Steel folding is a process used to fold sheets of steel into different forms, achieved by machines called press brakes, which apply pressure to a limited surface area to curl and create an angle. This technique is used by many other companies like ours to produce everything from vehicle parts to home fixtures. Steel folding is used universally in many different areas of design, from engineering parts for construction and aerospace, to designing furniture.
If an engineer or designer would like to increase part or product complexity, they can design the product to fit into the part of another component. Since this complicated, intricate structure is all made out of one component, production time is cut nearly in half. Waste material is also completely eliminated in this one-part design. For many companies like ours, steel folding is a requirement to kick start the design and manufacturing process. This—and whatever comes next—is too!
What is Steel Folding?
Folding steel is a basic technique for improving both the strength and density of the metal. Steel is heated to a temperature at which it's malleable, then it's promptly folded and hammered. This simple treatment causes the grain structure of the metal to align, which markedly improves the tensile strength of the metal. Broadly speaking, the science behind this technique says that folding causes the layers within the steel to be squished, which forces the carbon and other atoms to spread out and homogenize across the parent material.
Folded steel can be found anywhere that has strong metal, from structural materials used in the construction sector, high-quality tools and blades in the manufacturing industry, and, of course, in traditional works like the sword mentioned earlier.
Steel Folding Applications
Steel folding is a critical operation needed in a variety of applications—in particular, construction, automotive and aerospace.
In the construction industry, many beams and columns are folded steel products. These provide [the] structure [to] the building in which they are placed. The building's very own "skeleton" is thus made of steel. The skeleton provides a major form of the building's structure, supporting giant skyscrapers full of people and weight, all the while ... using the minimal amount of materials possible.
In the automotive industry, many vehicles' newly-formed frames and body panels are folded steel products as well. These provide for a more lightweight vehicle while still providing the necessary "shield" from any danger—i.e. the driver is kept safe at all times. A vehicle, for all intents and purposes, is a machine. This machine is pretty dangerous—it's about one ton of waste. The driver information center states the traveling speed; this is usually 65 of the the nearest Interstate here in the United States! These vehicles now a days are mostly electric close to 1k beer and are trying to optimize this weight
Finally, in the aerospace industry, many other metal components and parts are often folded as well. The intricacies in the geometry and in the optional slitted designs are all quite optional. But, fold manufacturing is the only way to produce and achieve such options and such desired results.