Epsilon hits 100,000 large-diameter composite tube production using K1 process

Source (All Images) | Epsilon Composite

Epsilon Composite (Gaillan en Médoc, France) has surpassed the production of 100,000 carbon fiber tubes using its patented K1 technology. The process was developed to industrially produce large composite tubes that maintain high longitudinal stiffness, optimized weight and precise geometric characteristics. This milestone, says Epsilon, marks an important step within its business activities, comprising a complementary blend of core pultrusion expertise and filament winding.

K1 combines filament winding with the integration of pultruded longitudinal reinforcements. As such, Epsilon is able to produce carbon fiber tubes — up to 800 millimeters in diameter and up to 12 meters in length — featuring high geometric precision and dimensional stability that can be subjected to significant bending or transverse loads (longitudinal modulus values reach up to 400 gigapascals).

Featured Content

Troubleshooting thermoplastic composite stamp forming READ MORE

Episode 55: Dave Noblin, Greene Tweed READ MORE

Report: Composites and Carbon Fiber Use in Hydrogen Storage READ MORE

Beyond K1, Epsilon Composite offers industrial filament winding capabilities that meet a wide range of technical requirements. The company can support projects requiring very stiff tubes using ultra-high modulus (UHM) carbon fibers, as well as thinner, more specialized or more conventional architectures when the application does not require the integration of pultruded longitudinal reinforcement.

Epsilon’s expertise extends far beyond the manufacturing process itself. It applies to the entire development chain, from initial analysis of customer requirements through to the delivery of finished components ready for integration. The company’s engineering department supports customers in defining composite architectures, selecting fibers and resins, optimizing ply orientations, performing mechanical sizing, conducting numerical simulations, developing prototypes, carrying out qualification testing and managing serial production industrialization.

Carbon fiber tube diameter capabilities.

This approach is necessary to tailor filament-wound structures to the specific constraints of each application, including stiffness, weight, dynamic performance, geometric precision, operating environment and qualification requirements.

The company also performs all critical postprocessing operations required after composite tube manufacturing, including precision machining, grinding with dynamic runout tolerances as low as 5 microns, dynamic balancing, assembly and surface treatments according to application requirements.

The composite tubes produces are particularly well suited for use in the production of technical rollers (film and flexible material conversion, printing, coating and processing industries) and the the yachting sector.

“Epsilon Composite has been recognized for nearly 40 years as a carbon pultrusion specialist, which remains our core business. However, this expertise has expanded to include another composites manufacturing process, filament winding, through a diversification strategy launched in the early 2000s around large-diameter carbon tubes,” says Alexandre Lull, deputy CEO of Epsilon Composite. “Beyond the symbolic milestone of 100,000 K1 tubes, this figure demonstrates industrial maturity and our ability to transform an advanced composite architecture into a fully controlled serial production process, supported by nondestructive testing, finishing operations, repeatability and the quality standards expected by demanding industrial customers.”