Composites Overview

Composites
Today's Material of Choice

Thanks to a growing menu of material choices and lower manufacturing costs, composite material continues to penetrate new markets and applications. For industries that traditionally use assemblies made from more traditional options such as steel, wood or concrete, composites offer a dynamic alternative – especially for those products that are difficult to assemble or costly to manufacture as a result of increasing steel pieces.

Composites are created by combining two or more materials to produce a new material that retains important properties from the original elements. Reinforcing fibers give composites the attributes of high strength and stiffness which in the industrial arena translates to high performance. These fibers are surrounded by a choice of polymers that act as a support system, transferring load between fibers and protecting the fibers from the operating environment.

Fiber/resin combinations have significantly lower weight densities when compared to steel and concrete. This means superb strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. For the customer, the advantages of composites are:

•  High strength and stiffness
•  Light weight
•  Corrosion resistance (long life)
•  Design and formulation flexibility
•  Fatigue resistance
•  Good damping characteristics
•  Low thermal expansion
•  Unitized structure

Composites can also deliver reduced manufacturing/assembly costs. Since liquid resin can flow into any shape, products with complex shapes can be made at a lower cost when compared to conventional methods using traditional materials. Typically, complex shapes of metals or wood require labor intensive assembly of multiple pieces to create the product. Composites can provide a one-piece or unitized part which is ultimately the lowest cost alternative. The lower cost of unitized composite parts is particularly attractive for customers that purchase products assembled from many metallic pieces or have difficult-to-form shapes.

For more information call 937-723-9031 or email sreeve@compositeadvantage.com