Rod or tubing?

Squall67584 · Post by **Squall67584** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:46 pm

I got to thinking about a current project, and need to add some sort of internal support, and was thinking about using something of a 1/16" diameter as an insert. I hit the proverbial wall though, when it comes to whether a 1/16" tube is "stronger" than a 1/16" rod. More or less, I'm preventing a nacelle pylon from warping so it'll just have static weight on it, nothing more than that.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:01 pm

Post removed due to being tired of this crap

Ken

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:08 pm

kenlilly106 wrote:Tube are always stronger than a solid rod of the same diameter.

I suspect a long debate is about to happen, but if a rod and tube are the same weight, a tube is stronger. But consider the extreme of a soda can (tube) versus a solid cylinder (rod) of aluminum that's the same diameter... Solid is always going to be stronger for a given diameter, but of course there are weight saving advantages to a tube, which is why they're used in applications such as truck driveshafts (which, when you're 10, can look quite impressive when you lift them over your head).

We're talking about a plastic model kit here, so I'd just throw in some steel rods and be done with it. If we're talking aluminum then either one is going to be pretty bendy at that diameter. Brass would probably be fine, especially if you use it like concrete and rebar, embedding it in epoxy.

-Rog

scratchy · Post by **scratchy** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:09 pm

Besides the points in strength as mentioned above, you can also thread wires through the tube for lighting.

modelnutz · Post by **modelnutz** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:10 am

IMHO....a rod will always be stronger....but...a tube will always be more rigid.

I believe what you are looking for is rigidity..if so..go with the brass tube.

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:29 am

No. A rod will always be stiffer and stronger than a tube of the same diameter.

In your position, with a rod/tube 1/16 in diameter, I'd use solid rod. No appreciable cost difference, and a bit stiffer. And if I wanted it to be stiffer yet, I'd use steel instead of brass.