We’ve had a crazy few weeks, and it already seems as though 2012 is busier than last year.  We’re settled into our new space at 2629 Henson Road in Mount Vernon and we have experienced an increase in productivity and precision far beyond our imaginations.  The new saw room is pristine and really allows us to make accurate cuts to our carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes.  Having our total stock in one big room makes it easy to keep track of it, and we are able to better anticipate inventory needs, which, of course, means that we can fulfill orders faster and more completely.

Well, the move wasn’t the only trick we had up our sleeve for bringing you better service in the new year; oh no, we’re about to launch a new website that will allow you to access information and specifications about our American-made carbon and fiberglass!  We’re calling it our “industrial website” because it’s goal is to provide information for engineers and tinkerers to allow them to better build their products with Goodwinds’ rods and tubes.  You can look for more information about this new website here as soon as we are live – within the next two weeks!  Of course, you’ll always be able to access our large line of carbon, fiberglass, line, connectors, tapes, fabric, and other accessories at www.Goodwinds.com.

In short, we think 2012 is going to be a great year!  Drop us a line to find out how we can help you with your composite rod and tube needs.

It is possible to still purchase inexpensive Chinese carbon rods and tubes.  Chinese carbon is made with fewer carbon fibers and more vinylester or epoxy (the glue that binds the carbon fibers together) than American carbon, and is less strong as a consequence.

Because Goodwinds supplies many industrial companies with carbon, we have chosen to continue to supply high-quality, American-made carbon rods and tubes to our customers.  We understand that quality is important to our customers, whether you are a hobbyist or one of our industrial partners or an engineer.  You will see prices rise at Goodwinds, but hopefully not very much as we work with these new price fluctuations.  And we will always offer quantity and wholesale discounts.  Please contact us with any questions.

The first days of the show are specifically for retailers, and we would love to show you how we can save you money and offer you better carbon that your customers want!  We have an easy online-ordering process with deep discounts – who doesn’t want to save money in this economy?  Also, we are willing to ship custom lengths of any of our rods and tubes.  This means that you get what you want without any waste.  Finally, no order is too small to qualify for the wholesale discount.  That’s right, you can order  $50 or $5,000 worth of carbon and fiberglass (at custom lengths, if you like!) and you’ll get the same great prices and the same great service.  We want to be your composites supplier.

The second part of the show is for the public.  And boy, do we love meeting the public!  We’ll have lots of neat wrapped carbon tail booms and sailboat masts, microcarbon rods, and carbon tubes for sale so that you can get started on your project right away!  We’ll also have lots of samples to touch and explore – the possibilities are endless, and we would love to hear what great ideas you have for working with Goodwinds’ composites!

Come visit us at booth #1913 in the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois October 21-24!  We’ll see you there!

Goodwinds’ employee Paul de Bakker will be competing in a number of events starting on Tuesday, and he will be joined by Leland and Derrick at the FlyMart on Thursday and Friday.  Come take a look at our carbon rods and tubes and take advantage of some great deals on wrapped carbon tubes!  If you don’t already have a store account, talk with the boys about how to get one.  We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Getting straight pultruded carbon tubes is no mean feat.  Sure, every 48-inch length of carbon fiber tube might look straight to the naked eye, but might in fact deviate more than five hundredths of an inch over those 4 feet.  That minute deviation can be critical do the structure of a design.

We have a couple of different ways of testing our carbon tubes for straightness.  First, we can roll them along a straight, flat surface, like a slab of granite, and check for roll variance.  Though this is low-tech, it is quite effective.

Another method is to use our lazer micrometer to measure the deviation of the tube from the center.  The machine slowly spins the tube as a lazer passes over the center.  A computer interface generates a graph and, with a lot of math, a precise measurement of the deviation.  In this manner, we sort our tubes for straightness, setting aside those that deviate less than two hundredths of an inch over 48 inches in length.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are inherent difficulties in created straight pultruded tubes.  During the manufacturing process, the carbon fibers are oriented and drawn through a die with a binding agent (usually epoxy or vinyl ester resin).  They are then pulled to a second and a third die, each time getting closer to the goal diameter.  As this is done over several feet, gravity and other forces can pull the carbon fibers to one side or another of the tube, causing it to lose a small degree of straightness.

Check out that braid!:

Paul is originally from Holland, and he has lived in the United States for the past couple of years with his wife, Delita.  During that time, he formed his own boutique kite company, Focus Kite Designs, with a longtime friend and fellow kiteflyer, Hunter Brown.  The two design and build upscale, high-quality kites for shipment all over the world.

We at Goodwinds lured Paul and Delita away from North Carolina with the promise of hiking Washington’s beautiful mountains, kiteboarding in the fantastic Puget Sound, and participating in kite competitions, such as the Washington State International Kite Festival, in the Pacific Northwest.  Paul is quite the competitor, routinely placing in both indoor and outdoor kite competitions:

 We are so excited to have Paul with us at Goodwinds.com.  He’s young, he’s fun, and he’s extremely knowledgeable.  He will be working with a variety of industries, including hobby and RC stores, to meet their carbon and fiberglass needs.  Drop us a line and say hello to Paul today!