Capabilities

Composite Tooling

Engineered for the Process. Built for the Programme.

Composite Tooling

A composite component is only as good as the tool it was laid on.

We've seen what happens when tooling is treated as an afterthought, warped panels, inconsistent wall thickness, tools that degrade after 20 pulls instead of 200. That's why every mould, pattern, and cure tool we manufacture is engineered around the production process it supports.

We don't build generic moulds. We engineer tooling systems that account for thermal expansion, exotherm management, material drape behaviour, and the realities of your shop floor.

Why Tooling Quality Defines Component Quality

Every defect in a composite component traces back to the tool surface, the thermal profile, or the dimensional stability of the mould during cure.

Get the tooling wrong and you're chasing problems through every downstream operation, shimming assemblies, reworking surfaces, scrapping parts that should have been right first time.

The tooling directly controls:

Profile accuracy and surface finish

Fibre orientation and compaction quality

Thermal behaviour during cure cycles

Dimensional stability across production runs

Demould reliability and cycle time

Component-to-component repeatability

We manufacture tooling for autoclave cure, out-of-autoclave processes, press moulding, RTM, infusion, and hand lay-up, each engineered for the specific process parameters involved.

From single-use development tools to production moulds, we match the tooling solution to the programme requirement.

Capability

Our Composite Tooling Capability

We manufacture the full range of composite production tooling, each solution engineered for the specific application:

Master Patterns

CNC-machined from tooling board, model board, or direct-machined substrates.

Composite Moulds

Carbon fibre, GRP, and Invar moulds designed for thermal stability, vacuum integrity, and long production life. We engineer for your cure cycle, not just your geometry.

Trimming Fixtures

Locating and clamping solutions that hold cured components accurately for CNC trimming, waterjet cutting, or manual finishing operations.

Assembly Tooling

Bonding jigs, drilling fixtures, and assembly aids that maintain datum control across multi-component assemblies.

Direct Moulds

CNC-machined composite moulds produced directly from CAD, eliminating the pattern stage where programme timescales or budgets demand a faster route to production.

More Than Toolmakers

We Engineer the Manufacturing Solution, Not Just the Mould

Most tooling suppliers wait for a model and a purchase order. We get involved earlier, reviewing laminate schedules, questioning draft angles, advising on split-line strategy, and flagging demould risks before they become production problems.

Because we understand composite manufacturing from the inside, our customers avoid the costly iteration loops that plague programmes where tooling is treated as a commodity purchase.

Early involvement delivers:

Tooling that accounts for spring-back and thermal distortion

Split-line positions optimised for lay-up access and demould

Vacuum systems designed for the specific laminate and cure profile

Surface finishes matched to the end-use requirement

Faster first-article approval

Fewer engineering change notes downstream

Why RM Design & Engineering?

Because We've Solved the Problems You Haven't Hit Yet

Any machine shop with a 5-axis router can cut a mould shape.

But when the tool distorts during a 180°C autoclave cycle, or the vacuum integrity fails at pull 47, or the component won't demould without damage, that's when you discover whether your supplier actually understood the process.

We've delivered composite tooling for Tier 1 aerospace programmes, Royal Navy platforms, and Formula 1 teams. That experience means

We don't just manufacture tooling.

We deliver manufacturing confidence.

Quality is King. Delivery Rules

Start Your Project

Whether it's a development mould for first-article qualification or a production tool suite for a 10-year programme, we're ready to talk.

Contact RM Design & Engineering to discuss your composite tooling requirements.

RM Design & Engineering Ltd
Unit 5a
Kineton Road Industrial Estate
Westfield Road
Southam
Warwickshire
CV47 0JH

Tel: 01926 257 530
Email: enquiries@rmde.net

Composite Tooling