How buyers and engineers can assess a metal fabrication subcontractor: in-house production or a network, operations, quality, lead times. A seven-question checklist.

Powder coating for large metal structures: booth 5500 × 1400 × 2600 mm, up to 430 kg, automatic chemical pre-treatment.

When it is worth welding aluminium with a robot: CMT technology, distortion, weld consistency and the batch size that justifies it.

Which drawing files to send for a metal fabrication enquiry: DXF for the laser, STEP for welded assemblies, PDF for tolerances.

Eight design-for-manufacture rules for engineers designing aluminium sheet parts for laser cutting, bending, welding and powder coating.

The laser is cheaper for flat parts, milling wins when you need depth or hundredths. A criteria table and the drawing mistake that doubles the price.

5754 for parts that are bent or welded, 6082 T6 for parts that carry load. Comparison table, bend radius and what to state on the drawing.

Within 5 km of the sea, standard pre-treatment is not enough. What the Seaside class changes, why coatings lift, and what to specify for a coastal project.

A tube laser merges cutting, drilling, copes and marking into one operation. Why the welding jig disappears, and when the technology does not pay.