The Metal Shop is a complete fabrication and machine shop with laser cutting, waterjet cutting, CNC machining, and welding capabilities. We are experts with aluminum, as 95% of our work is aluminum, and we also work with steel, stainless steel, and other mediums when necessary. Large to small jobs are accepted, from prototypes to short run production. Our team members all have a passion to fabricate, and have over 50 years of experience ranging from the machining and mold business to professional racing. Our specialty is the fabrication of custom parts and structures for the trade show industry, working in cooperation with Catalyst Exhibits. Our experience in this industry has trained us to do things quickly and accurately due to the very tight work deadlines. Rest assured your project will be given the same attention to time and detail as our exhibit clients.
Our clients include both large multi-national corporations as well as small privately owned businesses, many of which are return customers. We have earned a reputation for handling projects that other shops can't. Our equipment enables us to complete your project from start to finish with high degrees of accuracy and quality on site. This is not only convenient for us, but also for our customers, as we are better able to control the time and cost of your project.
With our fully equipped facility, highly skilled and experienced staff, tradition of hard work and resourcefulness, and our can-do spirit, you can be confident in choosing us as your metal fabrication and machining resource partner. We take pride in our work and believe that our actions reflect the character, principles, and values at our core.
As one of the largest metal fabrication shops in the midwest, we have made a continuous effort to improve our services and facility to meet the needs of todays industry. We offer a full range of services from design consultation to large scale production fabrication. Founded in 2002, we have expanded our manufacturing space twice and currently have 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space and approximately 10 employees. We are a veteran owned business.
The Metal Shop LLC
215 Exchange Drive, Unit B
Crystal Lake, Illinois 60014
Phone: 815-444-1480
Fax: 815-444-1460
Email: tmsinfo@themetalshopp.com
Quotes: quotes@themetalshopp.com
Sales: todd@themetalshopp.com
Design: design@themetalshopp.com
Laser
Laser cutting is often the most effective process for cutting plate or sheet metal for sheet metal fabrication, including carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum and many other alloys. TMS's laser cutting processes incorporate off-line programming and part nesting for material maximization. Our Mitsubishi LVP 3015 Plus II Laser provides precision, flexibility, low cost and speed for our customers. Plus zero set-up time is perfect for one piece or long runs.
Turret Punching
TMS also offers turret punching. Turret Punching is a fast way to cut basic shapes and patterns in sheet material using various punch shapes like rectangles and circles. Our Strippit turret punch offers repeatable precision and speed for medium to long production runs.
Saws
We also offer a full line of sawing capabilities including a variety of band saws and chop saws. Our saws are effective for cutting various types of tube, rod, or extrusions. Many of these are automated and programmable for repeatable quality and increased throughput.
Waterjet
TMS's Mitsubishi Suprema Waterjet cutting machine provides us with the capability to cut a wide variety of materials, including thick metal alloys, glass, plastic, wood and more. Our waterjet cutting process provides precision, accuracy and versatility. Plus with our Taper Control head, maximizes consistency while reducing taper. Waterjet cutting is among the most precise metal fabricating processes in existence. Our machine can handle up to 5'x12' sheets of material.
Shearing
Shearing is most often used in conjunction with another process such as laser cutting or turret punching. This is the most effective way for our steel fabricators and aluminum fabricators to make long straight cuts up to 12' wide, for up to 0.375" thick mild steel, 0.25" aluminum, and 0.25" stainless steel.
We use a 100% electric Toyokoki APB-5620Wu press brake with forming pressure up to 60 tons paired with our MetaCAM and SolidWorks software for precision forming within ± 0.00039 inches (That's 1 micron!) and an Accurpress brake to accommodate part lengths up to 10 feet and forming pressure up to 100 tons. We have additional hand brakes for smaller parts and shorter runs.
Our hand brake, sheet roller, English wheel, power hammer, and shrinking and stretching machine enable us to form nearly any complex form from sheet metal.
Bending
We employ a variety of manual and NC bending equipment that can accommodate steel and aluminum tubing, with sizes ranging up to 2" O.D. Our SOCO SB-63NCMP pipe bending machine allows us to automatically achieve highly accurate angles on mild steel tube up to Ø 63.5mm x 2.5t x 1.5D / Ø 57.15mm x 3.3t x 1.5D and stainless steel up to Ø 63. 5mm x 1.5t x 1.5D. For smaller jobs we have an assortment of hand bending machines for specific applications.
These machines are used for bending tube, angle, or shapes into coils, circles or large arcs using a wide variety of materials. We use a IMCAR CPHV-100 hydraulic profile bending machine that can accommodate up to 4' O.D. steel and aluminum tube.
Swagging
This process is done mostly with aluminum, copper or thin wall steel. We take a tubing or a solid rod and reduce the outside diameter down to a specific diameter. Cold swaging is relatively quick, inexpensive and chipless. We use a Finn-Power P32 VS23 swaging machine that handles 4mm-87mm tube.
Cutting
Our tube automatic sawing machine is a MEP Condor 90 CNC electropneumatic saw, which cuts various kinds of material (aluminum, light alloys, brass, bronze, copper, and steel) with very little scrap and great applicative flexibility. We also have a variety of smaller saws and cut-offs that we use for small runs and detail work.
CNC Vertical Milling
We have two Fadal 4020 3 axis vertical machining centers with bed sizes up to 40" x 20" x 30" and 21 tools per machine to provide you with quality machining for small to large parts.
CNC Lathe Turning
For your precision turning requirements our Bridgeport EZ Path lathe offers a cutting diameter up to 14" for 30" long parts. We also have a Ikegai TCR15 bar feeder for up to 8" diameter 13" long parts and live tool capability with 12 tool turret for additional operations for increased production efficiency.
We have four Bridgeport Series I Standard Mills that can manually machine parts up to 36"x12"x16".
MIG (Metal Inert Gas)
MIG welding can be used on all thicknesses of steels, on aluminum, nickel, and even on stainless steel, etc. However, it is most typically utilized in manufacturing and in commercial fabrication settings. MIG welding is versatile and can be used with a wide variety of metals and alloys. We have three MIG welders, a Miller Alumapower 350 MPa for welding aluminum and a Miller Millermatic 350P and Millermatic 250 for welding steel.
TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas)
TIG welding is our primary type of welding. TIG welding is a slower process than MIG, but it produces a more precise weld and can be used at lower amperages for thinner metal and can even be used on exotic metals. TIG welding is a commonly used high quality welding process. TIG welding has become a popular choice of welding processes when high quality, precision welding is required. We have four TIG welders, a Miller Dynasty 700, a Miller Dynasty DX, and two Miller Syncrowave 250 DX machines.
Solidworks
Taking advantage of the Solidworks 3D CAD environment enables us to outpace competitors by developing and producing better products in a shorter time and at a lower cost. Solidworks creates and synchronizes parts, assemblies, and drawings allowing for adjustments to be made at a later time.
MetaCAM
MetaCAM is the new frontier in the sheet metal CAD/CAM world and is currently the most comprehensive end-to-end solution. Current CNC Machine Tool applications include Turret Punch Press, Laser, Hybrid, Multi-axis Laser, Plasma and Water Jet cutting. This fully integrated system has evolved into the most innovative CAD/CAM solutions in the market today.
MasterCAM
Powerful, fully associative programming package for 2, 3, 4, and 5-axis milling.
Laser Inspection
There are numerous variables that can contribute to a failed flat part — the wrong tool, programming errors, incorrect gas mix and many more. By inspecting the first piece of a production run, costly rework becomes a thing of the past. We use a Virtek LaserQC for 2D inspection, Flat Part, Sheet Metal Inspection, Gasket Inspection, QC Inspection and Quality Control Inspection, first article inspection, Statistical Process Control (SPC) and reverse engineering of 2D materials.
Powder Coating
We use Paradigm Coatings, a full service custom powder coating and media blasting facility, for all our powder coating needs. They can accommodate a wide range of profiles up to 10' wide by 10' tall and 21' long.