There are many types of fabrication techniques where the most common ones are cutting and machining, punching and drilling, straightening, bending and rolling, fitting and reaming, fastening, finishing etc.

What Is the Metal Fabrication Process?

• Cutting. Perhaps the most commonly used metal fabrication processes involve cutting, where sheets of metal are split into halves, thirds or smaller sections.
• Folding.
• Welding.
• Machining.
• Punching.
• Shearing.
• Stamping.
• Casting.

Below is a list of some of the sheet metals, pipe, structural shapes, etc., that M&S regularly uses in fabrication.

• Hot rolled steel. A36, A572-50, A606, CS-B, 100XF, HSLA Gr 50/60, HSLA-F Gr 50/60, Abrasion Resistant, Aircraft Quality.
• Cold rolled steel.
• Stainless steel.
• Aluminum.
• Copper.
• Brass.
• Bronze.
• Pipe.

Metals can be divided into two main groups: ferrous metals are those which contain iron and non-ferrous metals that are those which contain no iron.

• Ferrous Metals. Pure Iron is of little use as an engineering material because it is too soft and ductile.
• Copper.
• Brass.
• Tin.
• Lead.
• Bronze.
• Zinc.

There are three main types of metals ferrous metals, non ferrous metals and alloys. Ferrous metals are metals that consist mostly of iron and small amounts of other elements. Ferrous metals are prone to rusting if exposed to moisture.

Due to its ability to resist heat and corrosion, stainless steel is frequently used in forging. The most common types of stainless steel utilized in forging are 304/304L, 316/316L, and ferritic.

Stainless steel is rust- and corrosion resistant and is therefore ideal for items where it is necessary to ward off sweat, equipment for salty roads or where there is constant exposure to moisture.

• Tool steels are a very popular choice for making knives.
• Carbon steel grades with high amounts of carbon are desirable for knife making because they will give the blade the hardness and strength needed to hold up against impact and wear.
• Stainless steel is another type of knife-making metal.

304 isn’t a blade making steel so don’t even try it, just be a waste of time. Order some good 1075/1080 from Adrimal Steel it isn’t very exspensive. You can order from them on line. If you do choose to use a stainless steel, there are a several vendors you can send your blades to for heat treat.

Stainless steel 304 cannot be hardened by heat treatment. Solution treatment or annealing can be done by rapid cooling after heating to 1010-1120°C.

High quality Damascus steel is not the strongest metal you can get. For most projects and uses, though, it’s plenty strong and durable. Carbon Damascus is softer to work with but once hardened, it’s harder than stainless.

Full hardness can be achieved through air-cooling at the austenitising temperature, but hardening larger sections may sometimes require oil quenching. Hardened components must be tempered immediately after cooling at room temperature, particularly if oil quenching has been used to prevent cracking.

In summary, stainless steel does not rust because it is sufficiently reactive to protect itself from further attack by forming a passive corrosion product layer.

The most popular of the 300-series steels—304 stainless steel— is revered for its very good corrosion resistance and is commonly used in cookware. Martensitic stainless steels can be hardened via heat treatment; how hard they can get depends on their carbon content.

Cold forming or cold working is any metalworking process in which metal is shaped below its recrystallization temperature, usually at the ambient temperature. Work hardening makes the metal harder, stiffer, and stronger, but less plastic, and may cause cracks of the piece.

When a metal or alloy is cold worked it is worked below recrystallisation temperature. 3. its hardness and strength increase.

Alloys not amenable to heat treatment, including low-carbon steel, are often work-hardened. Some materials cannot be work-hardened at low temperatures, such as indium, however others can be strengthened only via work hardening, such as pure copper and aluminum.

4 to 8 hours