M Wright & Sons has been shortlisted in the Innovation in Composite Design category at the Composites UK Industry Awards 2026, recognising the development of our Master Weave Suite for the design, analysis and manufacture of advanced 3D woven composite structures.
The shortlist is particularly significant because Master Weave addresses one of the more complex challenges in composite engineering: connecting the digital design of a woven reinforcement with the practical realities of manufacturing it.
For M Wright & Sons, it represents another step in the development of a capability that combines specialist textile engineering, advanced composite materials and digital manufacturing.
What is Master Weave?
Master Weave is a combined 3D CAD, CAM and analysis software suite developed to support the design and manufacture of complex woven composite structures.
Rather than treating design, analysis and manufacturing as completely separate activities, the system creates a link between the digital design of a fibre architecture and the weaving process required to manufacture it.
That becomes particularly important with 3D woven composite preforms, where the position and orientation of the fibres are an integral part of the final structure.
The ability to model, analyse and prepare these structures digitally can help engineers consider both composite performance and manufacturability earlier in the design process.
What are 3D woven composite preforms?
M Wright & Sons designs and manufactures dry 3D woven composite preforms for use within structural composite components.
Unlike conventional laminated composite reinforcement, 3D woven structures can introduce reinforcement through the thickness of the material.
The fibre architecture can include X and Y yarn systems providing in-plane reinforcement, with Z fibres connecting the structure through its thickness.
This through-thickness reinforcement can improve interlaminar performance, damage tolerance and resistance to delamination when compared with more conventional laminated structures.
The resulting dry woven preform can subsequently be incorporated into composite manufacturing processes including resin infusion and Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM).
Designing complex composite fibre architectures
Producing a 3D woven preform is considerably more complex than manufacturing a conventional flat woven fabric.
Fibre orientation, component geometry, yarn selection, structural performance and manufacturing feasibility all have to be considered.
M Wright & Sons manufactures these structures using custom-built weaving machinery developed from narrow fabric weaving principles and integrated with advanced Jacquard systems.
Computer-controlled fibre placement allows increasingly complex geometries to be manufactured accurately and repeatedly.
Master Weave builds on this capability by creating a digital environment in which complex structures can be developed before the manufacturing process begins.
It is this connection between composite design software, fibre architecture and physical textile manufacture that makes the technology particularly interesting.
Materials for advanced composite structures
Depending on the application, 3D woven preforms can be manufactured from a range of high-performance fibres.
M Wright & Sons works with materials including:
- Carbon fibre
- Para-aramid
- Basalt
- High-purity alumina ceramic fibres
The choice of fibre, architecture and composite manufacturing method depends on the mechanical, thermal and environmental requirements of the finished component.
Applications for advanced textile composite structures can therefore extend across sectors including aerospace and defence, automotive and motorsport, energy, industrial engineering and advanced research and development.
From narrow weaving to advanced composites
There is a direct connection between M Wright & Sons’ traditional narrow weaving expertise and its work in advanced composites.
Narrow weaving is fundamentally concerned with controlling yarn position, tension and fabric architecture.
3D composite weaving applies those same principles to high-performance reinforcement fibres and considerably more complex structures.
Modern Jacquard systems, computer-controlled machinery and digital modelling now allow textile engineers to control fibre architecture in ways that would have been impossible when M Wright & Sons was founded in 1860.
The technology has changed dramatically.
The underlying principle of controlling fibres to create a required structure has not.
Today, M Wright & Sons operates an Advanced Composites capability alongside its wider technical narrow woven fabric manufacturing activities in Quorn, Leicestershire.
Recognition from the UK composites industry
The Composites UK Industry Awards recognise achievement across engineering, manufacturing, materials, sustainability, skills and innovation within the UK composites sector.
Being shortlisted in the Innovation in Composite Design category provides valuable recognition for the development work behind Master Weave and the wider 3D woven composite capability at M Wright & Sons.
It also reflects a broader shift within advanced manufacturing.
Composite design is increasingly moving beyond simply selecting materials. Engineers are now able to consider the architecture of the reinforcement itself as part of the design process.
For textile composite structures, that means the relationship between software, fibre placement and manufacturing becomes increasingly important.
Master Weave has been developed specifically around that relationship.
The winners of the Composites UK Industry Awards 2026 will be announced in November.
Whatever the outcome, being shortlisted is an important recognition of the engineering, textile knowledge and development work behind the technology.