If you need sheet metal produced and cut to custom sizes you will need to source a metal work manufacturing company with the knowledge and the facilities to perform the job required.

Firstly you should look at your own requirements. What type of metal do you need? How thick is it? What size does the end product need to be? By asking yourself these questions you can then use the internet to research and give yourself a fair idea of what companies will be available to assist you and which cutting method you should utilise.

If you are after a cost effective, quick and accurate cutting method you should look for companies that provide sheet metal laser cutting. Laser cutting is performed with the use of high powered flatbed lasers to cut quickly and accurately for a variety of metals. Some of the best manufacturing companies can utilise their equipment to provide a variety of manufacturing solutions. Whether you require 3mm galvanised steel cutting, or 12mm aluminium cutting, right up to 25mm mild steel can be cut using the power of the flatbed laser cutter. Even though the laser cutting process is fast, there are limitations to the production rate. These can be affected by the laser power, the material thickness being cut and the material properties. The thicker and more sensitive the material properties being cut, the longer the cutting process takes.

Because laser cutting produces heat, it can only be utilised on those metals that aren’t temperature sensitive. If you have a project which requires thick metal, highly reflective metal or temperature sensitive metal to be cut you should consider water jet cutting as an alternative. The water jet cutting method isn’t as economical or as fast as laser cutting so it should only be turned to if the metal you need profiling isn’t suitable for laser cutting.

Laser cutting makes use of a high power laser beam controlled by a computer to burn, melt or vaporise the material needed to be cut. This process is generally more accurate than physically cutting the metal as there is no contamination to the material being cut, with the use of a high powered flatbed laser the holding tolerances are to ±0.1mm.

The accuracy and detail of a laser cut piece of metal sheet is instantly apparent. The laser cutting process produces edges with very high quality surface finishes and the versatility of the process can accommodate some complex designs. Whether you need just straight edges cut or if you need holes cut, or even custom shaped slots that need to be profiled through 360°, the laser cutting process can be utilised for the task.

Obviously you will need to source a manufacturing company with the equipment on site to perform the job on hand. For this you will obviously be looking for a company that can do the job within your budget and to deliver the work as per your schedule. Take a look online or in the business directory pages to source a company that can perform your material cutting and profiling at the price that is right for you.