Our Sheet Metal Fabrication Capabilities
CNC Machining Services We Offer In-House
Our injection molding service produces high-quality plastic parts with precision. We cater to various industries, ensuring durability and efficiency in every product.
Laser Cutting
Fibre laser profiling of flat blanks, cutouts, slots and hole patterns. Sheets up to 3000 x 1500 mm. Mild steel to 20 mm, stainless to 12 mm, aluminium to 10 mm. Profile tolerance to plus or minus 0.10 mm.
CNC Punching
High-speed punching of repeating hole patterns, louvres, embosses and extruded holes. Sheets up to 2500 x 1250 mm, thickness to 6.4 mm. Faster than laser on hole-heavy parts, and it forms features a laser cannot cut.
Press Brake Bending
CNC forming of flanges, returns, hems and multi-bend profiles. 1000 kN bending force, bend length to 3100 mm, thickness to 6.4 mm. Bend angle held to plus or minus 1 degree, tightening to 0.5 with bottoming.
Rolling and Secondary Forming
Continuous radius rolling for cylindrical sections, shrouds and curved facias, plus hemming, countersinking, dimpling and offset joggles. Used wherever a straight bend alone will not produce the shape.
Welding and Joining
TIG, MIG, spot and laser welding of fabricated assemblies. Spot welding to 3 mm mild steel and 2.8 mm stainless. Riveting where a joint must not be heat-affected. Fixtured for repeatability across a batch.
Hardware Insertion and Threading
Self-clinching studs, standoffs and nuts pressed to 53 kN before finishing. Nutserts for blind assemblies, direct tapping on heavier gauge, and extruded holes where thin sheet needs more thread engagement.
What Is Sheet Metal Fabrication?
Sheet metal fabrication turns flat sheet into a finished three dimensional part through a sequence of operations rather than by removing material from a solid block. The sheet is cut to a flat profile, holes and features are added, the profile is bent to shape, and separate pieces are welded or fastened into an assembly.
It is the right process whenever the part is essentially a shell: enclosures, panels, brackets, chassis, guards, trays, ducting and frames. Compared with machining the same shape from billet, fabrication uses a fraction of the material and a fraction of the time, because you are folding a shape rather than carving one. Where CNC machining wins on tight tolerances and solid geometry, fabrication wins on large parts, thin walls and cost at any volume.
At Plast Fab Works we engineer the part, plan the full operation sequence and manage it through to inspection: laser cutting, punching, press brake bending, welding, hardware insertion and finishing. Every quote comes with a written DFM report before anything is cut, flagging bend reliefs, hole-to-bend distances and flange lengths that will cause problems on the brake. If your part is plastic rather than metal, see our custom plastic fabrication services.
Laser Cutting Services
What we Laser cut
Enclosure and panel blanks
Flat developments with cutouts for connectors, displays and cable glands, cut ready for folding.
Gaskets, shims and spacers
Thin flat parts where a press tool is not justified by the quantity.
Brackets and mounting plates
Bolt hole patterns, slots for adjustment, weight-reduction cutouts, all in one operation.
A fibre laser cuts by focusing a beam to a narrow spot and blowing the molten material clear with assist gas. Because nothing touches the sheet there is no tool wear, no cutting force and no distortion from clamping, which is what lets it hold a tight profile on thin material that a punch would deform.
The kerf, meaning the width of material the beam removes, runs around 0.2 mm on thin gauge. That matters for nesting, because parts can sit close together on the sheet and waste less material. It also means internal corners come out with a small natural radius rather than perfectly sharp, which is worth knowing when you dimension a mating feature.
Perforated guards and screens
Repeating hole arrays, ventilation patterns, mesh panels in steel and aluminium.
Design note we flag often: a hole cut closer to the sheet edge than the material thickness will distort or break through. Keep hole-to-edge distance at a minimum of one times thickness, and ideally two. The same applies between adjacent holes.
Bending and Forming Services
Forming operations available-
Air bending
Standard method. Punch presses the sheet into a vee die without bottoming out, so one tool set covers a range of angles.
Hemming
Folding an edge back on itself to remove a sharp edge and stiffen a flange.
Bottoming and coining
For tighter angular tolerance and reduced springback on critical bends.
Bending is where most sheet metal parts go wrong, and almost always for the same reasons. Metal stretches on the outside of a bend and compresses on the inside, so the flat blank has to be calculated to account for that stretch. Get the bend allowance wrong and every dimension downstream of the bend is out.
Three rules prevent the large majority of problems. Keep the inside bend radius at least equal to material thickness, because a tighter radius cracks the outer surface on most grades. Keep flange length at least four times thickness plus the bend radius, or there is nothing for the die to grip. Keep holes at least two and a half times thickness away from the bend line, or they deform into ovals as the metal moves.
Our DFM report checks all three on every drawing before we cut a blank, along with bend reliefs at the ends of partial bends and the bend sequence itself, since some bend orders make later bends physically impossible to reach with the tooling.
Offsets and joggles
Two close bends producing a step, used where panels overlap or sit flush.
Rolling and curving
Continuous radius forming for cylindrical sections, shrouds and covers.
Countersinking and dimpling
Forming a recess so a fastener sits flush with the sheet surface.
Materials we Fabricate
Steels
Non-ferrous
Mild steel
the default for structural and enclosure work
Aluminium 5052
the best forming grade, bends tightly without cracking
Galvanised steel
zinc-coated for outdoor and humid environments
Aluminium 6061
stronger but less formable, better for flat and bolted parts
Stainless 304
general corrosion resistance, food-safe
Brass and copper
electrical busbars, decorative panels, shielding
Stainless 316
higher corrosion resistance for marine and chemical exposure
Pre-coated and anodised sheet
where a finish is needed and post-fabrication coating is not practical
Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication: How It Works
Our injection molding service produces high-quality plastic parts with precision. We cater to various industries, ensuring durability and efficiency in every product.
1
Submit your CAD file
STEP or a flat DXF, plus a PDF drawing with material grade, thickness, bend angles, finish and any critical dimensions marked.
A 3D model is more useful than a flat pattern because it lets us calculate the blank ourselves and catch bend problems before cutting.
See how to prepare a CAD file for the general rules.
2
Written DFM review and quote
Within two working days you receive a quote plus a written DFM report covering bend radii against material grade, flange lengths, hole-to-bend distances, bend reliefs, bend sequence feasibility and nesting efficiency.
Included at no charge, on every quote.
3
Confirm grade, thickness and finish
You approve the quote and confirm material grade, gauge and finish. Any DFM change you accept is reflected in a revised flat pattern before anything is cut.
4
Cut, form, weld and finish
Nested and laser cut, deburred, formed on the press brake in the planned sequence, welded and dressed where required, hardware inserted, then finished.
We specify the sequence, our partners execute it, and we inspect what comes back.
5
Inspection and dispatch
Critical dimensions checked against your drawing and recorded on an inspection report that ships with the parts.
Domestic and international courier dispatch, with commercial invoice and packing list for customs.
Why Source Sheet Metal Fabrication from India?
1
Cost, without a quality trade-off
Fabrication rates in India run materially below Western Europe and North America for equivalent tolerances and finish. The saving comes from labour and overhead, not from looser standards or thinner material than specified.
2
Engineering conversations in English
You are talking to the person who will set the press brake, in English, about bend radii, grain direction and weld distortion. No account manager relaying questions to a shop floor that never sees your intent.
3
Workable time zones
IST gives same-day overlap with Europe and the Gulf, and end-of-day handover with North America. Send a file at close of business, wake up to a DFM report.
Why Choose Plast Fab Works as Your Sheet Metal Fabricator?
A written DFM report for every quote
Not a bullet point on a webpage. An actual document listing bend radii that will crack, flanges too short to grip, holes too close to a bend line, and what changing each one saves. Before anything is cut.
One engineer, one drawing review, one inspection report
Your file does not go into a bidding pool. It goes to an engineer who reviews it against fabrication constraints, issues a written DFM report, and stays with the job through inspection. One point of contact, one invoice.
No minimum order
One prototype or five hundred production parts. Per-part price scales with quantity, but we do not impose a minimum batch charge to make a single piece worth quoting.
Need machined metal components for the same assembly? See CNC machining services.
Plastic parts alongside metal? See custom plastic fabrication and CNC plastic machining.
Still at concept stage? Our product design engineering team can develop the part with fabrication constraints built in from the first sketch.
Industries We Machine For
🏭 Industrial Automation
Machine guards, control panel enclosures, conveyor frames, chip trays
🖥 Electronics & Electrical
Rack enclosures, chassis, shielding cans, ventilated panels, busbars
🌞 HVAC & Ducting
Duct sections, plenum boxes, transitions, dampers, louvre panels
🚗 Automotive
Brackets, heat shields, mounting plates, prototype body panels
✈ Aerospace Ground Support
Handling fixtures, trolleys, access panels, equipment housings
🍽 Food & Pharma
Stainless worktables, hoppers, hygienic enclosures, trolleys, splash guards
Sheet Metal Fabrication Frequently Asked Questions
1. What file format should I submit for sheet metal fabrication?
Send a STEP file of the folded 3D part plus a PDF drawing showing material grade, thickness, bend angles, finish and any critical dimensions. A 3D model beats a flat DXF because it lets us calculate the flat pattern using our own bend allowances, which are specific to our tooling and the grade you have chosen. If you send only a flat pattern developed with someone else's K-factor, the folded part will not match your drawing.
2. What tolerances can you hold on fabricated sheet metal parts?
Laser cut profiles hold ±0.10 mm as standard. Bend angle holds ±1 degree, tightening to ±0.5 degrees with bottoming. Bend position from the reference edge holds ±0.20 mm on the first bend, but tolerance accumulates with each subsequent bend, so a part with three or more bends should be treated as ±0.50 mm overall. Welded assemblies hold ±1.0 mm unless fixtured specifically. Sheet metal does not hold machined tolerances, and specifying machined numbers on a fabricated part adds cost without adding accuracy.
3. What is the minimum bend radius for sheet metal?
As a working rule, the inside bend radius should be at least equal to the material thickness. Below that the outer surface stretches beyond what the grade can take and cracks, and the effect is worse across the grain than along it. Aluminium 5052 tolerates tight radii well, 6061 does not and will often crack at 1x thickness. Stainless work-hardens as it forms and needs a generous radius. If your design needs a tighter radius than the grade allows, we will flag it in the DFM report and suggest either a different grade or a different geometry.
4. Can you make sheet metal prototypes as well as production batches?
Yes, and there is no minimum order. Laser cutting needs no tooling, so a single prototype costs only setup plus material, which is what makes fabrication far cheaper than machining for one-off enclosures and panels. The same flat pattern and bend program then runs unchanged for production, so parts stay identical from prototype through to volume rather than changing when you scale.
5. Do you provide finishing as well as fabrication?
Yes. Deburring, graining, powder coating, zinc plating, anodising, black oxide and passivation are all specified and managed by us as part of the job, so you receive a finished part rather than coordinating a second vendor yourself. Tell us the finish and colour reference at enquiry, because some finishes change the design: powder coat adds thickness that affects close-fitting assemblies, and masking requirements affect cost.
6. Can I order sheet metal fabrication from overseas?
Yes. We ship regularly to Europe, North America, the Gulf and Southeast Asia. The process runs fully remote: submit your STEP file and drawing, receive a quote with written DFM report within two working days, approve by email, and we dispatch on completion. Commercial invoice and packing list are provided for customs. Fabricated parts are bulkier than machined parts, so we nest and pack for volumetric weight, and quote sea freight where the quantity justifies it.
7. How is sheet metal fabrication priced?
Four things drive cost: material, which is area of sheet consumed including nesting waste rather than the weight of the finished part; laser time, which scales with cut length rather than part area, so hole-heavy parts cost more than they look; bend count, since each bend is a separate handling operation on the brake; and secondary work such as welding, hardware insertion and finishing. Reducing bend count and consolidating hole patterns usually saves more than changing material grade.
8. Is there a sheet metal fabricator near me?
Our facility is in Andheri East, Mumbai, and we serve clients across India and internationally. Because the process from quote to dispatch runs remotely, meaning file upload, emailed DFM report and quote, then courier delivery, physical proximity makes little practical difference to lead time or quality. For bulky fabricated assemblies, shipping cost matters more than distance, so we quote freight transparently alongside the part price.
