ShapeTex™ is a new and innovative method of designing and manufacturing carbon fibre preforms. The ShapeTex™ process lays down fibres accurately to a highly detailed design. Each ShapeTex™ preform is highly optimized for strength or stiffness, and at the same time, the process is also optimized for waste reduction. This makes the process incredibly efficient and cost effective. The ShapeTex™ process has been optimized for the manufacture of commingled carbon fibre and thermoplastic fibre preforms. The commingled ShapeTex™ preform is simply consolidated into the net shape part using a heated press. ShapeTex™ is applicable to a wide range of production processes and has benefits across all composite industry sectors. It is the ability to specify exactly where the fibres are placed and orientated that distinguishes the ShapeTex™ technology from other less optimized processes. The ability to align and orientate the fibres for optimized strength and stiffness with zero waste will enable the ShapeTex™ preform to become the dominant carbon fibre manufacturing process for optimized preforms.