SourceBook is a comprehensive directory of composites industry suppliers, manufacturers and service companies for the entire composites industry.
Search more than 2,500 industry suppliers and read important updates in the industry overview, along with the links to Industry Organizations and a Glossary of Terms.
Part I: Materials & Processes
SourceBook 2021
Welcome to the online SourceBook, the counterpart to CompositesWorld's annually published print SourceBook composites industry buyer's guide.
#sourcebook #adhesives
Materials & Processes: Tooling for composites
Composite parts are formed in molds, also known as tools. Tools can be made from virtually any material. The material type, shape and complexity depend upon the part and length of production run. Here's a short summary of the issues involved in electing and making tools.
#regulation #layup #peek
Supply and demand: Advanced fibers
Demand for advanced fiber, virgin and reclaimed, is on an upswing after a dip during the recent recession. Fiber suppliers are gearing up to meet an expected increase in demand as manufacturers in a number of composites end-markets scale up or start up part development and production programs
#polyacrylonitrile #discontinuousfiber #f-35
Materials & Processes: Fibers for composites
The structural properties of composite materials are derived primarily from the fiber reinforcement. Fiber types, their manufacture, their uses and the end-market applications in which they find most use are described.
#pitch #polyacrylonitrile #precursor
Search by category
- Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing Systems
- Adhesives
- Casting resins
- Catalysts, promoters and curing agents
- Coatings and sizings
- Compounds
- Core materials and flow media
- Fabrics, unimpregnated
- Fibers, inorganic
- Fibers, metallized
- Fibers, organic
- Fibers/fiber forms, natural (bio-derived)
- Fillers
- Gel coats
- Lightning strike materials (metal meshes, fabrics, etc.)
- Matrix materials, other
- Matrix resins, thermoplastic
- Matrix resins, thermoset
- Precursors, for carbon fiber
- Preforms, impregnated
- Preforms, unimpregnated
- Prepregs, thermoplastic
- Prepregs, thermoset
- Reinforcements, unimpregnated
- Resin additives & modifiers
(+) Primary manufacturing equipment
- Autoclaves
- Autoclaves, lab size
- Autoclaves, software and controls
- Automated fiber placement machines
- Automatic tape layers
- Bladder molding equipment (formerly pressure bag)
- Casting equipment
- Continuous laminating machines
- Electron beam accelerators
- Extruders
- Filament winding machines and software controls
- Flow-coating equipment
- Foam application equipment
- Impregnation lines
- LFRT compounding/molding machinery
- Metal matrix composite casting machines
- Other primary manufacturing equipment
- Polymer concrete machinery
- Preform manufacturing equipment
- Presses
- Pultrusion equipment, thermoplastics
- Pultrusion equipment, thermosets
- Reaction injection molding equipment (RIM, RRIM, SRIM)
- Resin transfer molding equipment (RTM)
- Roll-forming machines
- Roll-wrapping machines (not tables)
- Rotational molding equipment
- Spray booths
- Spray guns
- Used primary equipment
- Vacuum formers
- Vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding equipment (VARTM
(+) Auxiliary processing equipment, repair equipment, and supplies
(+) Fiber converting/prepreg manufacturing equipment
- Braiding equipment
- Coaters, knife-over-roll
- Coaters, reverse roll
- Coaters/laminators
- Impregnation lines
- Knitting equipment
- Looms for advanced fibers
- Metering/dispensing equipment
- Ovens, oxidation
- Preform manufacturing equipment
- Splicing devices
- Stitching equipment
- Tensioning equipment
- Used equipment
- Web measurement and control equipment
(+) Testing, gauging, monitoring, analytical equipment and software
- Chromatography
- Compression-after-impact testers
- Coordinate measurement machines
- Cure-monitoring equipment
- Environmental testing equipment
- Fatigue-testing equipment
- Flammability/smoke testers
- Flexural testers
- Flow meters
- Gel timers
- Hardness testers
- Hardness testers, Barcol
- Impact-testing equipment
- Leak-testing equipment
- Mechanical test fixtures
- Melt-flow indexers
- Modeling/simulation/virtual testing software
- Modulus testers
- NDI equipment
- Other testing equipment
- Pressure monitoring equipment
- Resin content analyzers
- Rheological testing equipment
- Sensors, in-situ modifiers
- Software for infusion flow analysis
- Surface analyzers
- Tack monitoring equipment
- Temperature monitoring equipment
- Tensile testers
- Thermal analysis instruments
- Thickness measuring equipment
- Universal test frames
- Viscosity measurement equipment
- Volatile monitoring equipment
- Weather testing equipment
(+) Composite Structures & Components
- Aerospace, aircraft interior
- Aerospace, flight control surfaces
- Aerospace, fuselage/wing
- Aerospace, radomes
- Armor, ceramic
- Armor, composite
- Automotive, body panels & substructures
- Automotive, interior (seats, IPCs, floor panels, etc.)
- Automotive, underhood
- Carbon/carbon composites
- Ceramic matrix composites
- CIPP (cured-in-place-pipe)
- Flywheels, composite
- Infrastructure, composite
- Laminate panels, with core
- Laminate sheets, solid
- Marine, boat (hulls, decks, bulkheads, etc.)
- Marine, docks/pilings
- Marine, other
- Metal matrix composites
- Other composite structures
- Pressure vessels
- Profiles
- Rebar
- Rods
- Tubes
- Wood plastic composite fencing, decking & railing
(+) Design, testing, consulting, other services
- Additive manufacturing/3D printing services
- Air pollution testing
- Architectural design
- CAD/CAM/CAE design
- Civil engineering
- Consulting
- Contract/toll compounding services
- Converting services
- Education/Training
- Expert witness
- Finite element modeling/analysis (FEM/FEA)
- Flame/smoke toxicity testing
- Inspection services
- Machine calibration services
- Market research
- Materials analysis
- Newsletters/directories
- Other services
- Patent filing
- Personnel recruitment
- Product design
- Product liability
- Recycling services
- Regulatory compliance
- Repair services, composites
- Repair services, equipment and machines
- Structural health monitoring equipment (turnkey systems
- Structural strengthening / reinforcement services
- Surplus/salvage buyers
- Testing
- Waste management
The markets: Automotive (2021)
Composites continue measured growth as the global automotive industry, driven by zero-emissions goals toward increased electrification, seeks to reduce vehicle weight and improve performance.
#iacmi #biomaterials #audi
Part II: A Multitude of Markets
The markets: Fuel cells and batteries (2021)
Although fuel-cell powered vehicles could still be in the automotive future, growth will be measured and so will the market for composite components. Composites for electric vehicle battery packs and hydrogen tanks for fuel cell vehicles will be the more immediate opportunity.
#discontinuousfiber #toyota #spreadtow
The markets: Utility infrastructure (2021)
Corroded metal infrastructure continues to be a problem, and composite materials, including new advancements in graphene nanotubes, are providing solutions.
#feature #outofautoclave #multitudeofmarkets
The markets: Civil infrastructure (2021)
Composites are slated for growth in bridges, water treatment systems, rebar and other concrete reinforcement, offering longer service life, competitive costs and improved sustainability.
#frprebar #feature #infrastructure
The markets: Industrial (2021)
Composites often must meet a certain aesthetic in applications where the consumer is the end user. But fiber-reinforced materials are just as valuable in industrial applications where corrosion resistance, high strength and durability are the performance drivers.
#sourcebook #feature #layup
The markets: Oil and gas (2021)
Composites continue to play a critical role in onshore hydraulic fracturing, and thermoplastic composites are on the rise for deepwater pipelines.
#feature #cuttingtools #sourcebook
The markets: Construction (2021)
The construction industry is an economy unto itself, and will be worth more than $15 trillion annually by 2030. More than 36 million new housing units will be required in the world’s 20 largest cities by 2025. Legacy materials dominate in this market, but the opportunities for composites are substantial, and growing.
#sourcebook #discontinuousfiber #sustainability