Low volume composite manufacturing
Batch range 10 to 1000 parts per year. No minimum order quantity. Tooling is built in house and retained, so repeat orders re-enter the sequence at layup.
Low volume composite manufacturing, specified.
Small batch carbon fibre manufacturing falls between two kinds of shop, and neither of them serves it. Tier-one manufacturers are tooled and priced above 5000 units. Prototype shops are not set up to repeat a part across a batch. The parameters below are what we actually run.
| Annual batch range | 10 – 1000 parts |
|---|---|
| Best process economics | 50 – 400 parts / year |
| Minimum order quantity | None |
| Processes | Vacuum infusion, wet layup (vacuum bagged) |
| Reinforcement | Carbon, aramid, glass, hybrid weaves |
| Tooling | Fibreglass, built in house, retained between runs |
| Laminate thickness range | 1.25 – 5 mm |
| Trim tolerance | ± 1 mm |
| Lead time, tooling | 1 – 2 weeks |
| Lead time, production batch | 2 – 4 weeks |
Where this batch range applies.
Quantity below a tier-one minimum
Aftermarket brands, low-volume vehicle programmes and small manufacturers requiring 100 to 400 parts per year, below the quoting threshold of shops tooled for 5000-unit runs.
Repeat batches to a fixed specification
Race and rally programmes where the same part is required across seasons. The tool is retained, so batch two is a production job rather than a re-engineering exercise.
Prototype-to-production transfer
Geometry is proven; the requirement is repeatability across a batch without tooling to a volume the programme will not reach.
Enquiry to despatch.
Six stages. Each one names what it produces, because that deliverable is what lets the next stage start.
- 01EnquirySend us geometry and an annual quantity — a STEP or IGES model, a dimensioned drawing, or the physical part itself. Tell us what it has to mate with, and any load, temperature or impact it has to take.Deliverable — Feasibility, price, lead time
- 02Design for manufactureWe model the geometry, or review what you sent, against the moulding process. Draft, split line, closeout, insert positions, the laminate schedule and fibre orientation are all fixed at this point and issued for your approval.Deliverable — Approved model, ply schedule
- 03PrototypeWhere fit is critical, we check an FDM prototype against the mating part and resolve any tolerance problem before committing tool material.Deliverable — Fit-verified prototype
- 04ToolingWe produce a plug from the approved model, then lay and prepare the mould, building it against the pull count it is expected to see. This is the longest step in a first order, and it is not repeated.Deliverable — Mould tool, retained
- 05ProductionPlies are cut and oriented to the schedule, then infused or wet laid under vacuum and cured. We verify orientation ply by ply as the laminate goes down.Deliverable — Cured parts to ply schedule
- 06Finish and despatchParts are trimmed, prepared, coated or painted, assembled and checked against the drawing. A repeat order re-enters the sequence at step 05.Deliverable — Finished parts, tool retained
Tooling amortisation governs unit price.
Layup and cure are measured in hours per part. Designing and building the tool is measured in weeks, and it happens once. At the batch sizes we run, that makes tooling amortisation the dominant term in your unit price — and it falls with every repeat order, because we keep the tool.
If a change to the geometry would meaningfully cut tool cost or tool lead time, we raise it at design-for-manufacture stage. Once the tool exists, the same change means a new tool.
| Part size | Primary driver. Tool material volume and layup time both scale with it. |
|---|---|
| Surface finish class | A visible-weave A-surface requires substantially more tool preparation than a concealed structural part. |
| Geometry closure | Undercuts and closed sections require split or multi-part tooling. |
| Expected pull count | Tool construction is specified against batch life. A 40-part tool is not built as an 800-part tool. |
| Ply count and orientation | Each additional ply and each additional orientation adds cutting and layup time per part. |
Infusion and wet layup. No autoclave.
Vacuum infusion draws resin through a dry preform under full vacuum. Fibre volume fraction and void content come out of the process rather than out of operator technique, and that is the mechanism that makes one part match the next across a batch and across a repeat order.
We specify wet layup under vacuum where tooling cost dominates unit cost, or where the geometry does not justify the infusion setup. Both routes run to a written ply schedule held under revision control.
Prepreg and autoclave curing are not available here and are not substituted for. Above 5000 units, or where a qualified prepreg system is specified, another supplier is the right answer and we will tell you that.
- Vacuum infusion — batch repeatability, larger laminates
- Wet layup, vacuum bagged — lower quantities, simpler geometry
- Both — written, revision-controlled ply schedule
- Neither — prepreg requirement referred out
Data required to quote.
Two inputs are mandatory: geometry, and annual quantity. Without a quantity a unit price cannot be issued, because tooling amortisation dominates it.
Also state the mating conditions and any load, temperature, impact or surface-finish requirement the part has to meet. A photograph and two dimensions is enough to establish feasibility; it is not enough to establish price.
| Preferred | STEP (.stp, .step), IGES (.igs, .iges) |
|---|---|
| Drawings | PDF, DXF, DWG |
| Reference only | STL, photographs, scans |
| Physical | Sample part, for reverse engineering |
Send geometry. Receive price, route and date.
We run 10 to 1000 parts a year and reply within one working day. If a part falls outside our process route or our envelope, we will tell you rather than quote it anyway.