Pizza Scoop

Carbon fibre pizza scoop for reducing weight and health and safety of lifting frozen dough.

Carbon fibre pizza scoop for reducing weight and health and safety of lifting frozen dough.

Carbon fibre tube - Ice Drill

Custom carbon fibre tube and fit out for Antarctica research with NIWA.

Custom carbon fibre tube and fitout for Antarctica research with NIWA.

Carbon fibre tube - Ice Drill

Custom carbon fibre tube and fitout for Antarctica research with NIWA.

Custom carbon fibre tube and fitout for Antarctica research with NIWA.

Midget Panels

Custom carbon fibre midget panels.

Custom carbon fibre midget panels.

Heli Spray Booms

Custom carbon fibre tubes made for helicopter spray boom arms for agriculture spraying.

CNC machined holes on our 5 Axis CNC router machine.

SpeedSpider Bodykit

Custom carbon fibre body kit for agriculture weeding robot called SpeedSpider.

The most intelligent weeding robot in the field.

Heli Spray Booms

Custom carbon fibre tubes for helicopter spray boom arms for agriculture spraying.

CNC machined holes on our 5 Axis CNC router machine.

SpeedSpider Bodykit

Custom carbon fibre body kit for agriculture weeding robot called SpeedSpider.

The most intelligent weeding robot in the field.

Lightshow Framing

Carbon fibre custom tube for the LightScaleII Rieger show.

Carbon fibre custom tube for the LightScaleII Rieger show.

Lightshow Framing

LightScaleII Rieger Show

Carbon fibre custom tube for the framework for the LightScaleII Rieger show.

Camera Booms

Carbon fibre telescopic round tube designed for camera booms.

Carbon fibre telescopic round tube designed for camera booms.

Waterproof Camera Case

Custom carbon fibre waterproof camera case.

Custom carbon fibre waterproof camera case.

Water Whirler

Fibre glass round tube water whirler displayed in Wellington.

Angus McGregor approached C-Tech from Canterbury University, a consulting engineer to the Len Lye Foundation. Len Lye (1901-1980) was a renowned New Zealand artist known for his kinetic sculptures. Angus sought our expertise in manufacturing a replacement for the iconic Wellington Water Whirler, a hollow glass fibre tube with strategically drilled holes along its length. This sculpture, installed at Lambton Quay in Wellington, uses water pressure to create dynamic swaying and spinning motions. The glass fibre tube construction is crucial for allowing significant oscillations during operation. Project Phases and Challenges Initial Testing and Laminate Development: The project started with the production of laminate samples for Angus to test, completed before Christmas 2023. These samples were critical for determining the final material specifications to meet the performance requirements. Manufacturing the Replacement Tube: In 2024, C-Tech undertook the challenge of producing a 10.5-meterlong composite tube in three segments. These segments were joined using internal spigots and reinforced with additional laminate for enhanced durability. The assembled tubes were then coated with a marine-grade metallic grey paint to match the original sculpture. Logistics and Installation: The final step involved shipping the 10.5-metre long tube to Lambton Quay for installation by the Wellington City Council. This phase required meticulous planning to ensure the safe transport and installation of the sculpture. “We are very happy with both the Water Whirler wands and really appreciate that C-Tech were able to take on this complex bespoke work for us. The wand is showing good clean motion and flex, and this is testament to a precise and consistent fabrication process. Sam at C-Tech has been great to deal with and we look forward to working with C-Tech again.”

Film Props

With a booming film industry in our own backyard C-Tech has been supplying a broad range of composite components for sets and props.

As carbon fibre is well suited for the requirements of being lightweight, stiff and easy to maneuver one common use is using carbon plate as the structural backbone of weapons. It is a lot easier shooting with a lightweight carbon sword than a real metal one - and with the talent of the prop builders you would never know what is inside!

High Performance Foil Project

This project involved 24 rudders, 24 elevator wings, and 12 Light Air Board (LAB) wing sets.

The LAB foils demanded tooling that was both highly accurate and repeatable. To achieve this, we built carbon fibre moulds, ensuring consistent thermal expansion rates, and designed with SailGP as single-sided moulds to maximise consolidation and produce the strongest possible parts. By producing multiple sets of tooling and running a clear production schedule, we were able to manufacture several sets of foils simultaneously, enabling delivery of a large number of parts within tight timeframes. ‍ Manufacturing the LAB wings began with precision-cut plies on our Eastman Plotter, with each ply carefully laid into the moulds. The outer skin and plank were cured in an autoclave, ensuring excellent consolidation, before bonding and curing pre-machined cores. To achieve precise internal geometry, one side of the core set was machined in the moulds prior to laminating and curing the outer skins. Parts were intentionally overbuilt and then machined down to the perfect hydro surface, with final detailing completed by hand. Elevators & Rudders The elevators and rudders were constructed using a centreline build method, allowing the project to progress efficiently without sacrificing precision. This approach builds the part from the middle outwards, requiring no dedicated tooling while maintaining accuracy through direct machining on our 5-axis CNC. Once the main structures were laid up, they were machined to the final hydro surface. Our skilled composite technicians then permanently bonded the halves together and perform the intricate detailing work to strengthen the joins and finish the foils, including steel/titanium glue-ups for final assembly using precisely machined jigs. ‍ Throughout the process, in-house non-destructive testing(NDT) was conducted at key stages, ensuring every component met the stringent quality standards required for high-performance racing foils.

Archery Stabilisers

C-Tech has made a number of stabilisers using high modulus carbon fibre for its unmatched stiffness to weight properties.

Archery stabiliser tubes need to be lightweight and stiff to increase inertia of the bow.

Film Props

With a booming film industry in our own backyard C-Tech has been supplying a broad range of composite components for sets and props.

As carbon fibre is well suited for the requirements of being lightweight, stiff and easy to maneuver one common use is using carbon plate as the structural backbone of weapons. It is a lot easier shooting with a lightweight carbon sword than a real metal one - and with the talent of the prop builders you would never know what is inside!

Kauri Table Legs

C-Tech has worked with Karin on a few projects building carbon fibre legs to support the slabs of Kauri so customers can have their ancient art pieces supported by materials that are at the cutting edge of technology.

Karin Venator artist and furniture maker has been creating luxury furniture from ancient Swamp Kauri and other exotics for over 10 years. Made in New Zealand, the birthplace of these impressive trees that are tens of thousands of years old.

Kite Foils

C-Tech has been in involved in a number of kite foil projects from prototyping to OEM production. One project involved the complete design, manufacture of tooling and production of a prototype glider system.

Tooling was machined in-house using epoxy tooling board. We then used plotter-cut high modulus carbon fibre and a one-hit closed mould production method to create a super thin section foil with maximum stiffness. Other kite projects have been building high the OEM mast sections for one of the kite foil brands.

Carbon Fibre Table Tops

We manufactured carbon fibre table tops for curing tables ordered by the NZ Defence Force for the Airforce Composites Division.

The requirement was for table tops that are light, flat, perfect surface finish and able to withstand 140 degree Celsius curing, without any distortions!!There was no room for error with a diminutive 0.25mm allowable tolerance in the flatness of the table top.

Pit Boom

We were approached by Triple 8 race engineering to come up with some ideas to upgrade their teams existing service delivery system.

The existing system was a well-functioning gantry system, but was made from stainless steel and aluminium. C-Tech worked with the engineers to redesign the system using carbon fibre tubes.The main post is supported by six large nitrogen bottles used for tyre inflation and is also bolted to the wall of the pit area at each venue. The horizontal beam is supported via a carbon tie-rod hung from the back end of the boom then down the main post. The end result is a composite gantry system that compliments the professional team.

Shaw 7

Daisy Duke was tucked away for three years during her build, constructed of a honey comb core and carbon fibre skin.

Owner, Matt Gottard was familiar with the Shaw designs having previously owned a Shaw 650, and was eager to get his new Shaw 7, a bigger and faster version out on the race course (which was early 2019) just in time for their first event.Being the second boat out of the mould they were excited for a long campaign dueling Angry Dragon and decided they needed C-Tech carbon fibre spars to help give them an initial leg up.