INDUSTRIAL
We help create powerful efficiencies transitioning your components from metals to composites. Moving a lot of product takes energy. Save on energy and increase speed by cutting down on weight, without compromising strength or precision. Plus you gain customizable properties for specific applications.
TYPES OF HARDWARE
Specialty tubing
Non-cylindrical tubes
Plates
Panels
Telescoping tubing
Complex shapes
APPLICATIONS
Metrology
Converting
Robotics
Factory automation
Agriculture
Construction
And more…
WHY COMPOSITES?
Motion Control & Stability
Lighter and Faster
Strength
Low CTE
Span Long Distances
Why Rock West?
- Our team has extensive experience at converting metals to composites
- We can find that financial sweet spot to make material conversion worthwhile
- We offer off-the-shelf products to speed process and drive down cost
- ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified
CASE STUDIES
Hexagon Metrology – Romer Arm
Our customer required tight structural stability during temperature fluctuations for a metrology application. A stiffer and lighter support structure would also be beneficial for higher precision and portability. Our high modulus carbon fiber/epoxy composite tubing bonded to machined metallic joints created an ultra-lightweight articulating arm capable of 3 dimensional measurements accurate to within 3 microns or less.
Industrial Rollers for Industrial Customer
This customer in the converting industry needed cylindrical shafts to exhibit less thermal expansion/contraction during temperature fluctuations. Stiffer and lighter support structures would also be beneficial for higher precision and portability. We provided a composite solution, integrating the best properties of FRP composites in conjunction with metallic features to meet program requirements.
Custom Tubing for Metal Detector Company
Our customer needed custom, non-cylindrical, ergonomic telescoping tubing with perfect cosmetics. Precision machining was also needed for locking mechanisms and attachments. We used a clamshell mold and heat expandable mandrel to create a tight-tolerance tube for precision fitment. We then machined the tubes and added a specialty coating for durability.
Custom Bonded Assemblies With Carbon Fiber Tubing
Rock West assisted in design for manufacturing (DFM) for the machined metal parts and was able to source metal parts for our customer to reduce their supply chain to a single point for delivered assemblies. We bonded our machined and painted carbon tubes with sourced metal parts on precision machined aluminum fixtures for precise alignment and repeatability.
Custom Torsion Tubes For Ice Drilling Equipment
Our customer’s torsion tubes for ice drilling equipment were dull-colored and often lost in the snow. The new tubing had to be highly visible without interrupting its functionality. Rock West was able to create custom filament wound tubes with a bright orange pigment in the epoxy resin resulting in neon-orange coloring for the tube.
