Why Helander?

Helander has been an industry leader in metal forming and metal fabricating services for over 80 years. We strive to ensure that all of our precision metal components conform to our customers’ stringent specifications, with a key emphasis on quality control.

Helander’s core capabilities are metal spinning, sheet hydroforming and machining, and we serve our aerospace & defense, commercial food, and other industrial clients with superior parts, performance, and prompt delivery. We maintain an incredible array of resources that includes a multi-departmental in-house team of more than 60 highly skilled technicians with expertise in engineering, quality control, and manufacturing.

With over 100,000 square feet of space, our 4 expansive facilities house the operations of our core services:

• Building 1: Forming (Metal Spinning & Hydroforming)
• Building 2: Welding & Finishing (i.e. Abrasive Polishing)
• Building 3: Machining
• Building 4: Logistics (Finished Goods, Packing, and Shipping)

Our strong, well-established supply chain and suite of services enable Helander to be clients’ single source for completed components that are plug & play and ready for assembly.

Why choose Helander? Here is what you can expect from a partnership with us:

Expertise

Helander is able to leverage an in-house design and engineering team to assist customers from the very beginning, starting with the initial concept of part production (we can provide extensive design support for provided designs). Our team is in regular, transparent communication with clients from start to finish, working towards the desired end goal while providing a clear path forward.

An example of Helander’s design and engineering support process:

The client provides the Helander team with part drawings.
Our engineering team reviews the drawings and makes adjustments according to best practices. Based on customer needs, we recommend how to achieve the formed/spun parts most effectively.
The drawings and designs are revised as needed until perfected, keeping financial viability as a top priority.
The key goal is to achieve fit, form, and functionality of all parts.
Research and development is a critical step in the manufacturing process, and Helander offers prototyping services for proof of concept or various other validation requirements. You can find out more about metal forming for your R&D process in our eBook.

Capabilities

Helander offers a wide span of in-house services, including:

Metal Spinning

This metalworking process creates axially symmetric, high-performance parts. Also known as spin forming, it does not involve cutting material to the desired shape but instead transforms a metal disc or tube into conical or other round shapes.

Metal spinning utilizes either a manual hand spinning process or automatic CNC spinning. Advantages of our metal spinning capabilities include:

• Lower costs
• Shorter lead times
• Maximum design flexibility
• Seamless, high-quality construction

Compatible metals include stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, copper, Inconel, Hastelloy, titanium, bronze, and brass. Helander can manufacture custom metal spun parts that can range from 60 inches between centers and as large as 100 inches in diameter, accommodating material thickness from .018 inches to 2.00 inches.

Hydroforming

This metal forming technique produces structurally sound components and is quick, affordable, and efficient. It is the preferred process for shaping intricate parts when using ductile metals and has very little material waste. Hydroforming is a better alternative to stamping or welding.

Hydroforming uses pressurized hydraulic fluids to form both convex and concave components. Secondary finishing operations are minimal, and the process eliminates the common drawbacks found in the metal stamping process. Benefits of our hydroforming services include:

• One-time tooling costs
• Cost-effective production runs of any size
• Substantially lower tooling, set-up, and development costs
• High-quality finished product
• Minimized need for secondary finishing operations
• Parts show better structural strength
• Better flexibility with design changes
• Reduction of material wastage by 50% to 70%
• Short lead times (even for large-scale production)

Hydroforming creates high-quality metal components to tailor-made specifications at a reasonable cost. Compatible metals include carbon steel, copper, aluminum, brass, and stainless steel.

Additional Services

Helander offers a range of additional services, including:

• CNC Machining (Milling & Turning) – Our CNC milling and turning services allow us to deliver metal spun and hydroformed components in a fully machined level of completion. Our advanced machinery can achieve tolerances of +/-0.001 inches to ensure optimal precision. We can work with materials such as titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminum, and copper.
• Metal Polishing – This service provides a high-end finish for metal components such as home appliances, decorative objects, automobiles, and many other applications. At Helander, we can achieve rough to fine polishing up to a #4 brush finish. With metal polishing finishes ranging from 36 up to 240 grit, we can meet a range of industry standards with quality surfaces free from imperfections.
• Welding – Helander offers GTAW (TIG), soldering, GMAW (MIG), and automated seam welding services. We can work with carbon steel up to 0.375″ thickness, stainless steel up to 0.250″ thickness, and aluminum up to 0.750″ thickness. Helander offers six welding processes to accommodate a range of requirements, and we comply with AWS, Nadcap, and other relevant industry specifications.

Partner With Helander

With extensive industrial expertise, a full range of in-house capabilities, and comprehensive management, Helander is the ideal partner for your metal forming and fabricating requirements. Whether you are a small business or a Fortune 500 company, our reputation for excellence ensures we can deliver quality precision components that meet your exacting specifications.

For more information about our capabilities, or to learn more about how Helander can maximize the value and quality of your next part production, contact us today. You can also request a quote to get started.