Unlike metals, which have similar properties in all directions (isotropic), the properties of composites vary, dependent on the orientation of the fibers in each layer.
Roll wrapped tubing is manufactured using multiple layers of pre-preg carbon fiber (and, if noted, other) materials. In general, each layer is about 0.006 inches thick, which means that a tube with a wall thickness of 0.060 inches will typically be composed of 9-10 individual layers of carbon fiber. The number of layers(plys) allows us to vary the orientation of the fibers throughout the thickness, creating a high-performance, engineered product.
- Fabric Tubing has an outer ply of woven material (denoted below as 0°/90°). Typically, this outer ply is a 2x2 twill weave (diagonal appearance seen below), but it can also be a plain weave (small checkerboard), spread tow (large format plain weave/checkerboard), or other off-axis weave such as a braid. The core of these tubes is almost always comprised of multi-directional "uni" plies.
- Uni Tubing is comprised of multi-directional "uni" plies just like the fabric tubes; however, instead of the outer ply being fabric, it is unidirectional and most typically oriented at 0° (fibers running the length).
- To learn about our Roll Wrapping Process click here.
*This diagram illustrates a "generic" layup. The SKU being viewed may not have the layup schedule shown in this diagram. To view this SKU's particular layup, please check out the "LAYUP ORIENTATION" tab.