, cooling intakes, company logos, or even repetitive locations for fixings or parts.
Once we have created the 3D design we can then flatten the parts out in the 3D cad environment, this takes into account all the features we added in the design to allow for bend allowances, cut outs, joints, joint relief's etc.
The part being modelled in the picture above on the left is then flattened out ready for manufacture shown in the picture above on the right .
We can also work on full assemblies creating the full design in the 3D cad environment, this allows us to design our sheet metal fabrications to really good tolerances, as we can reference off other parts in the assembly as we are designing the current part, this ensures we design a nice looking, quality job.
Flat Pattern Creation
When we have the waterjet cut the flat patterns we can start to form them!
Shown above is one of our machines which is CNC press braking machine, with this machine we can bend sheet metal to tight tolerances and up to 1.25mtrs in length (ish see below).
Safires Cnc pressbrake is a very modern computer controlled machine:
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We can fold up to 1250mm wide as standard with a return fold depth of up to 95mm, this depth is a limitation of the machine columns, we can fold in between these columns with a width of up to approximately 1mtr for deep folds and we can fold up to 1600mm width in thin materials or we can plan wider jobs in our cad by splitting the fold or incorporating cut outs to miss the columns etc..
We can bend thicker materials with greatly reduced widths and wide bend radiuses.
When we see your sketches or drawings we will advise if there will be an issue at all with any of our limitations.
This machine and process is ideal for large quantity repetitive work.
Bending & Forming
Various Sheet Metal Tools
A Sheet Metal Pneumatic Guillotine
For basic guillotine cuts in sheet materials up to 2mm thick in general, we can guillotine cut up to 3mm in softer materials, we can set the hand back stops for repetitive cuts.
The maximum width of cut is 1250mm
When we need to process sheet metal in our workshop we have a range of tools!
Amongst the bigger CNC machines in our workshops we also have a range of other tools to assist us in our projects inc:
A Segmented Hand Operated Folder
For basic folds in sheet materials up to 2mm thick in general, we can fold up to 3mm in some softer materials, we can set the hand back stops for repetitive folds. The maximum width of fold is 1250mm. This folder has segmented tools on both top and bottom and is very unique in the way it works and although we have a cnc press brake we still find this folder very useful at times.
A Hand Operated Geared Roller
For hand rolling sheet materials up to 1.6mm thick in general, we can roll form thicker on reduced widths, maximum width that can be rolled is approximately 1200mm, the top roll is a slip roll so we can roll a complete ring and still get it of.
A Deep Throat Fly Press
For basic pressing jobs, we have a selection of tools but also we have the machining ability to produce / machine tools in house. We can use this for folding, pressing, forming, punching etc..
Once the parts are formed, we also have the facilities to join assemblies together, with a range of tools inc: Riveting, stud welding, MIG TIG & Gas welding.
We are very capable with our tools and can offer a simple service of basic brackets to full sheet metal assemblies, or to find out more you can visit our main website: www.safire.uk.com
Also please have a look at the following small selection of finished samples
General Brackets & Fittings
Simple brackets, fittings, hinges!
We have made many fittings, brackets and hinges etc.. Shown above is a small selection showing a small range of brackets, hinges and fittings produced by us. You can see a sample of an off set shaped hinge, a specially shaped bracket to fit on a tube, a shop fitting shelf bracket, a simple fixing bracket and a pair of split ring brackets for fitting to a pipe. These all range in thickness from 1mm to 5mm.
Sheet Metal Trays & Covers
For new and old machines, sheet metal trays and covers!
Wether it is for a replacement machine cover or tray from an old machine that has a missing or broken one, or wether it is for a new machine or product, we can design, cut and fold trays in different materials, shapes and sizes.
Shown above is a set of base plate covers for a product we were producing for a client, a shaped stainless steel drip tray for a laboratory machine which had to fit in exactly and was used to catch dangerous chemicals and also a new cover for an old printing machine. With modern health and safety requirements some older style machines need to have guards made to fit in and around the machine and this is a good example of an old printing machine which had plenty of life in it but it had to be brought up to modern standards in the factory it was used.
We fabricate all sorts of electronic enclosures, brackets and mounting plates!
For a variety of clients, we get involved with many electronic based projects, from
one offs and proto-
Shown in the selection of samples above we have:
Directional ground mounted light guides:
These were produced at different angles and sizes to guide up lighting of building lights for a corporate building.
Aluminium light rig truss support internal feature light brackets:
We helped to design a light fitting that would fit inside aluminium Trilite trussing for a lighting feature effect.
Stainless Steel RJ45 connector brackets:
This box of RJ45 brackets were produced in 316 stainless steel as they were being fitted on board a ship at sea.
Special light snoot barn door fitting:
This barn door snoot design was created for some exterior lighting and were used to guide light precisely on a building.
Up lighting bracket post support:
A special bracket design was produced to fix a stainless steel post at the right angle and to support the up lighters
BAE flight computer control panel box
These cases were produced for 19” rack mounted panels and each housed a computer, touch screens and a load of electronic bits and boards!.
In some cases we get given a load of components and get asked to fit them in a case,
with the BAE cases above our client had to build fully working proto-
Electronic Enclosures
Sheet metal and plate work for industrial environments!
When producing items that need to be used in harsh industrial environments like the fuel and chemical industry, laboratories or at sea on ships, we would use materials like Stainless steel, Aluminium, tread plate and thicker materials than normal sheet metal products.
We do have limits on our capabilities of size and thickness and we generally work on smallish solutions but we do create solutions in these areas. Pictured above:
Split vacuum testing lid for man hole entry into fuel tanks:
A part of a kit of equipment we produced in steel plate, this was used to seal of
a man way chamber into an underground fuel tank and it enable our client to test
for leaks on and around the man-
Man way vacuum test extender tubes:
These tubes were designed and fabricated to extend man-
Stainless Steel drum multi stage filter kit:
Developed to our customers specification we designed this kit for multistage filtration. We used a stainless steel drum supplied by our client and converted it to take the fabricated stainless steel mesh filters we produced.
Lightweight Aluminium Pallets:
These were designed to be strong enough for constant industrial use but to be as light as possible as there were weight restrictions on our clients vehicles with all the equipment they had to carry.
Bunded Aluminium pallet with multi position equipment mounting plate:
A special bunded pallet designed in aluminium with a raised mounting deck, the mounting deck was made in stainless steel for hard wearing and strength and had keyhole slots cut into it so that the various pumps and filters could be mounted in any configuration as required and being a bunded pallet this made the unit safe and transportable.
Industrial Petro-
Detailed & quality sheet metal work for products, design & art!
When you need a product manufacturing to high standards either as a one off special commissions or as a batch run we have the ability to work with your designs or we can design for you. We can work in a multitude of metals and materials and method of construction. Pictured above:
Designer corner table for a hall reception area:
This table was designed by our client to fit in a specific space in their hall reception, they came to us with a very rough sketch and we turned it into the table they wanted. It was formed in sheet steel welded ground and sanded which is as you can see it here, we then had it powder coated yellow to match the colour they specified.
Stainless steel offset kitchen hood extractor flue:
We fabricated this double angled flue offset pipe as per our clients sketches as they needed their flue extractor pipe to fit around an old oak beam but they wanted to retain a nice sleek look to it so it was made in a stainless steel sheet with a brushed finish.
Large portable BBQ for Winchester college:
Winchester college needed a portable BBQ that could be moved around to suit the event they were having. They approached us to design one and we had to consider various features into the design. The legs had to be sturdy enough to take the movement, the wheels were very good quality, durable and could withstand any heat from under the BBQ. The main cooking are was designed split into two so they could cook on either side or both at the same time and the grill was made from stainless steel.
Candelabra fluted design feature:
We get asked to manufacture bespoke designs for clients that want something really different, unique and special and we can make really good detailed parts to make the design just right. This candelabra dish was formed in sheet steel then a feature was formed into the dish at the top to make it look really nice, we generally do this sort of work in a fly press by manufacturing special tooling.
A customised BBQ made to order from steel with a stainless steel grill:
BBQ’s can come in any size, shape or design, they can be made to fit into your desired location or they can have stands made. The one displayed here is manufactured from folded steel sheet which was painted with a heat resistant finish and a stainless steel grill which we made from stainless steel round rods tig welded together,
Copper and brass chimney flue pipe:
This chimney flue pipe was designed by Robert Adam architects to cap an existing chimney, it was designed to cover over a flue outlet and an air inlet to a boiler system. We made all the copper sheet metal parts from flat copper sheet metal and formed them to the finished shapes, the brass parts were mainly machined from solid brass billet and we soldered all the joints. A lot of care and attention was paid to the aesthetics of this copper chimney.
Detailed & Quality Sheet Fabrication
Quick samples
3d cad design for sheetmetal parts and flat pattern creation
Flat patterns cut and profiled on our
water jet machine ready for fabrication
CNC presbraking and sheet metal forming
Sheet metal guillotine
Segmented folder
Geared hand roll forming
Deep throat fly
press / punch
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