20mm (17mm) Carbon Fibre Square Box Section 

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.

The Box Section surface finish is the natural finish achieved during the pultrusion process which is smooth and has a low level of sheen. The Box Section does not, at this time, come in any other finish.

Generally, the pultrusions are used ‘as-is’ and don’t require painting. If you really do need/want to paint the pultrusions then 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.

No these pultrusions are not magnetic.

No, this pultrusion is manufactured from standard modulus fibres.

We do not currently offer a custom cutting service for our tubes and pultrusions. However, they are able to be cut DIY relatively easily as you can see from our tutorial video: How to Cut Carbon Fibre Sheet, Tube and Parts

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.

In simple terms these carbon rods would work with linear bearings in that fashion. The only concern is long term durability as the carbon surface is not quite as hard as aluminium and thus would likely wear quicker in many circumstances. For low usage or low load situations this may well not be a limiting factor.

The HDT of these pultrusions is 80 °C.

Yes absolutely! If done carefully, a hacksaw can be used to cut a pultrusion. Take a look at this VIDEO where we show various methods of cutting carbon fibre.

I’m afraid we do not supply any connectors for any of the carbon tube or box sections that we supply; you may find something suitable from other industries (architectural, marquee/tent suppliers, etc.) or be able to have something suitable 3D printed as the availability of 3D printing businesses increases and costs associated with doing so are coming down.

In terms of adhesive, the VM100B Methacrylate Adhesive would be the best option for a Carbon-Carbon bond as its etching property would really bite into the surfaces forming an incredibly strong bond. However, owing to the forces exerted on a Bimini, I would suggest further reinforcing the join by wrapping carbon fibre tape or ribbon around the joins applied with a suitable epoxy resin to give an incredibly strong union.

The Radius is approximately 3mm.