# Sheet Metal Fabrication for Agriculture

https://kdisplay.com/industries/agriculture

K-Display, a Chicago sheet metal fabricator, builds power-transmission guards, shrouds and covers, hoppers and feeder pans, control enclosures, and brackets for agricultural equipment OEMs from their drawings. Parts ship in steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, powder coated or bare, and loose or kitted by machine.

## Overview
Planters, feed systems, grain handling, and livestock equipment carry sheet metal parts on the outside: the belt guard, the auger shield, the control box, the sensor bracket, and hoppers, chutes, and troughs for seed, feed, and grain. We cut and form them from carbon steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, install hinges and latches, and powder coat them or leave them bare, and agriculture OEMs order this sheet metal fabrication each season. Under 29 CFR 1928.57, power take-off shafts and the nip points of belts, chains, and sprockets must be guarded, and guards and their suppo…

## Process
- Cut, form, and weld the bodies: We laser cut and form the blanks and weld the guards, hoppers, and enclosure bodies.
- Hardware, masking, and powder coat: We install hinges, latches, and self-clinching hardware before coating and mask the mounting tabs and threads, so the coat does not build up where parts fit together.
- Kits by machine: We kit parts by machine or pack them loose or as subassemblies, labeled with your part numbers, so a machine's set reaches the line together.

## Typical parts
- Power-transmission guards and shields: Belt, chain, sprocket, and PTO guards formed from steel as fixed shields or hinged doors, bolted to the machine frame.
- Shrouds, covers, and access panels: Engine and drive covers and hood panels for tractors, planters, and combines, sized to the machine frame and its service openings.
- Hoppers, chutes, and feeder pans: Welded carbon and stainless steel hoppers and transitions, and formed galvanized pans, troughs, and livestock feeder bodies, with welds and edges dressed.
- Control and electrical enclosures: Enclosures for monitors, controllers, and power distribution on field machines and barn systems, with cable entries and a mounting panel, behind hinged or removable covers.
- Sensor mounts, brackets, and support frames: Sensor mounts, hose and harness brackets, and welded support frames that bolt to the machine's structure.

## Requirements
- Guard mounting points: Tab positions, hinge points, and the clearance at the drive, dimensioned on your guard drawing.
- Exposure and finish: The fertilizer, manure, washdown, or weather each part sees, and the galvanized, stainless, or powder-coated finish chosen for it.
- Wear surfaces: Material and thickness for the wear plate on hoppers, chutes, and pans, where grain, feed, or seed scours the metal.
- Frame bolt patterns and weld access: Hole sizes and spacing to the machine frame, and the room a torch needs at each joint.
- Release schedule and model-year revisions: The season's release dates, the batch size of each release, and the parts that carry over unchanged from the last model year.

## Related pages
- [MIG & TIG Welding](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/mig-tig-welding)
- [Powder Coating](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/powder-coating)
- [Hardware Installation](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/hardware-installation)
- [Custom Machine Guards & Access Panels](https://kdisplay.com/products/panels-covers/machine-guards-access-panels)
- [Custom Machine Housings & Covers](https://kdisplay.com/products/panels-covers/machine-housings-covers)
- [Custom Hoppers, Chutes & Troughs](https://kdisplay.com/products/panels-covers/hoppers-chutes-troughs)
- [Custom Control Panel Enclosures](https://kdisplay.com/products/electrical-enclosures/control-panel-enclosures)
- [Custom Cable & Sensor Brackets](https://kdisplay.com/products/brackets-plates/cable-sensor-brackets)