An Overview of Dragonplate's Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors

Dragonplate provides several systems for connecting carbon fiber tubes to assemble rigid lightweight carbon fiber tube structures. Our pre-drilled flat gussets allow easy assembly of square and rectangular carbon fiber tubes and connection to carbon fiber plates and other surfaces. Our patented Molded Connectors for 0.5 in Pultruded Carbon Fiber Tubes allow quick assembly of strong lightweight trusses from pultruded carbon fiber tubes that can be assembled and disassembled with our threaded connectors or quick connectors.

The most versatile and easy-to-use system, however, is our patented modular carbon fiber Tube connector. Using DragonPlate's modular carbon fiber tube connectors, you can easily turn our carbon fiber tubes into customizable, complex rigid structures. They are specifically designed to create robust carbon fiber structures.

What Are Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors?

Modular carbon fiber tube connectors provide multiple ways for carbon fiber tubes to be connected. The system includes a variety of connectors that can be combined to create a wide selection of joints with a wide range of connection angles.

Joint Types from Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors

Each tube connector serves a different purpose. Depending on your design, tubes will connect at different angles. Our modular connectors will allow you to build movable joints.

End Connections: A basic way to connect to the end of a carbon fiber tube.
In-Line Connections: Enables two tubes to connect in-line
Angle Connections: Enables the connection of tubes at any angle.
Flat Surface Connections: Enables a tube to connect to a flat surface.
Multi-Connections: Enables a tube to connect multiple tubes at a single point.
Star/Hub Connections: This connector allows up to six tubes to connect at one joint in a star-like formation.
Specialized Connections: This joint enables tubes to connect to joints in complex ways that may have movable parts.
Virtually Unlimited Connections: this system combines multiple joint options to create unlimited structures.

What Do Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors Do?

DragonPlate's Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors make building carbon fiber tube structures, trusses, and space frames easy. Using connectors, designers can avoid complex fixturing, screwing, or drilling tubes and create unique, solid structures for any industry. The connectors are bonded to the tube for maximum strength and utilize a minimum of bolts or pins for connection, which makes joints easy to assemble or disassemble.

DragonPlate's Modular CarbonTube connectors provide a cost-effective method for manufacturing various shapes and sizes of trusses and structures. Because of their lightweight, carbon fiber tubes with connectors are easy to handle and can be designed for quick assembly without tools even out in the field. In addition, structures can handle daily wear and tear in various weather.

How Can Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connectors Be Used?

Industrial Automation and Robotics: Design a unique robotics tool with square and rectangular tubes joined together by flat gussets. Pultruded round tubes easily connect using our patented molded connector system to create trusses. Our patented Modular Tube Connector system provides an efficient and extremely robust method for making easily disassembled carbon fiber tube structures from our braided and roll-wrapped round tubes.

Build UAV and Drones: Our patented Connector Systems for Pultrusions and our Modular Tube Connectors for braided and rolled tubes provide an ideal method for making frame parts, especially for multi-rotor drones. An assortment of structural epoxy adhesives and fasteners are also available for assembly.

Carbon Fiber for Marine and Aircraft Interiors: For an individual, corporate, or government client, carbon fiber composites can benefit your designs in weight reduction and high-tech distinctiveness.

Aerospace Tooling and Manufacturing Fixtures: The high stiffness and light weight of Dragonplate structures encourage the use of composite materials for aerospace tooling.

Composite Radar Structures: Dragonplate structures have seen successful applications in multiple lightweight radar structures. Fiberglass and Kevlar are almost completely transparent to radar signals, making them ideal for radomes.

Tactical Gear: DragonPlate's Modular Carbon Fiber Tactical gear offers carbon fiber composite parts for specific advantages over traditional metal parts. Carbon fiber is used for support structures, utilizing carbon fiber tubes, plates, angles, and other structural sections.

Carbon Fiber Luxury Items and Corporate Gifts: Carbon fiber offers your project a high-tech, classy look and feel. Dragonplate works closely with companies in the custom awards and corporate gifts industry to help make these products stand out.

Carbon Fiber for Trade Shows and Interior Design: Carbon fiber is increasingly used in the construction of trade show booths and within the more general scope of interior design, both for weight savings and the high-tech look with carbon fiber composites.

Carbon Fiber Furniture: Off-the-shelf and custom carbon fiber sheets, angles, tube structures, connectors, and other materials appeal to furniture manufacturers interested in incorporating composites into their pieces.

FAQs:

How do you join carbon fiber?

It is best to join carbon fiber with a high surface area adhesive bond. Epoxy assembly adhesives work very well for this (view our adhesives guide here). Bolting together carbon fiber components, especially tubes, is not recommended because drilling the bolt hole cuts the fibers and weakens the part.

How do you bond carbon fiber to aluminum?

Consider using a high peel strength epoxy like 3M 2216. Glue line thickness typically should be 0.010 to 0.020. The parts need to be properly cleaned and prepared. View a tutorial on how to bond carbon fiber here.

How do you join two pieces of carbon fiber together?

If you want a detachable or repositionable joint, it is best to bond to an aluminum part that can be bolted or screwed.

What is the best glue for carbon fiber?

Epoxy assembly adhesive is typically used.

How do you fasten carbon fiber panels?

There are many methods one can use to fasten carbon fiber panels. The simplest can be to bond them in place with epoxy. You can also bond metal fasteners to the plate that can be used to screw the panel in place.

How is carbon Fiber bonded?

To bond carbon fiber with epoxy, the parts need to be fitted together. Then the joint is cleaned and prepped. Epoxy should be applied to both surfaces, then the part clamped together. Finally, excess epoxy is removed.

How do you connect two carbon fiber tubes?

The most practical way to connect carbon fiber tubes is the Modular Carbon Fiber Tube Connector, which makes a very strong joint that can easily be disconnected and reconnected.

How do you bond carbon fiber together?

Although many adhesives can be used to bond carbon fiber, the most common and easy to use is epoxy assembly adhesive.

Can you thread carbon fiber tubes?

You cannot thread a carbon fiber tube without damaging it. You can, however, bond a tube to a threaded aluminum part using our carbon fiber modular connectors.