As custom fiberglass fabrication and composite materials experts, we help you determine which process is best suited for your product. Our processes include:
•Chopper gun spray up
•Hand lamination
•Vacuum infusion & light RTM
•Compression molding
•Pre-preg vacuum bag layup
•Painting
•Custom assembly
•Managing sub contractors
•Packaging and shipping
Fiberglass composites have many benefits compared to traditional materials such as sheet metal. Composite Universal Group helps you take advantage of these benefits to improve your product's functional performance.
Fiberglass composite products are:
•Light weight
•Corrosion resistant
•Durable
•Great for making large shaped shell structures
•Short development cycles
•Rapid tool and prototype fabrication
•Low tooling costs
•Cost efficient for very complex shapes
•Good structural strength
At CUG we have extensive experience with materials used in the composite industry:
•Fiberglass 
•Graphite / Carbon fiber
•Kevlar
•Polyester resins
•Vinyl ester resins
•Epoxy resins
•Polyurethane resins
•Balsa core
•Honeycomb cores
•Reinforcement foams
•Pre-preg materials
CUG composite process capabilities
Benefits of modern composites technology
Most designers are aware that FRP composite materials have attractive physical properties when compared to metal The graphs to the right show test results when comparing Aluminum, steel, and several different composite candidates.
Density (in order from lightest)KevlarCarbonGraphiteS-GassE-GlassAluminumTitaniumSteelSource: Advanced Composite Materials Technology Research Centre at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Even more interesting is the data from the fatigue testing of the same materials.
In order of strength after 10,000 cycles:
(stronger to weaker)
GraphiteSteelAluminumFiberglassSource: Advanced Composite Materials Technology Research Centre at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The feature of composites that will produce a cost advantage over other high strength materials is the ability to mold complex shapes and integrated feature details with minimal additional labor after the master forms are produced. Consequently, the cost of ownership for a composite component should be compared to the additonal labor required to prepare and assembly the equivalent metal part.
The individual materials that make up composites are called constituents. Most composites have two constituent materials: a binder or matrix, and a reinforcement. The reinforcement is usually much stronger and stiffer than the matrix, and gives the composite its good properties. The matrix holds the reinforcements in an orderly pattern. Because the reinforcements are usually discontinuous, the matrix also helps to transfer load among the reinforcements.
Composite materials are available as plies or lamina. A single ply consists of fibers oriented in a single direction (unidirectional) or in two directions (bidirectional; for example a woven fabric).
Most of the products we see every day are made from monolithic materials. That means the individual components consist of a single material (an un-reinforced plastic), or a combination of materials that are combined in such a way that the individual components are indistinguishable (a metal alloy). The physical properties of these materials are determined by the chemical or metallurgical formulas and the processes used to produce the base material. These properties change only to a small degree when formed or assembled into a final product shape. (Stamping, welding, riveting, casting, injecting, etc.)
With composites, material properties are determined at the same time as the structure is fabricated. The skill and process used to fabricate the component have an unusually critical role in deciding how well the component will perform in the application.
What are composites?
Cost justification for composite components
