Composites Hold Strong in Industrial Applications Represent New Market Possibilities for South Carolina Manufacturers
By Ed Maier

Aging bridges, new airliners, automobiles, and pre-cast concrete. What do they have in common? Advanced Composites. Composites--predominantly the fiber-reinforced plastic variety--are not new. High-performance aircraft and sports cars have benefited from composites usage for years. WhatÕs new is the accelerated acceptance and broader use of these once exotic materials into more everyday commercial and industrial applications.

What's a composite?
A combination of two or more materials--one usually in fiber form--resulting in a material much stronger than its constituent parts. Wood is nature's composite, and the earliest man-made composite was straw-reinforced mud brick. The mid-20th century saw usage of fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP) for semi-structural applications where geometric complexity combined with low tooling and fabrication cost and product weight savings provided product results not attainable with metals. Today FRP composite materials represent a broad raft of material and processing combinations, resin systems and reinforcing fabric strategies. They are used in structural and high-performance applications not dreamed of 20 years ago. What hasn't changed--and indeed has been enhanced--is the low cost of tooling, geometric complexity, processing flexibility and parts consolidation possible with these high-performance materials.

Aircraft, boats and automobiles made of these "space age" materials are not unusual, but there are some revolutionary composites uses coming to the infrastructure industry. Concrete with composite reinforcements that won't rust, spall and erode like steel-reinforced concrete; translucent concrete walls that transmit light; aging bridge pilings easily repaired and reinforced to be stronger than new; and easy-to-apply blast mitigation coatings, for example. All courtesy of clever applications of exotic graphite, glass and aramid fiber systems coupled with advanced resin formulations.

Typically composites have always been, pound-for-pound, more expensive than steel or aluminum, often by at least a factor of six. Early composites applications were direct replacements for metal parts with goals of weight savings and performance improvement at any cost. With material advances, processing experience, and parts integration that advanced processing methods offer, this cost disparity reduces significantly and at times disappears. For transportation products with faster tool amortization, reduced time to market and higher performance of the composite part, composites are the logical choice. For infrastructure, life cycle and replacement costs are factored in, changing the material cost equation radically and giving composites the edge. In either case, maximum efficiency requires designing for the material and is a process-driven design with lower total life cycle costs. Composites often come out the clear economic winner.
 
This formula is the rationale behind the precedent-setting incorporation of composites on the new Boeing 787. The materials provide an aircraft that can be operated at less cost due to inherent weight savings and structural superiority over conventional construction. New fabricating techniques, although somewhat capital intensive, take advantage of the continuous nature of the fiber system, eliminating the need for labor-intensive riveting and joining of metal components, and skewing the cost equation even more toward composites.

Design flexibility isn't limited to just shape. Advanced composites, particularly continuous strand-oriented fabric varieties, offer other design advantages. Changing fiber orientation can radically alter a component's performance without tooling changes. Vacuum bag, hollow molding/inflatable bladder techniques, and closed mold low-pressure resin transfer techniques provide the ability to change material thickness and component performance without having to spend the time and expense to retool.

Composites manufacturing represents not only a tremendous growth opportunity, but also a technology where the U.S. plays a leadership role. Infrastructure/construction and transportation are the fastest growing composites market segments, and South Carolina's manufacturing base is represented in these segments as well as marine products. With a little help, it's going to get even bigger. Since all graphite-reinforced epoxy composite Boeing 787 Fuselage is manufactured in North Charleston, South Carolina is entering the aerospace business in a big way. Cytec, one of the largest carbon fiber manufacturers in the world, manufactures its product in Mauldin and Rock Hill. TechFab LLC and Hexcel Inc. manufacture and distribute composite infrastructure repair and rehabilitation products, and composite concrete reinforcement systems in Anderson. Their blast mitigation products have been installed on the Pentagon, and their innovative products promise to add years to the life of aging bridges and roads. A significant manufacturer of custom, rot-proof architectural trim, Fibertech, resides in Pendleton, NC, while FRP molders such as Woods Fiberglass in Roebuck supply tooling and molded components to racing, recreation and industrial customers.

Did you know the Navy's Composites Center of Excellence resides in South Carolina?
The Composite Manufacturing Technology center (CMTC) in the Clemson Industrial Park is on the cutting-edge of Department of Defense advanced composites applications, while ICAR is looking to advanced composites to be a materials focal point. Meanwhile, USC and Clemson University are looking at nano materials usage in even more advanced composites applications.

How does SCMEP fit into all of this?
In late 2004, SCMEP was awarded a grant by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to help small manufacturers in six Upstate South Carolina counties penetrate the advanced composites marketplace. Composites manufacturing is one industry in which the United States has more advanced processes and technology than overseas competitors. Since composites represent the fastest growing segment of manufacturing, with global growth rates reaching as much as 105 percent in recent years, SCMEP thinks it's time South Carolina is a dominant player in the industry. For that reason, the organization has expanded its reach across the entire state, to help manufacturers learn the state-of-the-art technology necessary to compete in the advanced composites arena.

With experience in helping the state's small manufacturers improve engineering, production, and business processes for 18 years, SCMEP is the logical choice to move companies into the advanced composites market. SCMEP is actively recruiting and assisting manufacturers who are looking for new markets for their expertise--whether they are currently in textiles, plastics, resin, or chemicals.

SCMEP's manufacturing specialists, who are scattered in various offices statewide, can plug in small suppliers to OEMs and government agencies who are interested in purchasing composite products for a range of uses: automotive, marine, transportation, construction, and electronic and consumer goods.

With a range of services from lean manufacturing training and implementation to quality programs to technology implementation to marketing, SCMEP helps small manufacturers become more competitive locally and globally. SCMEP can bring its proven successes to achieve equally impressive results for composites manufacturers or potential composites manufacturers. Most recently, SCMEP entered into an agreement with the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) to distribute its composites certification training offerings.

Composites represent a significant opportunity for small and mid-sized companies to expand their enterprises and experience significant growth. We invite manufacturers to take advantage of SCMEP's network of partners, subject matter experts, and industry initiatives to grow their composites manufacturing base. SCMEP stands ready to serve those companies who wish to embrace this opportunity and welcomes new companies to contact us for participation details.

Ed Maier is a composites specialist with SCMEP. Contact him at scmaier@mindspring.com.

Who qualifies as a composites manufacturer?
The list below shows the breadth of manufacturing activity within this industry:

• Raw Material Suppliers
  Resins and additives
  Fibers and binders
  Fabrics
  Coring
  Adhesives and fasteners
• Process / Finish Suppliers
  Autoclave, Chemical Processing
  Painting, Gel Coat, environmental stabilizers
  CNC ply-cutting, Thermoformed Color Coatings
• Capital Equipment Suppliers
  Manufacturing Equipment
  Tooling, Pattern and Fixture Supplier
• Fabrication Companies
  Composite Component Molders/Manufacturers
  Subcomponents, Preforms, Pultrusions Specialized Textile Shapes, Reinforcements, Kits

If you are a manufacturer located in South Carolina and are interested in transforming your facility into an advanced composites producer, OR if you are an OEM or government agency and would like to learn more about how you can participate in this initiative, please contact:

Ed Maier
Composites Specialist
S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership
864-787-3015
scmaier@mindspring.com