Among the workers in a fabrication shop is the sheet metal technician. He or she performs a variety of tasks in the workplace including interpreting designs, and developing the right pattern, shape and form for the sheet metal product. The metals may be ferrous or non-ferrous, although stainless steel or aluminium sheet metal are popular choices. In performing the sheet metal work successfully, technicians use, whenever possible, the latest technology.
CAD in Sheetmetal Work
Sheetmetal technicians can develop the patterns they will use in creating and/or producing the patterns for the parts manually. However, increasingly, the more common method is to rely on technology with the capability of reducing error and producing a pattern that unfailing meets the requirements. This technology is CAD.
CAD is short for computer aided design. It is able to provide a variety of manufacturing concerns and fabrication shops with comprehensive diagrams. The technician can even rotate the designs to make it easy to view the diagram from any angle desirable. This allows technicians to perceive and analyse the potential product from a number of different perspectives.
The process is easy, fast, precise and repeatable. To date, shops and their technicians increasingly rely on such programmes to provide them with accurate and functional patterns. However, many fabrication shops continue to use 2D CAD. However, increasingly, the move is toward encouraging sheet metal technicians to use the latest version – 3D CAD.
Sheet Metal Work
Innovation is an important component of company success. Combining it with the right technology produces a winning combination. Many modern devices such as 2D and 3D CAD are now influencing how fabricators perform sheet metal work. By adopting such an approach, companies affect their performance level in a highly competitive marketplace. Innovation and technology can prove to be powerful forces in increasing potential markets and, therefore, the possibility of increasing the bottom line.
