Glossary
Metal Fabricator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential metal fabricator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key metal fabricator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in metal fabricator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Beam
- Structural member.
- Bevel
- Angled edge.
- Camber
- Slight curve.
- Distortion
- Warping from heat.
- Fit-up
- Positioning parts before welding.
- Gusset
- Reinforcing plate.
- Layout
- Marking cut lines.
- Plate
- Flat steel.
- Press brake
- Bends metal.
- Rigging
- Lifting setup.
- Shop drawing
- Fabrication blueprint.
- Square
- 90-degree check.
- Tack weld
- Small temporary weld.
- Tolerance
- Allowed variation.
- Weld symbol
- Blueprint weld notation.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Metal Fabricator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Metal Fabricator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.