While sheet metal fabrication has long been considered a highly stable industry, keeping up with the accelerating pace of change has resulted in new technologies & innovations being introduced to the industry. Ben Machine CEO, Michael Iacovelli notes, “The industry faces important challenges, and we have invested resources and planning to help our customers navigate each challenge as it presents.”
Increased costs
For many years, commodity prices were stable or falling. However, hikes in commodity prices have been an integral part of the post Covid period. The sheet metal fabrication industry has seen increased costs and diminished profits for many players.
Ben Machine has employed a range of strategies to maintain pricing with no reduction in quality to its customers.
Increased demands
There is an ongoing push to build the next generation of advanced military equipment. With improved capabilities in fighter aircraft, space journey, and advanced air mobility, It is likely that national defence spending will continue to be a stable and important contribution to the economy. However, key players must stay ahead of these developments in being willing to solve ever more complex manufacturing challenges. Ben Machine has expanded its facility in its bid to stay at the forefront of these developments in bringing best in class service to its customers.
Supply chain management
Large global players in military and defense have addressed supply chain challenges by developing partnerships with outsourced sheet metal fabrication firms such as Ben Machine. Outsourcing not only can provide ways to reduce costs, it also offers other benefits such as getting products to the end-stage faster and more efficiently.
Advanced Capabilities for Military and Defense Customers
The military & defense industry has seen a growing demand for custom metal fabrication for parts and components such as armored vehicles, and sophisticated defence aircraft. These units are typically required to operate in rigorous environments at a high level of accuracy. As a result, defence contractors and related government entities demand exacting requirements and some of the highest standards in manufacturing.
Ben Machine has established a reputation over the past 50 years as an innovative partner to defense contractors, offering a range of valuable add on services that combine multiple disciplines such as advanced sheet metal fabrication, precision CNC machining and assembly. Ben Machine is registered under the Controlled Goods Program (CGP), complies with International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Also, offers on-site capabilities in sheet metal fabrication, certified welding, dip brazing, finishing and mechanical assembly.
Precision Sheet Metal Fabrication Services
Sheet metal fabrication for the military contractor requires a higher level of manufacturing capability than is generally demanded outside the military & defence industries. We specialize in fabricating precision metal components using aerospace aluminum alloys in the 5000 and 6000 series, while also handling the difficulties associated with forming stainless steels.
Our skilled personnel are used to achieving otherwise impossible feats of fabrication, like forming bends that are smaller than a material’s thickness. The harsh environment of most military applications requires a much higher standard of precision. Ben Machine’s fabrication processes and sequences eliminates this potential failure. Our breadth of machinery allows us to find the optimal process for your part.
Additional Operations Capability
Milling and Turning
Ben Machine, with over 100 milling & turning CNCs, can develop innovative processes to deliver consistent highly precise parts to our customers.
Welding Services
Our welders are certified to military and commercial standards, welding thin gauge aluminum & stainless-steel, balancing constraints & variables such as distortion & welding gauges thin enough to burn a hole in the part. Our manufacturing experts work with your design engineers to develop components capable of meeting exacting standards in precision and quality. Additionally, we partner with a material testing facility to provide a full range of validation method from Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) options to destructive testing of our welds.
Finishing
Ben Machine’s on-site capabilities include NADCAP approved painting. The painting process is thoroughly controlled to meet MIL specifications.
Painters conduct tests on representative samples to validate paint adhesion to the base material & verify the thickness of the paint typically measured in mils. A wide range of chromate and anodizing plating options are also available.
Ben Machine’s Experts Design an Optimized Process
Ben Machine’s manufacturing experts become part of your design team. We collaborate with your team to improve your parts process failure effect mode analysis (PFEMA), building a robust process for our high precision, tight tolerance work.
Ben Machine’s goal is simple. We want to be your partner in solving your manufacturability challenges.
Your Total Solutions Partner
Ben Machine provides more than high quality fabricated parts: we provide a total solution with 100% on time delivery of the work. With us, you have access to a broad range of capabilities, consolidating complex multi-step processes. The result is a reduction in risk, & lead times with increased quality of output that keeps you ahead of your competition.
Ben Machine is a world class manufacturer that is a trusted supplier to leading Military, Aerospace, & Defense companies in Canada. We look forward to working with you on your next challenging project.
