Composites Kitting Solutions: Proven to Improve Operational Efficiency

In composites manufacturing, shop employees can spend considerable time cutting materials to fit the tool being used, with both prepreg and vacuum bagging consumables. In addition, cutting the composite materials also adds significant cost and waste to a composite manufacturing operation.

Composites One partners with suppliers of kitting solutions for composites and process materials enabling customers to eliminate unnecessary time and waste so they can stay focused on making parts.

Distributed by Composites One, Aerovac provides customized process material kitting solutions that are fully tailored to the specific composite part shapes. Many industries can experience the benefits of using these custom kitting solutions, with aerospace, automotive, marine, and wind energy topping the list. Aerovac’s large-scale facility meets these major industries’ needs by producing high volumes of kits in repeatable and automated templates of all shapes and sizes. And their humidity-controlled facility ensures products are created and shipped at peak shelf life.

In addition to Aerovac, Composites One partners with Mahogany Company, offering kitting solutions for traditional composites while Mission Critical Composites, is focused on solutions for the Aerospace and advanced composites markets.

Pre-cut kits save time, cost, and waste in the manufacturing process

The cost enhancements that customers can expect with kitting projects are similar with both prepreg and process materials. In supply chain logistics alone, there are major potential savings opportunities within this expensive part of the overall operation. Consider the various materials needed for manufacturing composite parts—all materials varying in shelf life, lead time, and other factors. Kitting solutions eliminate the management of forecasting these factors, ultimately saving time and storage space. Customers get an improved level of quality because materials are prepped by kit manufacturers who are equipped in an optimal environment and with dedicated personnel to ensure a perfect pattern that is production-ready.

The manufacturing process is made more efficient with customized kitting solutions, reducing scrap waste by up to 40 percent. Each part is produced to be defect-free and conform to the specs, for repeatability and standardization.

The efficiency gains do not end there. The reduction of material handling improves health and safety outcomes while measurably increasing productivity by streamlining the layup and bagging processes, reducing the required manpower by up to 50 percent. The time savings achieved to allow for increases in mold cycles lead to increased cash flow.

High-performance industries opt for efficiency with pre-cut kits

Kitting solutions improve the overall composites manufacturing process by improving efficiency and cash flow. Kits allow manufacturers to buy products they need at the time they need them, reducing warehouse storage space and ensuring that invoices for raw materials align with production and just-in-time delivery of finished parts.

Kitting solutions can add value and efficiency to these industries:

• Aerospace – Large scale facility is environmentally controlled and features very large tables as well as automated cutting tables, to produce a wide variety of kits for large parts and various shapes.
• Automotive – Kitting solutions for virtually any high-performance automotive part that is made with composites.
• Marine – Large-sized bags that are pre-cut and pre-seamed to the shape of the boat, ship, or watercraft, eliminating the time-consuming job of creating the bag.
• Wind energy – Pre-cut format bags for wind blades, reducing bagging film waste and environmental impact of discarded materials.

There is a significant opportunity to save on waste with custom kits, including operator manpower, process waste from trimming materials, and storage of slow turnover process materials.

If you are convinced that your composites manufacturing operation can benefit from custom kitting solutions, contact us to learn more.