Custom Tubes
- Both centreless sanding and precision grinding machines to hit strict dimensional tolerances or to prepare the tubes for a different finish
- Lathes to turn tubes to a tolerance between centres and we have capabilities for large diameters and long lengths.
- Painting facilities to colour the tubes or add gloss/satin lacquers to the tube.
- Cosmetic woven finishes including 2x2 twills, plain weaves and texalium weave (gold and silver).
- Sanded for smooth texture or matt, low reflection finish.
- Lacquered in high gloss, colour-tinted gloss, satin finish or painted with a colour.
- Glass fibre outer option for increased damage resistance or electrical insulation.
- Plastic coated for durability.
- Combinations of the above and more. Please contact us if you have specific finish requirements.
Design
Our tubes are manufactured using a roll-wrapping method which is one of the most flexible ways of making composite tubing. Any required fibre angle is achievable and most importantly a true 0° and a true 90°. Using our extensive in-house design facilities we are able to work with our customers to develop the best tube for their requirements whatever they may be. By understanding how these tubes are being used and the loadings exerted on them we are able to design and manufacture tubes that exhibit the required mechanical properties at the right price. If you have a new or existing requirement for composite tubing then please get in touch at sales@carbonfibretubes.co.uk
Physical dimensions
The composite tubes are manufactured using a male-moulding process (see technology page) which involves laying-up material over a mandrel. This means that tubes are specified by their internal diameter (the whole range of which are below), and then either outer diameter or wall thickness can then be specified. There are limits to the maximum length that can be supplied (please contact for details) but we can implement a proven joining process to reach any length required and also allow ease of transport.
The following internal diameters are available (mm):
| 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 12.0 | 12.5 |
| 12.7 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 16.0 | 17.4 | 18.0 | 19.0 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 20.6 | 22.2 | 23.0 | 23.4 |
| 23.8 | 24.0 | 24.5 | 25.0 | 25.4 | 26.0 | 26.5 | 26.8 | 27.0 | 27.3 | 27.5 | 27.8 | 28.0 | 28.5 | 29.2 | 29.6 |
| 30.0 | 30.3 | 30.6 | 31.7 | 32.0 | 33.0 | 33.2 | 33.4 | 34.0 | 34.5 | 35.0 | 36.0 | 37.0 | 38.1 | 40.0 | 40.3 |
| 41.3 | 42.0 | 43.0 | 43.2 | 44.5 | 45.0 | 46.0 | 46.7 | 47.0 | 47.5 | 48.3 | 49.0 | 50.0 | 50.3 | 50.8 | 54.3 |
| 56.0 | 57.1 | 57.7 | 59.0 | 60.3 | 62.0 | 63.5 | 66.7 | 68.3 | 70.0 | 73.0 | 76.2 | 79.4 | 80.3 | 82.5 | 85.0 |
| 85.7 | 86.0 | 90.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 95.3 | 99.2 | 103.0 | 106.7 | 108.0 | 110.0 | 118.0 | 125.0 | 127.0 | 135.0 | 144.0 |
Outer diameters and wall thickness can be specified as required.
The maximum length of tube that can be constructed in one section is 5.2m, which is the maximum length available in the oven curing process. Lengths do vary with different mandrels so please contact us for more information.
Additional to these parallel tools we also have a number of OVAL and TAPERED tooling. Please contact us for more information on this.
Material
We use a wide range of material types in the production of our tubes including Carbon, E-Glass, S-Glass, and Aramid and are able to make tubes from mixtures of these. Used together correctly these materials can give a composite construction with a whole host of benefits including strength, stiffness, durability, cost, weight, etc. We will always recommend changes to your design if we can see a potential benefit or saving and the more you can tell us about your application the more we can help!
As well as using different material types we also have a selction of of different modulus materials which we can use to manufacture stiffer tubes where required. We are able to source almost any material so if you have a specific material in mind then just ask!
Post-Machining
In a lot of cases our customers require some post-working to be done on their tubes and with extensive facilities in-house we can do all this inexpensively. These include:
Surface Finish
We can supply tubes with a large number of surface finish options/combinations depending on requirements. These don't just include cosmetic finishes but also finishes for grip, durability, UV protection etc. Just some of these options are:
