What we source
Sheet metal fabrication
Amerigo sources custom sheet metal fabrication from American job shops. Send a drawing or STEP file and we route it to a few sheet metal shops built for that work. They cut, form, weld and finish parts to your drawing: enclosures, guards, panels, brackets, chassis and weldments, from a single prototype to a production run. Each shop that quotes sends back its own name, price and ready date, and you pay one price through Amerigo.
Send a drawingAbout sheet metal fabrication
Sheet metal fabrication turns flat stock into parts by cutting, forming and joining. Cutting is fiber laser, turret punch or waterjet. Forming is the press brake, and the brake is where most sheet metal jobs are won or lost: bend radius, K-factor and tooling reach decide whether a drawing can be made as drawn or needs a small change. Joining is TIG, MIG or spot welding, plus PEM hardware pressed in for threads and standoffs. Finishing often rides on the same order: powder coat, wet paint, plating, or passivation for stainless.
Common materials are A1008 cold rolled and A1011 hot rolled steel, 304 and 316 stainless, and 5052 and 6061 aluminum. A shop may propose a substitution, for instance hot rolled in place of cold rolled on a part that is not cosmetic, and notes it on its quote so you can decide.
What a shop needs to quote: a PDF drawing with material, thickness, finish and quantity, plus a STEP or DXF when you have one. A STEP file is not required, but it removes most of the back and forth on bends and hole positions.
Questions buyers ask
- Do I need a STEP file to get a sheet metal quote?
- No. A PDF drawing with material, thickness, finish and quantity is enough to quote. A STEP or DXF makes the quote faster and more exact, because the shop can unfold the part directly instead of redrawing it.
- What quantity can I send?
- Any quantity, from one prototype to a production run. Setup cost is spread over the quantity, so the price per part usually falls as quantity rises. If you expect to reorder, ask for prices at more than one quantity on the same request.
- Can one shop do the sheet metal, the welding and the powder coat?
- Often. Many sheet metal shops finish in house or through a finishing partner on the same order. Say on the drawing whether the finish is required, and each quote states what it includes.
- How long does a job take?
- Each quote states the manufacturer's own lead time. It depends on the part, the material and the shop's load, so Amerigo does not publish a standard lead time. If you have a date you must hit, put it on the request.
- Who makes the parts?
- The manufacturer named on the quote, at the U.S. facility on its Amerigo profile. You pay the price on the quote; Amerigo adds no charge of its own (freight and sales tax are covered in the FAQ).