Telescoping Tubes Manufacturing Method

G

gyronikeleg

Plastic

Joined

Sep 26, 2013

Location

CA, USA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #1

Hello!

I am trying to get rectangular telescoping tubes produced and I am trying to find the best method to produce these.

I need:
- 3 sections of Aluminum tube
- No slop between sections
- The outer section is 14" x 2.5" x 16" tall x .11"thk

I looked at extrusion, but it is too large a profile to produce at a reasonable cost. Precision is important because I want these to slide smoothly

What is the most cost effective way to produce a lot of these?

Thanks
Greg

 

M

Milland

Diamond

Joined

Jul 6, 2006

Location

Hillsboro, New Hampshire

• Jan 25, 2021

• #2

You're not getting "No slop between sections" without risk of galling the pieces when you try to slide them. It would be wise to either rethink materials or add polymer bushings between the slide surfaces to protect the surfaces.

I'd look at doing these as telescoping "C" ball slides, like for premium drawers. They can be made quite robust and accurately, but it won't be cheap.

 

G

gyronikeleg

Plastic

Joined

Sep 26, 2013

Location

CA, USA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #3

Thanks for the response!

Galling even with anodizing?

How would you make the tubes themselves? Slides are a good idea

 

M

Milland

Diamond

Joined

Jul 6, 2006

Location

Hillsboro, New Hampshire

• Jan 25, 2021

• #4

gyronikeleg said:

Thanks for the response!

Galling even with anodizing?

How would you make the tubes themselves? Slides are a good idea

Click to expand...

For a small production run, I'd look at cutting sheet and welding into box sections, clearing corners as needed to allow weld beads.

Anodize has limits, even when Teflon impregnated. Even a little bit of dirt and a few sliding motions will compromise it.

 

Gordon Heaton

Titanium

Joined

Feb 19, 2007

Location

St. George, Utah

• Jan 25, 2021

• #5

gyronikeleg said:

. . .Galling even with anodizing?. . .

Click to expand...

I guess you could call it 'scratching' or 'gouging' but the end result is damage to the surfaces. If you don't have any lubrication in your plan, the polymer bushings is probably the only way to do it. If the action of the telescoping section is vertical with no side loads at all, damage would be minimal for a while at least.

 

E

Erich

Hot Rolled

Joined

Apr 4, 2017

Location

Poway, CA (from Location field)

• Jan 25, 2021

• #6

Drawn tubing will produce a shape with better tolerance control than extrusion.

 

G

gyronikeleg

Plastic

Joined

Sep 26, 2013

Location

CA, USA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #7

Thanks for the reply

is this expensive? like on the order of what unit cost for 500 pieces?

 

J

jz79

Stainless

Joined

Mar 21, 2017

Location

Latvia

• Jan 25, 2021

• #8

you'll need pads inside for smooth action and to reduce wear, anodizing against anodizing (ptfe impregnated or not) will not last long, and if the tubes are thin and long, there might be an issue with getting even thickness anodizing on the inside surfaces

 

S

Scottl

Diamond

Joined

Nov 3, 2013

Location

Eastern Massachusetts, USA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #9

Most cost effective way is to install plastic "buttons" that will take up the slack between the tubes. These might be HDPE, Delrin, or even filled nylon. The trick is to design them in such a way that they keep a preload to eliminate slack.

 

K

kb0thn

Stainless

Joined

May 15, 2008

Location

Winona, MN, USA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #10

Look at any piece of telescoping construction equipment. Telehandler or boom lift or small crane. Formed / welded steel tubes with plastic sliders in strategic locations.

I like Genie brand equipment. Their booms don't seem to need a lot of maintenance.

 

jscpm

Titanium

Joined

May 4, 2010

Location

Cambridge, MA

• Jan 25, 2021

• #11

Uh oh, inventor alert. It's either for a perpetual motion machine, an engine that runs on water, or something involving Tesla.

 

M

memphisjed

Titanium

Joined

Jan 21, 2019

Location

Memphis

• Jan 26, 2021

• #12

last section could be solid to save cost. 500 sticks or 500 assemblies? Form and fabricate tapered tubes and they will "lock" when extended. Why AL? Steel is real. 16"? that with 3 sections is 4'. 12"x2"x.188" is standard hss shape, 48" piece will cost a lot less than three custom shapes.

 

L

LKeithR

Stainless

Joined

Sep 1, 2011

Location

Langley, B.C.

• Jan 26, 2021

• #13

Any chance you could go to round tube. They make drawn round tubing with a wall thickness of
.058" and steps all the way from 1/2" to at least 2". Any two sizes will telescope together with the
best fit you're going to get for off the shelf tubing. I've used it for a couple projects and it works
pretty well...

 

EPAIII

Diamond

Joined

Nov 23, 2003

Location

Beaumont, TX, USA

• Jan 26, 2021

• #14

Nah! He has a beanstalk to climb.

jscpm said:

Uh oh, inventor alert. It's either for a perpetual motion machine, an engine that runs on water, or something involving Tesla.

Click to expand...