Composite Tubes in the UK

Are you looking for a lighter, stronger, or stiffer pultruded carbon fibre tube or maybe a glass fibre tube? Our composites may be the solution!

Not all composite tubes are equal. The material design and engineering should be tailored to the mechanical requirements and environmental conditions where the tube will be used. That's why we at Exel Composites first work with you to understand your needs, and then our composite engineers will propose a composite tube design (including geometries, reinforcement selections, and resin system recipe).

Next we use our volume manufacturing technologies of pultrusion and pull-winding to manufacture bespoke glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP tubes). These highly automated processes ensure consistent fibre density and product quality. Additionally, since they are continuous processes, they are perfect for high volume productions of composite tubes.

Looking for a carbon fibre tube manufacturer? Fill the form on the page and our team will get in touch with you.

Get in touch

How we work with you to create your
composite tube

We at Exel Composites specialize in glass fibre and carbon fibre tube manufacturing. The creation of a composite solution is a collaborative process. Our R&D works with your product engineers or R&D to first outline and understand your needs.

Next, we engineer your composite tube, and work together to test prototypes. The choice of reinforcements and resin system used depends on your requirements. Some solutions use glass reinforcements, some use carbon. Additionally, we can advise on the best use of hybrid composites, where we combine different fibre reinforcements (such as glass and carbon) into your solution, providing many of the benefits of both reinforcements. Once the prototypes are accepted by your team, we move to volume production. Learn more about composite tube possibilities here.

Whether you are looking for pultruded rods including carbon fibre rods or fibre glass tubes for sale, we've got you covered. Get in touch with our team today by filling the form at the top of the page. You can also book a meeting with Peter from our UK team via the link below.

Composite tube and rod manufacturing techniques

Our composite tube production uses continuous manufacturing technologies. Compared to other composite manufacturing, our pultrusion and pull-winding are both continuous processes. This provides advantages not only in production output but also quality. Our pultruded carbon tubes are custom made to your specifications and manufactured with high standards. Product quality variables like fibre density and fibre placement are easy to manage with pultrusion and pull-winding since each fibre is carefully guided into place.

What kind of of composite tubes do we manufacture?

carbon fibre tubes (CFRP tube)
carbon fibre rods
carbon fibre telescopic poles
glass fibre tubes (GFRP tube)
glass fibre telescopic poles
glass fibre rods

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Pultrusion

Pultrusion is a well-known process. As a continuous process, where a composite is formed by first aligning the reinforcements (rovings, tows, mats, veils, etc. ) which are then pulled into a resin bath, and then pulled into the heated die. Inside the die the resin is cured, creating the composite.

Pultrusion aligns fibres unidirectionally, perfect for high tension, high axial-strength applications.

Pull-winding

You won't find any other manufacturer using pull-winding at our scale the US. It's how we create stronger, lighter composite profiles using a continuous manufacturing technology. Our pull-winding manufacturing process also delivers consistent quality, and unique aesthetics.

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How does carbon fibre tube manufacturing with pull-winding work?

Pull-winding is very similar to pultrusion, with the main difference of adding cross-wound reinforcements. This allows layup configurations with both unidirectional and cross-wound (off-axis) fibre alignments.

The cross-windings add additional hoop strength and deflection properties (transverse stiffness and strength). Additionally the cross-windings can be tailored to provide a customized cross-wound aesthetic unique to your composite tube.

To achieve your deflection and hoop stress requirements, we align reinforcing fibres both longitudinally and off-axis (to ± almost 90°). We can tailor winding angles, colors, and materials for a unique design.

Composite tube reinforcements and resins

We offer a wide range of reinforcements and resin systems for tubes. If you have special needs, please feel free to get in contact with us to discuss. Our global manufacturing experience means we have worked with many different materials over the years and in addition to glass fibre and carbon fibre tubes, can an also manufacture hybrid tubes.

Reap the benefits of hybrid composite tubes

Hybrid composite tubes are made of a combination of both glass and carbon fibres, allowing manufacturers to tailor mechanical properties for any given application without changing the specified dimensions of the tubes or poles by adjusting the ratio of glass fibre to carbon fibre in the structure.

Reinforcements

Resin systems

Layup configurations

Glass

Carbon

Aramid

Flax

Our hybrid technology combines different reinforcements into a composite solution.

Epoxy

Polyurethane

Polyester

Vinyl ester

Unidirectional

Cross-wind (0° to ±90° roving or tow)

Fabric (0° to ±90° woven)

Mat (chopped strand or continuous fiber)

Veil (nonwoen, provides smoth resin rich surface)

Carbon fibre rods and tubes in the UK

Looking for a carbon fibre tube manufacturer? Our team in Runcorn is happy to help you. Our UK facility is part of our global R&D and manufacturing network, so you benefit from the company's local and global expertise and experience.

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