Modeling the Cost Benefits of Composites

摘要

The challenge to the increased use of composites is to show total product cost savings despite higher raw material costs per unit weight. Cost savings come from part consolidation, durability, tailored materials, and lower tooling costs.These capabilities also made composite product costing complex, time consuming, error prone, and expensive. To meet the need for effective cost analysis, an integrated computer program was developed for product cost estimating, basic design, and materials selection.