Request a composite manufacturing quote

What goes into a composite manufacturing quote.

The eight asked most often on enquiry, answered here rather than deferred to a call.

What do you need to quote a part?

Geometry and an annual quantity. Geometry as a STEP or IGES model, a dimensioned drawing, or a physical part we can reverse engineer. Tell us what it has to mate with and any load, temperature or impact it has to take. Without a quantity we cannot give a unit price, because tooling amortisation is what dominates it.

What is the minimum order quantity?

There is none. We run 10 to 1000 parts a year, and the process economics are best between 50 and 400. A single part carries the whole tooling cost, so at quantity one the price is the mould rather than the layup.

What does a composite mould cost?

It scales with part size, surface finish class, how closed the geometry is, and the pull count the tool has to survive. It is normally the largest line in a first order, and it is not repeated, because we keep the tool. Anyone who gives you a figure without seeing geometry is guessing.

Do you run prepreg or autoclave?

No. We run vacuum infusion and wet layup only. Infusion controls fibre volume fraction and void content through the process rather than through operator technique, which is how we hold consistency across a batch without autoclave capacity. If a part genuinely needs prepreg, we will tell you rather than substitute a process and hope.

When should aramid be specified instead of carbon?

Where the part has to absorb impact. Aramid deforms and abrades rather than failing brittle, so we specify it for guards, skid plates, impact panels and protective housings. Where a part needs stiffness and impact tolerance at the same time, we use a carbon-aramid hybrid weave.

Why manufacture in the EU rather than Asia?

Jurisdiction, transit and revision turnaround. Your drawings and tooling stay under EU law, road freight reaches the UK and mainland Europe in days without container consolidation, and a drawing revision reaches the shop floor the same working day you issue it.

What is the lead time?

Tooling takes 1 to 2 weeks and a production batch 2 to 4. Tooling is what dominates a first order, and we only do it once, so a repeat order re-enters the sequence at layup and runs to the batch lead time alone.

Can an existing part's finish be matched?

Yes. Weave style, weave orientation, gloss level and edge treatment can each be specified. Send a sample or a photograph of the finish you are matching, and of the surface it has to sit against.