A huge part of mechanical engineering is fabrication and welding. Fabrication and welding allow for metal structures to be made into a range of shapes and sizes. It can be applied to a variety of industries such as engineering, construction, marine and more.
Fabrication of metal refers to the building of metal structures. This is done via a variety of processes such as cutting, bending, profiling, welding and assembling.
Metals such as steel, aluminium and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals are used in the fabrication process. These metals are often procured by the fabricator in their raw form, then they are cut, bent and formed into the required shapes and size ready for welding.
The prepared metal from the fabrication process is then welded together using a range of techniques and procedures. Welding processes often include Arc, which is a welding technique that uses a power supply in order to create an electric arc between the electrode on the welding rod and the material itself. The current created excels a huge amount of heat which is enough to melt the base material.
Graduates will be skilled in many aspects of engineering fabrication and trade including:
- Studying blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine job requirements.
- Selecting, cleaning and preparing metal stock.
- Cutting marked-out metal sections and shapes using hand tools, flame cutting torches and metal cutting machines.
- Shaping and bending metal sections and pipes using hand and machine tools, and by heating and hammering.
- Aligning parts to be joined using hand tools and measuring instruments.
- Joining metal sections using various welding techniques, bolting and riveting.
- Examining welds for width of bead, penetration and precision.
- Finishing products by cleaning, polishing, filing and bathing in acidic solutions.
- Cleaning and smoothing welds by filing, chiselling and grinding.
