Carbon Fibre Battens

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High Performance Foil Project

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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.
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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.
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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.
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Jamco Imaging System

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Healthcare Technology

Imaging systems provide critical data for healthcare workers and researchers using advanced scanning technologies.

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Solution

Precision composite construction ensures dimensional stability and vibration isolation essential for accurate medical imaging applications.

Camera Booms and Telescopic Poles

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Film Industry Demands

Professional film equipment requires support systems that are lightweight stiff portable reliable and capable of withstanding camera equipment loads.

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Solution

Carbon fibre construction provides optimal performance characteristics whilst enabling easy maneuvering quick setup and reliable operation.

Tender Lifting Beam

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Proof Loading

Lifting beam must demonstrate exceptional strength and minimal deflection under substantial operational loads.

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Solution

The beam was proof loaded at 6250kg with just 20mm of deflection across the 2540mm span demonstrating exceptional structural performance.

Shaw 7

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Racing Advantage

As the second Shaw 7 out of the mould the team needed advanced components to gain competitive advantage for their racing campaign.

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Solution

C-Tech carbon fibre spars provide the performance edge needed for competitive racing in the bigger faster Shaw 7 platform.

Production Line Processing Components

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Metal Replacement

Traditional metal components add unnecessary weight to industrial automation systems reducing efficiency and increasing energy consumption.

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Solution

Advanced composite construction provides equivalent strength at a fraction of the weight saving time and energy in industrial operations.

Midget Panels

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Minimal Weight

Due to their minimal weight window of 156kg total teams are always looking for developments to lighten the race car weight for performance advantage.

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Solution

Designed and manufactured superior carbon fibre panels saving 7.2kg over original aluminium panels. Weight savings equivalent to additional 2.4hp on a 28hp motor massive performance gains.

Wireline Logging Equipment

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High Temperature and Abrasion Resistance

Petromac required a non-metal guide component that could retain structural integrity and low friction coefficient under high temperatures pressures and abrasion through underground wells.

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Solution

C-Tech worked with Petromac on R and D of specialised high temperature prepreg materials. The solution has been integrated and bonded with high temperature epoxy glue.

Canting Keel

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Manufacturing Tolerances

The deliverable for this project was a high performance composite keel built to fine tolerances with some cost limitations. Quality and process cannot be compromised on a keel.

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Solution

C-Tech decided to use a multi-step machining process to control shape and tolerances throughout the build. The keel was machined in 5 steps to achieve tolerance within a fraction of a mm.

Sail GP

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Collaborative Performance

Working alongside Doyle Sails to supply precision sail battens for F50 jib systems in professional racing environment.

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Solution

Advanced composite construction optimised for extreme sailing conditions and speeds exceeding 50 knots in professional competition.

QFX Lake Racer

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Design Weight vs Safety

A no-compromise brief from our customer and engineer Thomas Jundt who wanted to work to a safety factor of less than 1 as proof that everything is over-engineered in todays world on a foiling boat.

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Solution

Close work with designers engineers and sail makers to understand and study all loads on the boat and optimise the sections. C-Tech used FEA modelling on components and historical rig data to work within known limits.

Gecko Robotics

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Inspection Efficiency

Robotic inspections collect 1000 times more information at 10 times the speed than previous inspection methods.

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Solution

Carbon fibre tubes provide the durability and precision needed to support advanced sensor systems whilst maintaining structural integrity.

Robot Fairings

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Manufacturing Process

The project had some key requirements light weathertight A+ aesthetic and structurally sound. Fibreglass and plastic were both either too heavy or not stiff enough.

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Solution

C-Tech chose to build the part using a female moulded autoclave process to achieve the best possible laminate consolidation and surface finish. We integrated coloured kevlar fibre to meet aesthetic requirements.

LightScale

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Precision Requirements

Measurement systems demand components with exceptional dimensional stability and precision tolerances.

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Solution

Advanced composite materials and precision manufacturing processes ensuring consistent accuracy and reliability.

Large Diameter Telescopic Tubes for Defence-Grade Communications

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Modular Architecture

Systems require 6 to 8 retractable segments with tight tolerances for smooth telescoping and locking whilst minimising mechanical play.

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Solution

Precision-engineered carbon fibre construction with tight tolerances ensuring smooth operation and payload alignment at full extension.
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Heliguy UAVs

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Weight and Flight Time

Keeping weight to an absolute minimum was a high priority to increase all important flight time. In an industry where seconds can capture that all important shot.

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Solution

Rectangular motor arms were therefore chosen by C-Tech to maximise stiffness gains in multiple orientations whilst also optimising strength to weight ratios.

Ice Drill

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Extreme Environment

Operating in Antarcticas relentless bitter cold environment whilst maintaining structural integrity during the fierce drilling process.

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Solution

Materials selected specifically for extreme low-temperature performance whilst maintaining the strength needed for drilling operations.
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Icaro 2000

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Optimal Strength-to-Weight

Hang gliding demands the absolute best strength-to-weight ratio for competitive performance and safety.

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Solution

Carbon fibre tubes provide superior performance compared to any other composite option making them the optimum solution for aero projects.

America’s Cup

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Accuracy
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The specifications America's Cup teams define in their FEM models and computer simulations of the sails is a lot more accurate than it used to be, which puts a lot more demand on us.
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Solution
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We have kept our design capabilities and software up-to-date and ensure the manufacturing processes are consistent with each individual product so we can produce the accuracy needed to keep up with the design requirements.

C-Tech has been involved in every America's cup event since then and has expanded from supplying battens to all sorts of other composite components including: foils, grinding pedestools, tubes, compression struts, hydraulic accumulators, fairings, wing control panels, sail corners, daggerboard cases, structural pods, bike frames, control arms and also helping with CNC services and autoclave curing.
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