McIver Engineering laser cuts, folds, welds and finishes sheet metal at Smithfield, taking flat material through to a finished part in mild steel, 304 and 316 stainless steel and aluminium. Heavier plate work is folded by a long standing press brake subcontractor and managed as part of the same job.
The bulk of our sheet work runs in mild steel from 1.2 mm through to 6 mm, in 304 and 316 stainless from 0.9 mm to 5 mm, and in 5005, 5052 and 5083 grade aluminium sheet. Galvanised and zinc anneal sheet is used where a coating is wanted straight off the machine, and heavier mild steel plate is cut to 12 mm on the laser for base plates and structural gussets, with thicker plate sourced up to 200 mm.
Grade choice matters more than thickness on most jobs. 304 stainless is the default for indoor and general industrial work, 316 is specified where chlorides, coastal air or wash down chemicals are involved, and 5083 aluminium is chosen over 5005 where the part is welded and loaded rather than simply folded and mounted.
Sheet is bought in for the job rather than held as a fixed stock range, and mill certificates are supplied where the job calls for traceability. Tell us the grade, gauge and finish you need at quoting stage rather than after the sheet is cut.
Flat blanks are laser cut with bend reliefs and every hole, slot and cutout in one operation, which is why we no longer punch. A feature change is a file change rather than a new tool, and the blank arrives at the fold with its features already in the right place.
Folding is done on our own floor, so the cut, the fold and the weld all sit with the same team and a fit problem gets corrected the same day rather than after a trip across town. Our own press brake folds sheet up to 2 mm thick and up to 1.5 m long. Where the material is too thick or the fold too long for our own press brake, the job goes to a press brake subcontractor we have used for years and we manage that step, so it stays under one purchase order and one point of contact. Bend allowances are set against the actual material rather than a nominal figure, which keeps hole positions and overall dimensions where the drawing says they should be once the part is formed.
Standard work includes single and multi hit box folds, hems, offsets, joggles and return flanges. Where a fold radius is critical to the fit of a mating part, or where the grain direction of a stainless finish has to run a particular way, note it on the drawing and we will set the job up accordingly.
Folded parts are MIG welded in mild steel for strength and speed, and TIG welded in stainless and aluminium where the weld appearance and heat input matter. Corners are stitched, seam welded or fully welded and dressed depending on whether the part is structural, sealed or visible.
In house finishing covers weld dressing, linishing to a consistent grain on stainless, deburring and edge breaking, and preparation for coating. All surface coating is done externally: powder coating, galvanising and anodising are arranged with finishers we have used for years, so a single purchase order still covers the part from flat sheet to delivered and coated.
Our 6 kW Bystronic DNE fibre laser cuts mild steel to 12 mm, stainless steel to 10 mm and aluminium to 8 mm in house, with thicker plate sourced for the customer up to 200 mm. Most sheet metal work runs in 1.2 mm to 6 mm. Sheet is bought in for the job rather than held as a fixed stock range, so tell us the grade and gauge you need at enquiry stage.
Yes. Folding is done on our own floor at Smithfield alongside the cutting and welding, so a flat blank becomes a formed part without leaving the building. Heavier plate and unusually long folds go to a press brake subcontractor we have worked with for years, which means we are not held to the length or tonnage of a single machine. Send the flat pattern or the folded part detail and we will confirm which route the job takes when we quote.
No. Punching has been replaced by laser cutting in our workshop, so holes, slots, louvres, cutouts and lightening features are cut on the laser in the same operation as the profile. That removes tool costs and punch limitations, and it means a feature change is a file change rather than new tooling.
Yes. We fabricate 304 and 316 stainless enclosures, cabinets and guards, TIG welded and dressed back so the seams are clean for wash down and food processing environments.
Yes. Bring the sample to our Smithfield workshop and we will measure it, produce a flat pattern and quote the fabrication. Supplying DXF, DWG or STEP files is faster and usually cheaper.
No. We fabricate single prototype parts through to repeating production batches for the same clients.
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