Composite Tubes

Are you looking for a lighter, stronger, or stiffer pultruded carbon fiber tube or maybe a glass fiber 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 fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP tubes). These highly automated processes ensure consistent fiber density and product quality. Additionally, since they are continuous processes, they are perfect for high volume productions of composite tubes.

Interested to learn more? 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 fiber and carbon fiber 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 fiber 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 carbon fiber pipes, carbon fiber rods or fiberglass 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 Marc from our US 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 fiber density and fiber placement are easy to manage with pultrusion and pull-winding since each fiber is carefully guided into place.

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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 fibers 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 fiber 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) fiber 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 fibers both longitudinally and off-axis (to ± almost 90°). We can tailor winding angles, colors, and materials for a unique design.

Exel has developed several decades of pull-winding experience in Europe and brought its technology and experience to the United States.

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 fiber and carbon fiber 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 fibers, 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 fiber to carbon fiber 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 fiber rods and tubes made in the USA

Looking for carbon fiber rod and tube manufacturing in the US? Our Erlanger, Kentucky factory provides both R&D and manufacturing capabilities. Our local team is part of Exel's global R&D and manufacturing network, so you benefit from the company's global expertise and experience.

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