Automated Fiber Placement Market: Advanced method for fabricating composite structures
- Automated fiber placement is an advanced method to fabricate composite structures. This method uses continuous-fiber-reinforced tapes.
- Composite materials offer light weight with equivalent or higher strength than metals
- Automated fiber placement uses robots to place composite materials and build a structure with one layer at a time.
- This method is employed to fabricate highly customized parts, as each layer can be placed at different angles to obtain excellent load-carrying capacity. Robotics offer the operator active control over all process-critical variables and make the process highly repeatable and controllable.
- High-strength aluminum alloy and fiber-reinforced plastic are two types of automated fiber placement materials available in the market. Fiber-reinforced plastic is a popular and traditional material used for automated fiber placement. Fiber-reinforced composites and aluminum alloys are towed mechanically and automatically on a tool to build a complex composite laminate.
- Automated fiber placement is used in various applications such as aerospace, automotive, sports equipment, and civil infrastructures. In the aerospace industry, it is utilized to manufacture wings, empennage, vertical stabilizers, fuselage, helicopters, doors & fairings, propulsion systems, while in the automotive industry, the automated fiber placement method is utilized in the manufacture of automotive interiors, exteriors, drive shafts, and crush tubes. In sports equipment, the automated fiber placement is used in bicycle tubes and skis, while in civil infrastructure, it employed in concrete reinforcement applications.
Key drivers of automated fiber placement market
- The global automated fiber placement market is driven by the increase in demand from the aviation industry. Fibers are becoming more and more important to achieve airplanes with light weight and thereby, make aircraft more eco-friendly and efficient.
- All players operating in the global automated fiber placement market use fibers to produce large parts of airplanes, such as wing covers and fuselage parts.
- The automated fiber placement market is also driven by reduced time, as only 46% of the time is spent in placing of slit tapes, while it takes 54% of the time to manually inspect every ply; correct the placement defects; and set up and clean machine parts.
Automotive and civil infrastructure segment to offer attractive opportunities
- Rising demand for fiber in the automotive industry for automotive weight reduction and to improve fuel efficiency is expected to provide lucrative opportunities to the market players operating in the automated fiber placement market.
- Rising demand for concrete reinforcement with rapid construction activities in developing countries such as Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia is likely to provide lucrative opportunities to the manufacturers of automated fiber placement in civil infrastructure segment.
High capital requirement for new machines to hamper market
- Some machine challenges do exist such as the requirement of capital when new production opportunity persists. Furthermore, understanding the automated fiber placement process is complex. These factors is restraining the global automated fiber placement market.
North America projected to hold leading share of the global automated fiber placement market
- Based on region, the global automated fiber placement market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to dominate the global market during the forecast period, as the world's largest aircraft OEM, i.e. Boeing, is based in the region.
- The market in Europe is likely to expand significantly in the next few years, as Airbus, the leading commercial aircraft maker is based in the region. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period.
- The market in developing countries, such as China and India, is estimated to expand at a significant pace in the near future, owing to expansion of aircraft and automotive industries in these countries.
- The automated fiber placement market in Middle East & Africa is anticipated to expand at a moderate pace from 2019 to 2027, due to increasing demand from the automotive industry in the region. The market in Latin America is anticipated to expand at a sluggish pace during the forecast period.
Key players operating in the automated fiber placement market
Major players operating in the global automated fiber placement market are
- MTorres
- Electroimpact
- Coriolis
- BA Composites
- CGTech, Fives Group
- Compositence GmbH
- Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
- Premium Aerotech
- Cevotec GmbH
- Fives Group
- Kanfit Ltd.
- AVEL Robotics
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- GKN Aerospace
- Bombardier Aerospace
- UTC Aerospace System
- Composite Automation, LLC
- Innse-Berardi spa
Global Automated Fiber Placement Market: Research Scope
Global Automated Fiber Placement Market, by Material
- High-strength Aluminum Alloy
- Fiber-Reinforced Plastic
- Others
Global Automated Fiber Placement Market, by Application
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Sports Equipment
- Civil Infrastructure
- Others
