Goodwinds Composites

Goodwinds Composites is an NDAA-compliant U.S.-based manufacturer of roll wrapped carbon fiber tubes and pultruded rods for drones, robotics, and unmanned systems. The company’s lightweight structural solutions are ideal for defense and FAA-certified commercial programs, and can be customized to meet unique design requirements.

With over 18 years of experience, Goodwinds Composites works with OEMs and developers from initial material selection and prototyping through to production. Customers gain direct access to an expert team of composites engineers and veteran technicians, offering practical design guidance, manufacturing support, and optimization of components for specific loads and operating conditions.

Why Work with Goodwinds Composites?

Goodwinds Composites provides U.S.-based manufacturing and engineering support for UAV and unmanned systems OEMs looking to onshore production of critical carbon fiber components. Combining domestic manufacturing with responsive service and flexible production capabilities, the company helps customers develop custom composite solutions while maintaining quality, communication, and supply chain reliability.

Key advantages include:

• Reliable U.S.-Based Manufacturing: Domestic production provides greater supply chain visibility, consistent quality control, and dependable delivery, supporting OEMs seeking alternatives to overseas manufacturing.
• Direct Engineering Support: Customers work directly with experienced composites engineers to refine specifications, select materials, and develop application-specific components, with responsive communication throughout the project.
• Flexible Custom Manufacturing: Carbon fiber rods and tubes can be tailored to specific dimensions, mechanical properties, and performance requirements, with low startup costs and no minimum order requirements supporting early development.
• Scalable Production & Accountability: Goodwinds Composites supports projects from initial prototypes and testing through to ongoing production and inventory management, with proactive communication and support to resolve issues efficiently.

Why Use Carbon Fiber Rods & Tubes for Drone Structures?

Modern drone designs need lighter and tougher components to meet the performance and robustness requirements of demanding mission-critical operations. Goodwinds Composites’ carbon fiber rods offer an unparalleled combination of low weight, high strength, durability, and flexibility.

At nearly five times the strength of steel and a third of the weight, they are ideal for UAV airframes, arms, wing spars, and landing gear.

Key advantages include:

• High stiffness: Carbon fiber helps maintain structural alignment under load, limiting flex in arms and booms that can affect motor alignment, sensor accuracy, and flight control response.
• Excellent strength-to-weight ratio: Lightweight composite structures reduce the mass devoted to the airframe, allowing more of the drone’s weight budget to be allocated to batteries and payloads.
• Corrosion resistance: Carbon fiber components resist corrosion in wet, humid and saline environments, reducing the need for protective coatings and associated maintenance.
• Vibration damping: Carbon fiber’s damping properties help control structural vibration, contributing to stable flight and consistent performance.
• Fatigue resistance: Resistance to repeated loading makes carbon fiber well suited to drone structures exposed to recurring flight stresses and landing loads.
• Tailored structural properties: Fiber orientation, resin selection, wall thickness, and layup can be adapted to specific requirements, providing axial stiffness for spars and booms or additional torsional and hoop strength for components subject to multidirectional loads.
• Thermal stability: Carbon fiber rods and tubes provide dimensional stability across a wide operating temperature range, helping drone structures maintain their geometry as conditions change.
• Dimensional consistency: Controlled inner and outer diameters, straightness, and cut lengths help ensure components fit correctly during assembly, reducing integration problems and maintaining consistency across production runs.
• Impact performance: Tube geometry and material selection can be tailored to withstand landing loads, transport, and rough handling, providing durability for drone structures exposed to repeated field use.

Carbon Fiber Tubes & Rods

Roll-Wrapped Carbon Fiber Tubes

Goodwinds manufactures custom roll-wrapped carbon fiber tubes with tailored mechanical properties for demanding UAV applications. Lightweight and stiff, the tubes are ideal for structural members, booms, and landing gear where weight, deflection, and resistance to multidirectional loads are key design considerations.

The roll-wrapping process applies layers of resin-preimpregnated fiber around a precision mandrel, followed by compression and heat curing. Controlled fiber orientations enable engineers to tailor torsional and hoop strength as well as stiffness along the tube. Wall thickness, resin system, and material selection can also be adjusted to balance structural performance and weight.

Available in cylindrical and tapered configurations, the tubes can be produced with custom dimensions and layups. Goodwinds Composites also accommodates customer-supplied specialty prepregs for applications with specific material requirements, including low outgassing and thermal cycling performance.

Learn more: Carbon Fiber Roll-Wrapped Tubes

Pultruded Carbon Fiber Rods & Tubes

Goodwinds Composites supplies pultruded carbon fiber components in a range of profiles, including solid round rods, flat rods, round tubes, and square tubes. Continuous fibers are drawn through resin and a heated die to create a consistent cross section, with fibers aligned primarily along the length for high axial stiffness and tensile and compressive performance.

These properties make pultruded components ideal for UAV arms, wing spars, tail booms, internal structural members, and push-pull rods. Tubes and rods are available in a variety of off-the-shelf cross-sectional dimensions and lengths, and can also be custom-cut to your exact requirements.

Learn more: Pultruded Carbon Fiber Rods & Tubes

Micro-Pultruded Carbon Rods

Goodwinds Composites also manufactures small-diameter carbon rods using micro pultrusion, providing lightweight components with consistent dimensions for precision applications. Offering excellent strength and stiffness with minimal added weight, these rods are ideal for reinforcing fixed-wing UAV structures. Material is available in continuous coils or cut to specification, with low tooling costs and low minimum requirements for custom orders.

The company accommodates short runs for development and testing as well as larger contract production orders. Engineers can work directly with the Goodwinds Composites team to define specifications and progress from initial prototypes to ongoing supply.

Learn more: Micro Pultrusion