SAE Books: 'Automated Fiber Placement' with Ramy Hari

AFP can build complex, lightweight structures, but cost concerns keep its use in the automotive industry to a minimum. For now, anyway.

December 1, 2025

Sebastian Blanco

Ramy Harik, a Fulbright alumnus and director of the Clemson Composites Center, is pushing the boundaries of manufacturing with his latest book, Automated Fiber Placement: Status, Challenges, and Evolution co-authored with Alex Brasington.

The book, published by SAE in June of 2025, serves as a comprehensive guide to automated fiber placement (AFP), a cutting-edge technology crucial for building complex, lightweight structures in the aerospace and automotive industries. The book aims to offer a thorough understanding of AFP's transformative potential for students, engineers, and industry professionals. The book synthesizes a decade of research, explaining how AFP supports the rise of advanced air mobility and sustainable structures for commercial and defense aircraft, space habitats, and beyond.

“While AFP has firmly established itself as a primary manufacturing technique in the aerospace and defense sectors, evidenced by its use in the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, its penetration into the automotive world remains challenging due to cost, despite the clear need for lightweighting,” Harik told SAE Media.

“AFP's core strength lies in its ability to achieve exceptional precision and consistency in fiber placement and weight minimization, which is highly desired for aerospace but adds cost. However, as the AFP field advances, bolstered by innovations beyond the core process, specifically in process control elements like inspection and material characterization, the associated cost is decreasing. This anticipated reduction in processing time will ultimately enable AFP to meet the high production rates demanded by the automotive industry, opening the door for further lightweighting of components, including chassis elements, body panels, and future electric vehicle battery enclosures, with research even exploring beneficial matches between AFP and complementary techniques like thermoforming."

Harik's core philosophy is to help create the next generation of talent for AFP. To achieve this, he and his co-author, Alex Brasington, have worked seamlessly to craft an easy-to-read book that demystifies this complex topic.

"The future is being crafted with composites, and this book helps push that forward,” Harik told SAE Media. Harik also serves as an Associate Editor for SME Manufacturing Letters and is the author of the Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing textbook.

The book provides a systematic and logical exposition of the critical elements necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the AFP process. It addresses quality assurance challenges, offering an analysis of how AFP process parameters interact and contribute to various potential manufacturing defects. The text also details layup strategies and associated inspection techniques. The book includes a forward-looking discussion that outlines the architecture and functionalities of a prospective smart AFP system.

Cover of Harik's book on fiber placement

The book offers three distinct and unique supplemental features integrated throughout the text to enrich the reader's experience. The first provides links to supplementary videos on specific topics discussed, which readers can access instantly by scanning a barcode. A second feature, titled 'Did You Know?’, offers additional context on various products and illustrates their connection to the world of composites. Finally, an ‘Application ’feature is woven throughout, demonstrating the practical steps required to implement and calculate fundamental composite parameters.

Harik is the endowed ExxonMobil Employees chair, and a professor of Automotive Engineering at Clemson University, with degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Automated Manufacturing, and Industrial/Mechanical Engineering. He founded his own consulting company, Harik Consultants LLC. His previous book, Manufacturing vs Corruption: Who Wins?, was a 2023 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite for Social/Political Change books.

Harik and Brasington dedicate their book to the next generation of composite pioneers in hopes it sparks their own groundbreaking innovation. The book is available through SAE.