Solid Carbon Fiber 15mm rods ?

[twocik]

I'm looking to make 15mm CF rods or if you're a dealer lets talk...


Does anyone know where I can find something like this ?

[jalessi]

See link below for tubing.

http://tinyurl.com/79j96m

[jemmyell]

I have bought CF rod from these guys in the past. I don't see 15mm but you might contact them to see what they can get.

http://www.kitebuilder.com/kitestudio.html

-James

[allesg]

jimmyell is right.

I too have bought carbon rods from kite studio. Great place.

Kite builders use carbon rods in custom and competition kites.

R/C guys buy 'em from kite studio and use them in their
wing and fuselage designs and even r/C helicopters.

Gary

[twocik]

Thanks guys, but I'm looking for solid CF rods. I own some tubing now, but they're not stiff enough.

There's gotta be someone that can make/sell these here ?

[jalessi]

Wee Bee Will make any size you want.

http://users.hargray.com/weebee/index.html

Other sources:

http://tinyurl.com/a95bod

http://www.deltronix.net/cgi/acp_display.exe

http://www.cstsales.com/carbon_composites-ss5.html

[twocik]

Thank you very much for the links, I've emailed each company and I'm hoping to hear back. Seems that every company had them almost at 15mm, but were just a hair over or under.


Can you machine carbon fiber without it cracking ?
Say if I wanted to turn them down just a bit on my lathe, can this be done ?

[jemmyell]

I use CF rod to reinforce guitar assemblies. I cut it to length with diamond wheels (Harbor Freight). I don't know about turning it, but it will quickly destroy even carbide tools. Try diamond tools.

-James

[MechanoMan]

Well since carbon's typically sold in inch units, that would be difficult.

I highly recommend Avia Sport Composites

Real good stuff, good prices.

In fact a lot of the other suppliers are just reselling Avia products.

[twocik]

Just doesn't make sense anymore. Almost all of our products/equipment (at least in the film & electronic business) is made overseas and most of the time when you need to replace a screw, etc.. it's metric. US sells some metric stuff, but not all. Everything I've tried to make revolves around the metric system and just can't find it here in the US...




These carbon fiber rods seem to be a big deal to find, so maybe I guess I'll have to start looking into make them. What would I need to turn carbon fiber ?

[307startup]

twocik... I have to ask...what are these to be used for? I have a reason for asking that question. The solid rods that were suggested (ie kite bracing) are pultrusions...strands of carbon fiber running one direction, infused by resin (typically a polyester or vinylester resin...not epoxy). Unidirectional fiber is fine for certain applications...practically useless in others. As far as turning pultrusions is concerned, yes it can be done...use a HSS blank and grind a sharp edge on it (no toolnose radius). Nothing to it really, although for large volumes, it will dull quickly and require frequent sharpening, although not as often as would be required with a typical composite (due to the multi-directional bias of the layup...typically 0*, 45*, 90*, 45*opp...this creates more tool-edge contact with the carbon-fiber). However, if you turn the pultrusion, the surface finish will look like crap. Because the individual strands are pulled through a resin bath and then through a die (sorta like an extrusion die for aluminum profiles) the strands are not always perfectly aligned straight...there is a certain amount of axial twist as well as left-right variance. Imagine picking up a handful of straws...not all will be aligned about the axis...some may cross the entire bundle (bottom to top) across their length, etc. This fiber orientation is akin to the grain structure in metals...minus the crystalline matrix that metals afford...this is why there is a resin/epoxy binder. So now you have an issue of not only having disturbed the outer layer of the binder, by cutting, but also having weakened the remaining outer layer of fibers by severing them across their section, rather than along their length. There will be fraying...beware of slivers! A dip in resin or other binder may be necessary to avoid cosmetic issues as well as stopping the fraying issue and the slivers that come with it. just a heads up!

[jalessi]

Twocik,

Did you contact Wee Bee, they make metric sizes.

http://users.hargray.com/weebee/index.html