Legacy fabrication methods for products made from Carbon fiber are slow and costly

When low weight and high strength are required, composite materials are the best solution. Unfortunately, they’re not commonly used in small to mid-sized boats.   Why, because the typical manufacturing methods for these materials are labor intensive and expensive.  But Carbon Marine, a pioneering company in the power boating industry is working to change that. Their vision is to reduce the time and costs to produce faster, more agile powerboats by transitioning to digital best practices.

The process starts with the design concept and the details for each Carbon Fiber ply layer’s position and orientation. In the digital process this information is linked together within the 3D model.

Digital Patterning accelerates the production cycle

Carbon Marine, is the premier manufacturer of ultra-performance watercraft.    According to Drew Davidson, Production Manager, “We were essentially the people who proved the economics of using full-carbon production on power boats.”  We interviewed Drew to get his perspective on the business advantages that the transition to digital patterning brought to their production efforts. 

1. Why did you transition from manual to digital patterning?

We run a pretty lean crew so in the past, we sectioned off our production into high intensity sprints. We do the design and rough patterning, then we bring the team in and work with them to do the layout, cutting, fitting and trimming until that section is right.

Then we let the guys go, they are mostly contract craftsmen, and we do the design and layup planning for the next section of the boat. When that’s finished, we recollect the team for another layout, cutting, fitting session and so on. With ExactFlat we're just going to change that into constantly designing, cutting and production. No breaks. That means a process that used to take two or three months can be finished in a couple weeks. That’s huge for us.

2. Why did you choose ExactFlat?

ExactFlat is just one of those things where it’s just massively efficient. There is no other way to see the types of time and cost savings we needed. For the hull for example, what we saw on the screen was pretty much exactly the unfolding and stretching behavior we saw in real life.

Once the plys are defined it’s a simple process to cut the plys and begin the lay up and molding steps.

Essentially, after designing the cosmetic layer we're just going to full ply cutting. Honestly with the accuracy of what ExactFlat is delivering we don't have to iterate. We just cut, layup, and mold.

Shave Weeks and Costs off every project

In our next article we’ll walkthrough the steps that Carbon Marine implemented to achieve their time and costs reduction goals with ExactFlat.  To learn more about the process or to get started now, just click on the link below.  You’ll be able to schedule a time with one of our experts to discuss how the transition to digital patterning can help your business

About the partner - Carbon Marine

By utilizing the most advanced composite materials and digital design and patterning best practices, Carbon Marine produces boats that are lighter, stronger, faster and more efficient than conventional fiberglass boats. Each design process also includes a custom session to zone in on the exact aesthetics, electronic layout, power options and paint scheme for the client. The result is a completely unique and personalized boat which is unlike anything else in the water.