General Fiber Manufacturing Costs

In general, in the early period of production of a fiber, the cost of the original raw material may have had very little bearing on the selling price of the final fiber. A most important factor is the action of the producer s competitors and the conditions of the market and the demand that can be developed. But the complexity of the processes involved in conversion determines the base cost of the fiber at the point of manufacture. As the process becomes older, research reduces this complexity with simplification, there may be rapid drops in plant cost. If demand remains high, such reductions will not be expected to be reflected in selling prices rather, profits are high. As more producers enter the field in order to share in those profits, output capacity surpasses demand, and in accordance with... 

The focus of this chapter has been to give a general overview of the many manufacturing processes available today for the manufactrrre of fiber reinforced polymer composites. Most of the technologies discussed are subject to continuous improvements as manufacturers from the aerospace, automotive, construction and consumer products industries strive to improve manufacturing costs and overall product quality. 

Cotton bale weights vary from about 375 to 515 lb (170 to 233 kg) depending on the country in which they are produced (see Table 1.1). A pound of cotton contains 100 million or more individual fibers and each individual fiber varies in properties along its length from one end to the other. Cotton classification is a practical, cost-efficient way of measuring the general quality and physical attributes of bales of cotton fiber that affect the quality of the finished product and manufacturing efficiency and allows a market value to be established for the cotton to facilitate utilization. 

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