18mm (16mm) Woven Finish Roll Wrapped Carbon Fibre Tube

Yes, there would be plenty of applications where these tubes could be used in conjunction with linear bearings. Having said that, there would also be some applications where carbon fibre tubes - in general - would be less well suited. On the other hand, if the action of the linear bearing is reasonably slow and controlled and is occasional then I would have no hesitation. If the action is fast and frequent, or even constant, then carbon fibre tubes probably aren't the best option.

The reason for this is that carbon fibre (even when coated like these woven finish tubes are) is relatively susceptible to wear and abrasion, especially compared to homogeneous plastics or metals. Although a linear bearing minimises the abrasion action (by not sliding over the tubes surface) there is still a wear factor and that's why I would say occasional action would be fine but constant action would not.

The maximum service temperature of the tubes is limited by the lacquer they have been painted to, which is no higher than about 50°C. The pre-preg itself will be fine up to 100°C. If cosmetics are not an issue, then you can sand the clear lacquer off the tubes.

The Woven Finish tubes can be used in this way no problem. The high number of fibres down the tubes length will aid general stiffness of the tube which will help for this kind of application.

+/- 0.3mm on the OD and ID means that the OD could be the stated OD plus a up to 0.3mm or minus up to 0.3mm and the ID could be the stated ID plus up to 0.3mm or minus up to 0.3mm. In practice, these are both on the 'high side' and, in particular, the tolerance on the ID for a roll wrapped tube is likely to be significantly tighter due to the tubes being made around an accurate mandrel.

Many people prefer the natural finish of these carbon products, however if you wish to paint them for your specific application then you can do so. A light key with a fine abrasive paper like a 1200 grit wet and dry paper and a thorough degrease and clean using mild detergent or an alcohol wipe should be all that is needed to prepare the surface for paint.

We don't have figures for the torsional strength of our roll wrapped carbon fibre tubes because they're not really designed for torsional load applications. These figures would be calculable (from the layup schedule and the fibre properties) but it's very involved work. Tubes designed for torsional load, like a prop-shaft or steering column, would normally make extensive use of +/-45° (or similar) fibre orientation because 0 or 90° fibre orientation means that the torsional load would try to shear the tube. If you wanted to 'adapt' a roll wrapped tube like this to improve its torsional load capabilities then laminating some layers of our Carbon Fibre Braided Sleeve would add significant +/-45° fibre orientation and so torsional strength. Our EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin would make a good resin to wet the braid out with and our Composites Shrink Tape could be used to consolidate the resin/braid whilst it cures.

Unfortunately it is not possible to cut a usable thread into carbon fibre composites. The nature of the material is such that the teeth on a thread would not be able to take any load and would break up either during thread turning or the first attempt at using the thread.

Where it is desirable to have a threaded method of attaching the tube or rod, it is commonplace to fabricate and then bond an aluminium insert into the tube or over the rod end which can then have a thread cut into it.

No, the maximum length available for our standard roll wrapped tubes is 2.5m. Our woven finish roll wrapped tubes are available in lengths up to 2m. Unfortunately we can't supply tubes in lengths longer than those listed on the website.

Unfortunately not. Our roll wrapped tubes are only available in the listed wall thickness and diameters.

The maximum service temperature of the Roll Wrapped Carbon Fibre tubes is 80°C.

There is no manufacturers tolerance for the straightness of these tubes due to the method of manufacture. As such they are not available to any specific set tolerance in terms of straightness. However if you have a specialist requirement or use for these tubes, please get in contact and we can measure the current stock to see if they meet with your requirements.