Your fabrication needs are met at our shop in Concord, Ontario. At Wiedehopf, our polished team of expert fabricators executes complex designs, using CNC machines that cut to exact blueprint specifications. We blend artistry and engineering: cutting, grooving, bending, and assembling the materials that will soon be the pride of your building’s exterior.
No two cladding jobs are the same in terms of dimension, shape, material, and finish. All of the panels and siding elements that we supply our partners and customers are made to order. For popular products, such as Aluminum Composite Material (ACM), we receive raw materials that are fabricated from scratch. Our fabricators enjoy the aid of cutting-edge technology: notably, two top-of-the-line CNC machines that unify precision, expedience, and scope.
Our workshop transforms raw material into siding and paneling that ships to the job site ready to install as cladding. The final product is artfully customized, faithful to the original design, and reliable in its structural integrity.
We follow four stages to turn a raw sheet into a panel:
Here is the process of each step, in detail:
Raw material is laid out on our 5’ x 16’ CNC table to be cut to size for fabrication. One of our CNC machines get to work, maneuvering its cutting head along the sheets to slice them to size. If there is one thing we hate, it is waste, so we program this part of the process to utilize as much of the raw material as we can.
The cutting process splits raw sheets into individual sections that will become distinct panels. Any departure from the designer’s original schematics will upset not only the rest of the fabrication, but delay the installation process as well.
We rely on the accuracy of CNC technology, which communicates numerical directions to the cutting head of our machines. These directions come straight from the horse’s mouth, or rather from Autodesk, where the original CAD file was crafted. Our CNC technicians supervise the process, and our in-house design team is present for clarity and guidance.
For this stage, the spindle on the CNC machine is equipped with a milling tool that separates the desired material from the rest of the raw sheet. For milling, we use a rotating cutter suited to slice effortlessly through the raw material that we are working with.
The cut stage is where the rubber meets the road and design is first acted on. Synergy from design to fabrication is critical. At our headquarters, cutting happens in view of our design office.
This step showcases the three-dimensional mobility of our CNC machines. The newly cut sheets are grooved by the cutting head, making indents between what will become the panel face and the panel sides.
These creases will make folding up the sides of the panels easier, and mitigate any error in the process. The trick is to groove the raw sheets in a way that facilitates bending, without compromising the structural integrity of the finished product. If the cutting stage is a study of accuracy, grooving is an exercise in precision.
For a siding material such as ACM, the overall thickness of a sheet is typically around 4mm. When working with an element so thin, the difference between a cut and a groove is minuscule. The process necessitates a surgeon-like touch, while production must match the timely needs of a fast-paced industry. This is why we rely upon the latest tech for grooving our materials.
Our CNC machines act on data in three dimensions, and their cutting heads accommodate the necessary mobility for a perfect groove. Where milling tools are used for cutting, grooving requires our spindle to be armed with a lathe, a drill-like tool used for shaping and smoothing metal.
No fancy machines at use for this stage of fabrication: just some good old-fashioned elbow grease. Our fabricators bend along the four indented edges, turning the flat sheet into a panel.
The cutting and grooving process often results in metal dust. Right before bending begins, pressurized air is blown on the sheet to ensure no residue is enclosed in the grooves.
A plumb fold is key to the structural integrity of a panel, so this stage is no less tactful than the work carried out by the CNC machine. Our team creates temporary handles on the side flaps using clamps—modified for the particular use case—that aid the fold. These handles distribute pressure equally so that the sides bend evenly.
Assembly is the final stage of the fabrication process. Here we fasten the panels and ready them for a long life of service. Fabricators lock everything in place using corner brackets joined to the panel with screws, rivets, and other fasteners.
The sides of the panels may have been bendable in the last stage, but it would be a Herculean effort to try and fold them back after assembly.
These fasteners will remain out of view once the panels are installed, but this does not mean they can be devoid of quality. A cladding solution is only as strong as its weakest link, so our panels are fastened using materials that match the durability and structural integrity of the base product. Brackets are typically made from aluminum and come in long strips from our suppliers to be cut to the exact needs of our panels.
Once the corners are secured, additional brackets are fastened to the sides, for later installation on the base wall. This is done with the installer in mind. Attention to detail and the design schematic are crucial. The final installation hinges on coordination between these brackets and extrusions fastened to the base wall, so our team is careful to assemble the panels accurately.
When the assembly is complete, so too is the fabrication process. From there, the finished product is shipped out to the job site.
We invite you to our showroom and workshop to get an exclusive look at our process and the cladding products we produce. Call to schedule an appointment, at no obligation. We look forward to meeting you!
Extrusions are the brackets that will bridge the gap between cladding panels and the base wall during the installation process. Extrusions come to us in a variety of formats, depending on where they will go on the base wall, and what kind of material they will support.
Most of the supplementary components that we use, such as extrusions, are made from 6063-T5 Aluminum. The extrusions we supply enjoy a long life, thanks to the anti-corrosive makeup of this material. The malleability of aluminum makes for a straightforward fabrication process.
These extrusions are fabricated to fit the desired exterior design. Typically, extrusions are initially manufactured into long strips that we cut down to size as needed, to maximize affordability and customize them to each use case.
Fabricating extrusions in parity with the brackets attached to the panels gives us a chance to guarantee that the cladding will be installed with ease.
Every product we fabricate is tailored to your specific needs. For panels, siding, extrusions, and a myriad of components made to order, we are a one-stop-shop for everything modern cladding materials. For a complete assessment of how we can serve your vision, give us a call today!
Wiedehopf’s industrious team of fabricators is crucial to our operation. The prime mover in our workshop is the dedicated set of people who make it happen: A team of artisans and technicians with over 40 years of combined experience. The care they put into their work is seen in every panel, right down to the small rivets in every corner.
Whether you are an independent installer seeking fabrication assistance, or you are looking for a holistic cladding service, our workshop is ready to offer quality products at a high rate of production! To find out how our fabrication team can assist your project, at no obligation, give us a call.
Our workshop is home to two high-performing CNC machines that expedite our process while ensuring all our raw sheets are cut to exact design specifications. CNC stands for computer numerical control, and in our case refers to the automated robotics that is responsible for cutting and grooving our raw materials. Invented to take detailed instructions and carry them out to a T, our CNCs work based on the computer-assisted design (CAD) file set forth during the design stage under the watch of our CNC technician. This work is carried out on a 5’ x 16’ table that accommodates a variety of panel sizes. Our machines possess a wide range of mobility. Carriages allow movement across the entire x and y axes of our cutting table and a full range of rotation is enabled by the flexibility of the turrets and spindles that hold the cutting head.
No design is too complex for our machines: they cut in three dimensions!
We fabricate a wide array of materials in our workshop. ACM, aluminum siding, thermally modified wood, HPL, and fiber cement are just a few examples of the products our shop is equipped to format into modern cladding solutions.
Our workflow is optimized for expediency. The overall timeline of fabrication varies based on the scope of a project and the materials being used. To find out what it will take to fulfill your unique fabrication needs, call our office to speak to one of our cladding experts.
The cost of fabrication accounts for the labor, materials, tools, and energy used during the process, in addition to the technology we employ at our workshop. The scale of our operation means saving that are passed on to you, no matter the scope of a particular project. Pricing will vary, so we invite you to call so we can provide an accurate estimate.
No two facades are alike, so cladding products must be made to order. The industry’s leading manufacturers deal only in raw material, which we source to be fabricated to our client’s exact needs. The innovation of modern cladding places an emphasis on form that heightens the innate benefits of popular materials. Raw sheets must be shaped to facilitate easy installation and an effective rainscreen, making fabrication necessary to the process.
Fabrication is sometimes performed on the job site; this method, however, can be prone to challenges that outweigh any benefit of fabricating in this way. On-site fabrication increases the liability of human error, reliant on weather, and cannot benefit from the economy of scale that a dedicated fabrication workshop offers.
CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control, the programming that allows our cutting and grooving tools to work based on the exact specifications of the original design schematic, found in a computer-assisted design (CAD) file.
ACM sheets must be fabricated into panels before use for cladding. As one of our most popular products, our fabrication team is well versed in optimizing this dynamic material to the specific look and need of your façade.
If you book an appointment at our showroom in Vaughan, we would be more than happy to give you a look at our industry-leading workshop. We will warn you, it can get pretty loud in there!
A visit to our showroom will allow you to inspect the quality of our fabricated product. Give us a call to discuss what you are looking for, and how we can provide a sample of our myriad products.
Our cladding materials are fabricated in the heart of the GTA, at our Vaughan-based workshop and office. This ensures a quality product that is created with synergy between our design and fabrication team, and finished cladding panels that ship quickly to job sites throughout Canada.
Many cladding solutions take the form of paneling. Panels offer many benefits, ranging from aesthetic to functional. The sides of panels allow for installation that hides fasteners from the front face of the material, allowing for a smooth and convention-defying look. These sides, fastened to extrusions on the base wall, leave an air cavity behind the cladding that is necessary for a functional rain screen. On a practical level, panels allow for a large building worth of facade to ship flat in as few trucks as possible.
Our raw materials are sourced from a wide range of manufacturing partners. To get the best that the industry offers, each material in our product roster comes from a variety of sources, many operating within North America to ensure quick lead times.
The color and finish of cladding materials are already painted and treated on the raw sheets that we source for fabrication. We keep our workshop stocked with the most popular color options, and we have the supply chain to obtain even the most niche shades and textures!
Our completed panels ship with the brackets already fastened, so all that is left is to install extrusions to the base wall on which to mount the paneling.
The materials that we work with are used for far more than cladding! Our workshop is tailored to the modern materials that we work with, rather than the specifics of cladding. Whether you are a cabinet maker or are working on a product that needs ACM cut to precise specifications, or anything of the sort, we want to assist you!
Our operation is constantly growing and we are regularly seeking seasoned fabricators to join our valued team. To find out if there are positions currently open, please refer to our job postings on LinkedIn or send your resume to info@wiedehopf.ca with a little description of yourself.