About Incodema

Incodema is the industry leader in precision sheet metal engineering solutions for all the major market sectors of our economy, including electronics, defense, aerospace, life sciences and industrial. Based in Ithaca, NY Incodema by Fathom is a turnkey single source provider of all necessary services required to manufacture your parts from inception through completion. 

Our comprehensive portfolio of manufacturing services allows us to support several material types giving us the flexibility and agility to serve our customers from prototype through production. As part of Fathom Digital Manufacturing, Incodema has access to a robust nationwide network of comprehensive additive and advanced manufacturing capabilities.

By leveraging technology through the latest advancements in innovative manufacturing equipment, Incodema looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate our synergistic approach to finding the right manufacturing process for your project. 

Benefits of Creating a Sheet Metal Prototype

A sheet metal prototype can help eliminate the guesswork in manufacturing while reducing overall costs. Prototypes work as a physical example of a concept, making it easy to explain product features and benefits. Functional prototypes also allow for form, fit and function testing. A prototype allows a product or part to be evaluated to guarantee that it is to exacting specifications. By testing your design before mass manufacturing, material waste, labor, and costs can be reduced. Prototyping allows designers and engineers to learn more about the new product and enables the creation of marketing assets like photography and instructional manuals.

How Does Sheet Metal Prototyping Work?

The first step is to ensure your design is suitable for the manufacturing process. Any number of sheet metal fabrication processes may be used to create your prototype from cutting processes to forming processes to finishing processes. The team of engineering experts at Incodema by Fathom will work with you to determine the best solution.

Rapid Sheet Metal Delivery Times

Need a part fast? Incodema specializes in rapid production. Standard lead times are below, but 24hr expedite options are available.

Cutting Solutions for Sheet Metal Prototypes

Incodema by Fathom leverages powerful technologies to streamline the cutting process and handle even the toughest, high-value cutting challenges.

• Laser Cutting: Perfect for high-quality prototyping and low to high volume production, laser cutting is a highly accurate process that yields excellent cut quality with minimal heat-affected zones
• Microcut™: Suitable for a wide variety of thin materials, Microcut uses abrasive waterjet technology with higher cutting accuracies and very tight tolerances
• Waterjet Cutting: Ideal for applications that require thickness up to 6 inches, Waterjet uses a CNC machine process that can cut titanium, Inconel, brass, tool steel, glass, stone, ceramics, and more.
• Photochemical Machining/Etching (PCM): Ideal for thin parts with complex geometries and many features, PCM selectively removes material using a chemical action.
• Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM): EDM uses electrical currents to cut complex contours into pre-hardened steel. EDM is perfect for highly detailed prototypes.

Cutting Specifications

*Inner radius should be 100% of material thickness. Outer Radius should be 75% of material thickness.
**Dependent on geometry, volume and material: 24hr Expedite options available.

Precision Forming: Prototype to Low-Volume

Need precision forming? At Incodema, we have developed a technique in which we turn an ordinary press brake into a manual progressive die. By combining this dynamic technique with our custom tooling made with in-house toolmakers, we can easily achieve even the most intricate and complex design specifications. In fact, this process is so precise that we refer to it as “sheet metal origami” on the shop floor.

Large Format Parts and Prototypes

While small, complex parts are our specialty, we also offer large format services in-house. We maintain a 300-Ton Press with a 36” x 72” bed in our Newark, New York facility to form parts that are too large for a traditional press brake. This equipment is ideal for small volume projects that require deep-drawn custom parts or large die sets with embosses and gussets.

Mid to High Volume Production

Looking for more volume? No problem. Our mid to high volume solutions take advantage of lower tooling and setup costs than progressive die manufacturing and can include custom features such as gussets and embosses. All our tooling is designed and built entirely in-house, making Incodema your turnkey manufacturing supplier.

A few of our unique processes below:

Semi Automated Manufacturing

Looking for mid-to-high volume quantities? We offer a variety of cost-effective, semi-automated tooling solutions that cost 15-30% of fully automated production tooling.

• Photo Chemical Machined Flat Blanks – Small, thin parts with complex flat geometry are manufactured burr free and ready for forming.
• Put-and-Take Tooling – Semi-complex dies, actuated manually or by machine, form complex features and/or multiple bending operations in one step.
• Die Blanking – Flat parts and some parts with formed features may be manufactured complete in full automation or made ready for secondary, semi-automated bending and forming processes.

Four-Slide and Multi-Slide

Four slide and multi-slide manufacturing is ideal for small and intricate springs, brackets, electrical terminals, clips and battery contacts in high volume quantities. All tooling is designed and built in-house by the Incodema by Fathom team.

Specialty Stamping

Our skilled and creative toolmakers design and create complex tooling solutions necessary to manufacture even the most challenging stamped parts. Many of Incodema’s hands-on operators possess engineering skills, and they are empowered to develop manufacturing solutions on the fly to keep the manufacturing process moving quickly and smoothly.

Post-Processing and Finishing

Post-processing and finishing is the essential final step of the manufacturing process. Most parts will require some sort of smoothing or painting when they come off a machine. Post-processing improves the quality of parts and ensures that they meet all their design specifications.

Welding Processes

Our welding experts can complete your part by fusing two or more parts together through heat, pressure or both.

Incodema’s Welding Processes:

• Arc Welding
• Metal Inert Gas (MIG)
• Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG)
• Resistance Spot Welding
• Laser Welding
• Oxyfuel Welding and Cutting

Outside Processing

We maintain strategic partnerships with key suppliers of heat treating, plating and powder coating who understand our need for quality and speed. As part of the Fathom Manufacturing Platform, Incodema has access to a robust nationwide network of comprehensive additive and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Fathom Manufacturing’s extensive certifications include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 9001:2015 Design, ISO 13485:2016, AS9100:2016, NIST 800-171 and ITAR. 

Post Machining

While we make every effort to meet all customer design specifications during the fabrication process, occasionally post CNC machining is required to complete the part. Our in-house CNC machining centers allow us to post-mill features into your sheet metal components to successfully manufacture your parts while maintaining our fast turnaround times.

In-House Custom Tooling

Whether your formed parts need intricate EDM tooling, waterjet cut tools, or more robust CNC machined tooling, our team of engineers and master tool makers can develop creative tooling solutions for your formed parts. Complex bending and precision are our specialty and we look forward to solving your most challenging design features.

Deburring and Finishing

Attention to detail is critical to our manufacturing process, and we can uniformly remove laser dross, mechanical burrs or sharps and other surface imperfections with our in-house deburring and finishing operations. Our processes range from hand sanding to automated deburring, tumbling and finishing equipment.

ITAR Registered for Regulated Parts

Incodema Inc. is registered under the U.S. Department of State’s International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), under authority established by the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), administers ITAR. ITAR regulates the manufacture, export and transfer of defense articles, information and services.

ITAR registration recognizes Incodema as a manufacturer fully capable of supporting all military and homeland security projects in the U.S. In accordance with ITAR requirements, Incodema is entirely owned and operated by U.S. citizens. Incodema recognizes the critical importance of securing proprietary, classified and confidential information from foreign interests.

Fathom Manufacturing’s extensive certifications include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 9001:2015 Design, ISO 13485:2016, AS9100:2016, NIST 800-171 and ITAR. 

Prototype Design Tips

Our team is here to support you in every step of the product development process. There is rarely one metal forming process that can achieve all the requirements of a design, so we also offer Design for Manufacturing (DFM) support. Our team of experts may identify alternative design features or processes that allows us to meet your specific design requirements faster and with a minimal loss of material. Feel free to reach out to our manufacturing engineers at any stage of your design process for guidance. Here are some common design requirements to keep in mind:

• Try to avoid exceeding the material maximum thickness and over-designing corners and edge conrequires. Features close to bends require a minimum 2-3x material thickness. Punching and stamping of material requires a bend relief of 1-1.5x material thickness. Stamped parts have a die break.
• Tolerances and post operations such as milling and drilling add to the project cost.
• Radii are often more economical than corner style. Use of standardized tooling inside radii of 0.01”, 0.03” and 0.06” can reduce project cost. Most parts can be formed with 0.010” bend radii, but it adds stress to the material.
• Embossing adds strength and clearance, but it can add stress or warping to the material.
• Partial shear is good for locating features, but it can cause material to be displaced from surface to surface.
• Coining adds definition and clearance, but it causes material to be displaced from one surface.
• Edge conditions will differ from process to process. Laser cut parts have a heat affected zone. Our laser machines can use specific assist gas to produce unique edge qualities.
• Laser beam widths vary from 0.010”-0.025”. Our waterjet cutter width is 0.030” and greater.

What Are the Advantages of Sheet Metal Prototyping?

Using sheet metal manufacturing technology to produce your prototype has many advantages, including:

• Precision
• Wide range of materials
• Flexible solutions
• Durability
• Budget-friendly
• Rapid turnaround
• Scalability
• Variety of finishing options and thickness

Sheet Metal Prototyping Applications

A wide variety of industries use sheet metal manufacturing to produce their prototypes and final products. Sheet metal manufacturing can be used for:

• Prototyping
• Low volume production
• Medical products
• Office equipment
• Communications products
• Housing
• Chassis
• Enclosures
• Brackets
• Appliances
• And more…

Sheet Metal Prototyping by Industry

No matter the industry, we have your sheet metal prototyping solution. Over our 20 year history, we have partnered with clients across several key industries including medical, defense, aerospace, electronics, automotive and industrial, and we are confident that our team can handle any of the technological and manufacturing challenges specific to your industry’s demands.

Quick Turn Sheet Metal Parts

Browse examples of recently completed projects by process (such as laser cutting or press brake forming) in the gallery below. If you have any questions about which manufacturing process is best for your design, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Laser Parts

Microcut Parts

Precision Forming Parts

Seely Slide Parts

Water Jet Parts