6 Things That Determine Composite Cost

1. 6 Things That Determine Composite Cost Composite materials like carbon fiber and glass fiber are still more expensive than more traditional products like steel, aluminum, and wood. Industry leaders are working hard on ways to bring costs down, knowing that doing so will make us quite a bit more competitive. We continue to do the best we can to introduce composite materials to more industries in the meantime. The question of the day is this: what makes composites so much more expensive? The easy answer is production costs. But that doesn't tell the whole story. There are actually six things that weigh heavily on composite prices, according to the Composites UK trade organization. Each one is explained briefly below. Needless to say that there are a number of industries just waiting for prices to come down before they go all in with composites. 1. Fiber Production The costs associated with producing composite fibers make up a large portion of the retail cost of composites. Consider carbon fiber, for example. In order to make the fiber, carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are aligned to create a microfiber. Several thousand fibers are then bundled together to make the threads that are used to produce carbon tow. As you might imagine, the process is time-consuming and complicated. More importantly, it requires a tremendous amount of energy. The energy costs alone make up a good portion of the total cost of fiber production. 2. Resin Costs Resin is combined with carbon fibers to create a thermoset product once cured. Fortunately, resin is not extremely expensive by comparison. It is also one of the factors that can be easily controlled in order to achieve a desired price point. However, you do get what you pay for. The higher the quality of a resin in terms of temperature and environmental resistance, the more it costs. 3. Labor and Machining There is both labor and machining involved in producing something like carbon fiber tubing. That labor and machining costs money. In terms of labor, it is fairly expensive given that composite manufacturing is a highly specialized field.

2. The same is true for machining. Manufacturers need highly technical machines to produce the products they sell. The more advanced the products, the more expensive the labor and machining costs. 4. Consumables and Waste Nearly every process related to producing composite materials involves both consumables and waste. This is an unavoidable aspect of manufacturing that is common to most industries. The goal is to minimize both. Still, consumables and waste add to the total cost of composites. 5. Production Costs There are numerous production costs that are hard to calculate on a per piece basis. Our industry considers these costs as part of the overall cost of production. They can include everything from updating technology to having to create new tooling. The overall cost of producing a prepreg would be higher than manufacturing straight carbon fiber fabric, for example. 6. Indirect Costs The composites industry has indirect costs to account for, just as any other industry. There are office supplies and staff, marketing costs, costs associated with building ownership, rental and maintenance, and on and on. All these indirect costs have to be covered by the price of the product going out the door. The composites industry has gradually reduced the cost of raw and finished materials over the years. That's good. Yet there is still more work to do. We need to continue working on reducing costs in order to make composites more competitive with other materials. We are getting there, albeit slowly.