Tubing is one of the most popular items on our product list. We sell tubing to airplane manufacturers, industrial operations, garage tinkerers and everyone in between. What you may not know is that we offer an extensive inventory of tubing products made with a wide variety of materials.
This post will familiarize you with some of the materials used to make the tubing we sell. Knowing more about these materials will make it easier for you to decide which tube is right for your purposes. As always, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our products or the materials used to make them.
CARBON FIBER
Carbon fiber is the one composite material everyone seems to want. Carbon fiber fabric and tow is made of carbon atoms aligned in parallel to create a 'thread'. The threads are then bundled together to form tow, which can be used as-is or transformed into fabric through a weaving technique.
As a material for tubing, carbon fiber offers the highest strength-to-weight ratio along with the best rigidity. Additionally, multiple grades of carbon fiber are available depending on your performance and price requirements. This makes carbon fiber a good option for tubing that needs to fulfill a variety of roles.
FIBERGLASS
Long before carbon fiber took center stage in the world of composites, fiberglass was being used to manufacture everything from tubing to insulation. For our purposes we will consider fiberglass as a composite that utilizes glass fibers as reinforcement. The glass fibers are aligned and spread flat or woven into a fabric before being combined with resin to create a composite.
Fiberglass Tubing
Fiberglass is sometimes chosen over carbon fiber because it is less expensive and more flexible. In fact, fiberglass can be molded into shapes that are not practical for other composites. Although it doesn't offer the same strength-to-weight ratio as carbon fiber, fiberglass still offers a higher ratio than metals like aluminum and steel.
