Carbon Fiber Part Cost Factors
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A carbon fiber quote can look high next to the same part in aluminum or plastic. Material is part of it, but on many low-volume parts it isn't the biggest line. Labor, tooling and finishing usually are.
Material
Prepreg costs more than dry fabric and resin, and intermediate and high modulus fibers cost more than standard grades. Scrap matters as much as price per kilogram: plies are cut from rolls, and awkward shapes can waste a good share of the material. Nesting plies well on an automated cutter keeps that down.
Layup labor
On most low-volume parts, every ply is placed by hand. More plies, more ply drops, tighter curves and more cosmetic surfaces all add time. A simple flat panel might take minutes; a complex part with dozens of shaped plies can take hours.
Curing
Room temperature cures are cheap but slow. Oven cures need bagging materials and oven time. Autoclave time is expensive. Compression molding in a heated press cures in minutes, which is why it's the route to lower part prices at volume.
Tooling
A 3D printed or composite mold for a prototype costs a fraction of a machined metal mold, but it lasts fewer parts and holds tolerances less well. Matched metal molds for compression molding cost the most and make the cheapest parts. See carbon fiber prototypes without a production mold.
Trimming and machining
Most parts come out of the mold with excess around the edge and need trimming and drilling, by hand for prototypes or on a CNC router with a fixture in production. Tight tolerances on holes and edges add time.
Cosmetic finishing
For visible parts, finishing is often the hidden cost. Pinholes, dry spots or a misaligned weave on a show surface mean sanding, filling, clear coating and polishing, and sometimes scrapping the part. A part that only needs to be structural can skip most of this.
How to bring the price down
- Decide which surfaces are cosmetic. Make the rest functional only.
- Simplify the shape: fewer deep draws, sharp corners and undercuts.
- Use standard materials and weaves where they do the job.
- Group orders into fewer, larger batches.
- Ask whether the part needs to be carbon at all. Sometimes aluminum or glass fiber does the job for less; see should this part be carbon fiber?
Send us your drawing and target volume and we'll show where the cost is. Start with what to send for a quote.