What is Steel Fabrication?

For centuries, steel has been one of the most widely used materials in many industries, including construction and car manufacturing. Its weight, durability, versatility and value is what makes it a popular choice for many industries and many purposes.

However, steel would not be able to serve half of the purposes it does without skilled and experienced steel fabricators.

These are the workpeople behind steel fabrication in Mount Isa, a process that transforms the raw steel into a usable object or structure on its own or as a component. 

Let's go into detail on what exactly steel fabrication is, the process that steel fabricators use and what industries rely on steel fabrication in Mount Isa and across Australia. 

What is Steel Fabrication?

Steel fabrication is a technique that involves taking raw materials, such as iron ore, limestone and coke, and processing them in a way with the correct amount of each part to create a strong and durable steel product.

A skilled steel fabricator will manufacture these raw iron materials into a marketable product such as ladders, bridge materials, building components, work surfaces and much more. Or, they may create a piece or component to order for a client.

What is the Steel Fabrication Process?

As you can imagine, the steel fabrication process has evolved since people first started harbouring steel back in the 17th century. The common methods used today in the steel fabrication process to create parts and materials are:

Shot blasting

This is a purification process that prepares the steel for fabrication. Shot blasting entails using a shot of small steel beads to remove impurities in the metal.

Machining

This shaves and shapes steel to help mould it into the shape and exact specifications that are required. This will involve tools such as mills, drills and lathes to create what is needed.

Cutting

Here, high-pressure water cuts can be made through the steel with absolute precision. Cutting steel helps manage its size for its custom purpose. Other cutting methods that can be used to cut stainless steel for fabrication include plasma cutting, flame cutting and using a saw.

Welding

Welding is a very common technique steel fabricators use and involves melting the steel at high heat at a point to fuse two or more materials together in the customisation process.

Bending

For a lot of sectors, including construction and architecture, steel is often required in a particular shape. To bend steel, a roll bender or a technique called press baking is used.

Coating

You may also know this process as galvanisation, which involves coating the steel during the final stages for both aesthetic and practical reasons that will assist the steel to be more durable for a range of purposes over time.

What Industries use Steel Fabricators?

There are so many industries that use steel - it’s a useful material that has a massive variety of purposes. Some of these industries that regularly use steel as part of their daily operations are:

• Construction
• Architecture
• Automotive
• Medical
• Landscaping
• Transportation
• Civil infrastructure
• Mining
• Aerospace
• Energy
• Telecommunications
• Military
  

These industries, and more, are heavily reliant on steel fabrication in their operations, making custom steel fab a highly valuable trade.

HardRok Engineering has an experienced and highly skilled team of custom steel fabricators in Mount Isa who have been in the industry for more than 45 years.

Industries that depend on steel fabrication in Mount Isa and the surrounding region can find custom-designed and manufactured steel items suited to their business requirements, processed by expert steel fabricators in a workshop in Mount Isa or onsite with our site fabrication services.

We are a one-stop-shop for all your custom steel needs in Mount Isa and beyond, so call us today to discuss the steel fabrication services that are available for you and your business and to make a booking with our expert team.