Steel and metal working refer, generally, to the process of altering and reshaping metals or steel to create different useful objects and tools ranging from small parts to assemblies and even large structures. Metal working has applications on several scales including in the fabrication of small engine parts, jewelry, buildings and telecommunications structures.
The use of metal working can be traced through many different cultures and millennia, however, its techniques and processes have evolved significantly. Simpler metal and steel working techniques, like blacksmithing, have been replaced, on a large scale, by industrial, more complex ways of working metal.
Modern industrial metalworking offers more efficiency and is more competitively viable.
Modern metal working processes
The metal working techniques most used in the manufacturing industry today may be categorized into three main categories: forming, cutting, and joining.
Forming metal: this term refers to processes for altering metal objects without adding or removing any material. The metals are modified through heat and mechanical loads into a desired shape. Metal bending is a common technique under this category used mostly on ductile materials like sheet metal. For small to midsize batches of materials, metal bending is a very cost-effective option. Forging is another forming technique which utilizes specialized metalworking tools, like hammers that can weigh over a thousand pounds, to shape metal through compressive forces.
Cutting metal: this technique shapes metal by removing parts of it. In modern day metal working, this method is usually done through CNC solutions, which process raw materials through computer-controlled equipment into the desired shapes.
Joining metal: as the name implies, this process merges different parts of metal materials into one. Welding is the most common technique in this category and it uses heat and pressure to fuse materials together.
At Geka, we have been designing and manufacturing metal working equipment since 1919, always striving to innovate. Our metal working machines include hydraulic ironworkers as well as CNC solutions.
Through our technical service, we may also provide clients with custom-made parts and accessories that suit your specific manufacturing needs.