High-Rate Snap-Cure & Custom Composite Manufacturing for UAVs

Fibreworks Composites is a specialist U.S.-based provider of custom composite manufacturing and high-rate production solutions for UAVs and robotic systems. The company designs new composite structures and converts existing hand-laminated parts into pressable snap-cure designs, supporting programs from initial engineering and prototyping through to validated, low-cost volume production.

The Fibreworks Group combines the engineering, machining and tooling capabilities of Fibreworks Composites with the manufacturing, certification and quality-control resources of sister company Composite Factory. This vertically integrated structure provides customers with a single partner for the complete composite manufacturing lifecycle.

Fibreworks Composites is an approved parts supplier to leading aerospace and defense companies, including:

Anduril
Lockheed Martin
Northrop Grumman
General Dynamics
Bell Textron
Archer
Shield AI

High-Rate Press Conversion for Composite UAV Parts

Converting existing composite designs into low-cost, press-ready parts for volume production

Fibreworks converts existing hand-laminated composite components into pressable snap-cure designs engineered for greater production rates, reduced labor requirements and lower unit costs. Customers can provide a physical part, drawing package or performance specification, and Fibreworks will engineer the press-ready design, tooling, validation program and production cell through one vertically integrated team.

Reverse Engineered. Re-Engineered. Rate-Ready.

Fibreworks provides two routes to high-rate production:

Reverse engineer an existing part: Fibreworks captures the geometry and performance requirements of a legacy or currently flying component, then re-engineers it as a pressable snap-cure design. This can be completed with minimal input from the customer’s engineering team.
Design directly from specification: Fibreworks designs the component, tooling and production cell around the required envelope, loads and production rate, eliminating the need to redesign the part between prototype and volume manufacturing.

Both routes deliver a press-ready design, low-cost prototype tooling, hardware-based validation and a scalable manufacturing cell.

Snap-Cure Production at a Glance

Capability	Performance
Press cycle	Under 10 minutes
Potential annual output	Up to 30,000 parts per tool cavity
Prototype tooling	Low-cost epoxy-direct tools
Volume-production tooling	Steel high-volume press tools
Key benefits	Lower labor, tighter quality and reduced unit cost

Proven High-Rate Programs

Component	Quantity Produced	Achieved Rate
Ultra-light UAV control surfaces	3,000+	45 per shift
SATCOM reflector petals	4,389	60 per shift
UAV hatch panels	3,000+	400 per shift
UAV servo brackets	3,000+	400 per shift
Complete UAV airframe	Initial units produced	Transitioning to production

Case Study: From Hand Layup to High-Rate Press Production

Nine hand-laid pieces reduced to three pressed parts—delivering 30% lower cost and three times the production rate

Fibreworks reverse engineered an existing UAV control surface after its labor-intensive manufacturing process became unable to support demand. The original nine-piece hand-laid assembly was redesigned as three press-formed components and transferred to a robotic assembly cell.

Original Process	Fibreworks Production Solution
Nine-piece hand-laid assembly	Three-piece pressed design
More than 1,000 units annually	More than 3,000 units annually
Labor-intensive production	Robotic assembly with minimal labor
Constrained supply chain	Scalable, integrated production cell
Existing unit cost	30% price reduction

The pressed design was compared directly with the original flying component using real-world mechanical testing. It was tested through one million cycles, to ultimate strength and to failure. Fibreworks also designed and manufactured the automated test equipment, avoiding dependence on external validation resources.

The program progressed from initial legacy data to high-rate production in eight months.

Composite Manufacturing for Drones & Robotics

Design-to-spec & build-to-print composite structures from prototype to high-rate production

Fibreworks provides UAV and robotics OEMs with scalable composite manufacturing capabilities for platforms of all sizes. Programs can be delivered on a design-to-spec or build-to-print basis, with reverse-engineering services also available.

The company supports composite component, subassembly and aerostructure production across all UAS groups:

Loitering munitions and one-way attack systems: complete aerostructure assemblies
Group 1 UAS: complete aerostructure assemblies
Group 2 UAS: complete aerostructure assemblies
Group 3 UAS: complete aerostructure assemblies
Group 4 UAS: finished fairings, skins and spars
Group 5 UAS: finished fairings, skins and spars

Previous UAS programs include:

Platform Category	Programs Completed	Design Authority	Snap-Cure Programs
One-Way Attack	3	1 complete aircraft	1 complete aircraft
Group 3 UAS	4	2 component programs	1 component program
Group 5 UAS	3	–	–

Learn more about Fibreworks’ unmanned systems capabilities and discover custom composite solutions for UAVs, UGVs and robotic platforms.

Learn more

Development & Production Capabilities

Fibreworks supports every stage of composite product development, helping customers reduce design complexity, manufacturing costs, program risk and lead times. Its integrated engineering and production capabilities allow projects to move efficiently from early concepts to repeatable, high-volume manufacturing.

All production volumes are supported:

Prototype production (1–5 units): rapid delivery of test-ready components and assemblies
Low-rate production (5–100 units): streamlined transition from prototype validation to repeatable manufacturing
High-rate production (hundreds or thousands): scalable manufacturing with proven rate production of complete Group 3 aerostructures

Design, Engineering & Prototyping

Fibreworks’ engineering team provides end-to-end support from requirements capture and initial design to structural analysis and manufacturing preparation. Customers can begin with an early-stage concept, an established design or an existing component requiring reverse engineering.

Carbon composite tooling solutions Capabilities include:

Design for manufacture
Component and assembly design
3D CAD and technical documentation
Composite design
Finite element analysis
Complex and multicomponent structural analysis
Reverse engineering

Prototype programs for unmanned systems typically cover one to five test-ready components or assemblies. Epoxy-direct, carbon-fiber and other tooling options are available to meet the cost, lead-time and performance requirements of prototypes and short production runs.

composite parts for uavs

Machining & Tooling

An in-house machine shop supports composite production with tooling, inserts and metallic hardware, reducing reliance on external suppliers and providing greater control over quality and lead times.

Capabilities include:

Lamination and assembly tooling
Composite mandrels
Epoxy tooling masters
Metal-dedicated HAAS mills
Finish machining of carbon-fiber components
Robotic trimming
Sandblasting, vapor honing and plasma preparation

Scalable Composite Manufacturing Processes

Alongside its snap-cure press-forming capabilities, Fibreworks supports a range of high-volume composite manufacturing processes for UAV components and complete aerostructures. These include:

Snap-cure thermoset woven carbon fiber, with or without cores
Thermoplastic composites
Sheet molding compounds
Bulk molding compounds
Complete Group 3 aerostructure production at rates of 10–50 units per day

Learn how FibreWorks Composites are advancing drone technology with high-performance composite solutions

Read case study

Facilities & Quality Assurance

The Fibreworks Group operates vertically integrated facilities that minimize outsourcing, reduce supply-chain risk and provide a competitive cost structure for projects at every production level.

Facilities and resources include:

115,000 square feet of manufacturing space
80,000 square feet available for expansion
Clean room with 12 laser ply-placement stations
Dedicated machining center
Bonding and assembly area
Four new CNC mills
Large-format autoclave
Painting and finishing facilities
More than 360 support personnel

A separate 30,000-square-foot legacy facility is maintained for controlled unclassified defense programs.

Fibreworks’ facilities are certified to ISO 9001:2015 and operate an AS9100D-compliant quality management system, supporting consistent and traceable production for demanding aerospace, defense and unmanned systems applications.