Quoting Composite Layup Jobs Accurately

Composite parts look simple on paper — fiber, resin, cure. But anyone who has quoted a layup job knows the devil hides in the ply schedule, the bagging consumables, the autoclave cycle, and the tooling amortization. Miss one of those and a healthy margin evaporates before the first bag is sealed.

Break the Quote Into Four Cost Buckets

Start by separating the estimate into distinct categories that map to how your shop actually works:

• Material kit: Prepreg rolls, dry fabric, resin system, core, adhesive film, release film, bleeders, breathers, vacuum bag, sealant tape, thermocouples.
• Direct labor: Kitting, layup per ply, debulk steps, bagging, cure monitoring, demold, trim, inspection.
• Equipment time: Autoclave, oven, or heated press cycles — including ramp, soak, cool-down, and idle time between runs.
• Tooling amortization: Mold cost divided over expected program life, plus maintenance and repair reserves.

Each bucket gets its own markup logic. Material carries a different risk profile than autoclave time, and tooling amortization is a fixed-cost recovery, not a variable expense.

Model the Ply Schedule, Not Just the Part

A flat “$X per square foot” rate fails on composites because labor scales with ply count, contour complexity, and debulk frequency. Build a ply table:

• Ply number, material, orientation, shape complexity (flat, single-curve, double-curve).
• Estimated layup minutes per ply based on historical data.
• Debulk interval — every 4-6 plies for hand layup, every 8-12 for automated fiber placement.
• Bagging consumables per debulk cycle.

This table becomes your labor estimator and your production traveler. When the shop floor feeds back actual times, you refine the model for the next quote.

Quote Cure Cycles by the Hour, Not the Part

Autoclave and oven time is a capacity-constrained resource. Quote it by the hour with a minimum charge that covers ramp and cool-down. Capture:

• Cycle profile: ramp rate, cure temperature, hold time, cool-down rate.
• Vacuum and pressure requirements.
• Thermocouple count and data logging needs (some specs require full traceability).
• Fixture or tooling thermal mass — heavy Invar tools add hours to ramp/cool.

If you share cure equipment across programs, build a scheduling buffer so a delayed cycle on Job A doesn’t cascade into Job B’s promised ship date.

Handle Tooling as a Separate Line Item

Never bury tooling cost inside the unit price unless the program volume is locked and guaranteed. Instead:

• Quote tooling as NRE (non-recurring engineering) with clear ownership terms.
• Amortize over a defined quantity with a reconciliation clause — if actual orders fall short, the balance invoices.
• Include a maintenance reserve (2-5% of tool cost annually) for repairs, rework, and surface refurbishment.
• Specify tooling class: prototype (soft tool), bridge, or production (hard tool) — each carries different lead time, cost, and life expectancy.

This protects you when a customer orders 50 parts against a tool quoted for 500.

Add a Material Yield and Scrap Factor

Prepreg has shelf life, out-time limits, and nesting efficiency that varies by ply shape. Track:

• Roll width vs. ply outline — calculate nest yield per ply.
• Out-time accumulation during layup; expired material is scrap.
• First-article scrap rate (typically 5-15% for new programs).
• Core and adhesive film waste from trimming to net shape.

Apply a yield factor per material line item, not a blanket percentage. Carbon prepreg at $150/lb deserves tighter math than peel ply at $3/lb.

Use a Digital Job Traveler to Close the Loop

The quote shouldn’t live in a spreadsheet that dies after the PO arrives. A digital job traveler carries the ply table, cure profile, material lot numbers, and labor actuals from quote through ship. When the shop floor logs actual layup minutes per ply and cure cycle hours, that data feeds back into your estimating model automatically.

Solvi combines instant quoting, a manufacturing execution system, and a job board so the numbers you quote become the instructions your team executes — and the actuals flow back to sharpen the next estimate.

Checklist Before You Send the Quote

1. Ply schedule with layup minutes and debulk steps defined.
2. Cure cycle hours quoted with equipment minimums.
3. Tooling NRE separated, amortization schedule attached.
4. Material kit listed with yield factors per line item.
5. Inspection requirements (UT, CT, FAI) scoped and priced.
6. Revision control: quote version linked to drawing revision.

Composite jobs reward precision. The shops that win consistently are the ones who treat every ply, every cure hour, and every tooling dollar as a visible, defensible line item — not a blended rate hoping for the best.