Information about Metal Fabrication
Fabrication, when used as an industrial term, applies to the building of machines, structures and other equipment, by cutting, shaping and assembling components made from raw materials. Small businesses that specialize in metal are called fab shops.
Steel fabrication shops and machine shops have overlapping capabilities, but fabrication shops generally concentrate on the metal preparation aspects (such as sawing tubing to length or bending sheet metal or plate), welding, and assembly, whereas machine shops are more concerned with the machining of parts on machine tools.
The work of fabrication shops and steel erectors overlaps in principle. Often the fabrications for structural work begin as prefabricated segments in a fab shop, then are moved to the site by truck, rail, or barge, and finally are installed by erectors.
