ACP's carbon rods are made from continuous carbon fibers in an vinyl-ester (epoxy available upon request) base. They are extremely stiff and lightweight and have a very low coefficient of expansion, making them ideal for use as push rods. The .050 diameter rod can be used to reinforce wing leading edges and spars, or as a fuselage stringer stiffener. Either the .070 or the 1/8" rod can be used as a push rod by inserting it into a Sullivan tube. The threaded brass couplers can be bonded to the rods with a thick CA. Carbon fiber ribbon can be wrapped over the joint and saturated with CA for additional reinforcement. The 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" rods are being used for wing joiner rods on glider and slope soarer aircraft. The 5/16" high modulus rods are manufactured with 50 million modulus carbon fiber and offer the highest stiffness to weight ratio of the rods available. The high modulus rods are brittle and care should be taken not to induce point loading where the rod slips into the tube. If a metallic joiner tube is used, the ends should be deburred and flared outward slightly.
To increase wear resistance of the carbon rods, they can be jacketed with a thin wall metallic tube. The rods can be bonded to the tube by coating them with vinyl-ester, inserting them into the tube and allowing the assembly to cure.
The hollow carbon rods are of heavy wall construction, consisting of unidirectional carbon fiber in an vinyl-ester base. The .230 in conjunction with the .234 glass tube is used to make removable stab tube assemblies. The 5/16" can be used as a wing joiner rod for sponson joiner rods on boats.
The rectangular cross section of the rod allows it to be installed in the wing vertically, offering tremendous resistance to wing bend- ing loads. It can be used for glider and pattern plane plug-in wing blade spars. Installation should be accomplished without drilling a hole through the rod. Joints can be made by wrapping the assembly with carbon ribbon and bonding with CA.