Has anyone tried this tubing

Thought I would Google 54mm carbon fiber tubing today and got a new hit.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...286607323.html?spm=a2700.7724857.29.55.WcyubC

I am not sure what the product is, as the materials listed says nothing about carbon fiber the but the description does. Also I can't see anything about the dimensions to verify if it is 54mm I/D with a 56mm O/D or if they are stating that the tube is within a 2mm tolerance. Still maybe someone wants to look into it and or roll the dice, could be an inexpensive supply of decent tubing or junk. Cool colour options though, the silver would be a different choice!

just found this one as well https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/High-strength-Matte-3k-Twill-Carbon_1731429618.html

Never used alibaba to purchase anything. Need to figure that out. Most of the items were large quantities.

This looks like a nice item. Tough to figure out the price, but an email address is there at least. I'd love to know if it was tried, or someone does try it.

cavecentral said:

Never used alibaba to purchase anything. Need to figure that out. Most of the items were large quantities.

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I have only ever used them once, for a 90 degree right angled USB B Male to Female Panel Mount extension cable that I needed as an interface for the driver board on an open frame robot. I believe they are located in China and I think the CEO had a success story interview on 60 min a while back. The transaction was easy, the product arrived in just over a week direct from China, and worked as advertised.

I missed the quantities on the second link but I have seen that with them in the past, on the iPhone digitizer, where some of the products are really meant for high production, not end user one-offs. Still they do have some small yields available.

If someone orders, please update us on your success. I have though of trying, but the website is cumbersome.

Word of caution: I hope they've improved their security. My one purchase on alibaba earned me a few hack attempts on my account shortly thereafter.

I purchased the LED pixel strips for my Light Show rocket from Alibaba and had no problems. (Prices from them were about a third of what the hobby web sites were charging.)

I've done a lot of business on Alibaba for building my CNC lasers. No issues thus far, just pay attention to the shipping times and stick to things that are obviously being sold by someone sitting on a lot of stock since they would rather throw free replacements at you than get their reputation dinged in a dispute.

smapdiage9 said:

for building my CNC lasers.

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Please, do continue

smapdiage9 said:

for building my CNC lasers.

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Yes please do continue.......

We've had a few threads on lasers here, I use my little K40 for rocket stuff constantly:

[video=youtube;69wy3wmonN0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69wy3wmonN0[/video]

I also built a large format 40 watt CO2 laser using all parts from Openbuilds and Aliexpress but it's been down for a while since I just haven't needed it.

smapdiage9 said:

for building my CNC lasers

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I hope this involves sharks...

What is the thickest material you can burn through? And are they strong enough to etch steel?

Thank you

Brian

A 40W laser is good for cutting things like 1/4" acrylic, 1/4" solid woods, 3mm-5mm plywood (more with multiple cuts, but not much), etc. You can etch metals with a coating like cermark, or burn into an anodized/surface coating, or etch on specially prepared metal surfaces but you're not doing much in the way of heavy metals with only 40 watts.

I thought I saw a 1000 meter minimum purchase quantity
on that carbon tubing,, no ??

I've dealt with Alibaba,, no probs...

Teddy

That'll make a good rocket for a 10,000 grain motor, and if you put the altimeter in the nose you get all that free altitude!

onebadhawk said:

I thought I saw a 1000 meter minimum purchase quantity
on that carbon tubing,, no ??

I've dealt with Alibaba,, no probs...

Teddy

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1000 millimeter = 1 meter tolerance +/- .1 mm. 30$ for a meter cant beat it. Please someone try it Id buy a couple meters if it is good fit

g zilla said:

1000 millimeter = 1 meter tolerance +/- .1 mm. 30$ for a meter cant beat it. Please someone try it Id buy a couple meters if it is good fit

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Hey,,, how do you do the -- ddduuuhhhhh thing,,, lol...

Teddy

Be aware that your motor's OD is 54mm and this tubing has an ID of 54mm. Odds are the fit will not be great compared to the tubing you're accustomed to that is made specifically for 54mm motors. My assumption is that the motors won't even fit.

Somebody should request a sample as I thought that was an option.

markkoelsch said:

Somebody should request a sample as I thought that was an option.

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For $30.00 I just requested a sample. If it's not appropriate then worst case I am out $30.00 but I could always turn it into something else. Having said that, requesting the sample is just that, a request, which is at their discretion. So if they approve the request then once I get the product in hand I will share my observations and opinion.

I've bought all kinds of stuff from alibaba, aliexpress, and banggood. Often if they have a min qty limit they will sell you one if you ask. some things I've purchased that come to mind...
T3/T4 turbo
"GReddy" blow off valve
carbon road bike frame/fork
"FSA" carbon seatpost
LED lights
various quad copters
lipo batteries
1mm carbon plate

needless to say I'm interested to see how the 54mm carbon tubing goes

mpitfield said:

For $30.00 I just requested a sample. If it's not appropriate then worst case I am out $30.00 but I could always turn it into something else. Having said that, requesting the sample is just that, a request, which is at their discretion. So if they approve the request then once I get the product in hand I will share my observations and opinion.

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I couldn't find out how much the shipping would cost. Does one just do the request and they send details later? Kurt

I ordered 3 sample parts and would be more than happy to order more if these are up to snuff, Material and dimension wise.

AlfaBrewer said:

I hope this involves sharks...

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Sorry, the sharks are a protected species now, how about sea bass, yeah, ill tempered sea bass...

Adrian

smapdiage9 said:

We've had a few threads on lasers here,

I also built a large format 40 watt CO2 laser using all parts from Openbuilds and Aliexpress but it's been down for a while since I just haven't needed it.

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What is the highest powered laser that you can mount on a machine like this? Can you get a 100watt? How well does the 40 watt cut through the fiber glass we use for fins and body tubes?

Thank you

Brian

You can get 100+ watt standard CO2 tubes, they're just longer and need larger power supplies and supporting equipment. And more money! And lasers get much much bigger beyond that as you get into industrial use and other technologies.
"40watt" (usually actually 32w) is a sweet spot as a desktop sized machine for a few reasons: physical tube size is short enough, manufactured in ridiculous volume overseas, and several companies produce and sell the exact same generic model of chassis and electronics to house it.

Nobody lasers fiberglass or other composites because vaporizing toxic compounds in the epoxy is dangerous. For cardboard tubes and wood fins/CRs they work great, for composites you need to use a cutting tool.

ksaves2 said:

I couldn't find out how much the shipping would cost. Does one just do the request and they send details later? Kurt

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Hi Kurt,

I am not sure to be honest. I requested a sample so we will see what comes back. My take on the $30.00 is that is just just a token amount to keep away anyone who is not serious.

By the looks of it, there should be at least one of us ending up with a sample.

Thats cool and all but what color did you order?

DizWolf said:

Thats cool and all but what color did you order?

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That is a good point. I really have my :cyclops: on that shiny silver...oh the shiny silver.:eyepop:

They say it can be used for "flying saucers" so it must be good stuff!

The silver stuff looks like Texalium, an aluminized fiberglass composite.