Communication during the design stage

On January 16, 2023, we received an inquiry about Aluminum Telescoping Pole from a customer who expressed their requirements in a long piece of text.

The customer did not provide any drawings but sent a sample photo, hoping that we could help them customize a similar telescopic pole.

The customer’s information for the telescopic pole is as follows:

– Folding length is about 27.5 inches, and the total extended length is about 32.5 inches (maximum of 35 inches).

– Surface: Anodized to prevent corrosion.

– Other Requirements: Add plastic end caps.

The exact diameter of the telescopic tube is still being determined, but the customer prefers a 3/4″ pipe nested in a 7/8” pipe, a 7/8” pipe nested in a 1″ pipe, or a 1″ pipe nested in a 1 1/8″ pipe.

Initial quotation

After reviewing our catalog,

• the customer chose an extruded aluminum pipe with a wall thickness of 1.0 and an outer pipe diameter of 26mm and an inner pipe diameter of 22.5mm.
• They requested end caps to be added at the ends, with a small hole in the middle for water drainage.
• The colors required are silver, green, and black.

Based on the customer’s requirements, we recommended 22-25mm twist lock telescopic pole and provided a quotation for the sampling fee and bulk price.

Technical negotiation

The customer was very pleased that the samples could be manufactured at the lowest cost without the need for tooling. They requested the following telescopic tube to be sampled:

• 2 sets of different lengths (26″ folding – 34″ extended / 27.5″ folding – 35″ extended)
• Three different colors (silver, black, green) with different twist-lock configurations.
• All prototypes should be made with a thickness of 1.0mm.
• They should have plastic end caps (one 22mm joint / one 25mm joint) that can slide out (drill a hole of approximately 11mm in the center for drainage).

1. Black – 2-piece aluminum component with removable end cap (11mm center hole) – 1 twist lock telescopic pole– inner pipe 22mm / outer pipe 25mm – folding length 27.5 inches – total extended length 35 inches.
2. Green – 2-piece aluminum component with removable end cap (11mm center hole) – 1 twist lock telescopic pole- inner pipe 22mm / outer pipe 25mm – folding length 27.5 inches – total extended length 35 inches.
3. Silver – 2-piece aluminum component with sliding end cap (11mm center hole) – 1 twist lock telescopic pole- inner pipe 22mm / outer pipe 25mm – folding length 27.5 inches – total extended length 35 inches.
4. Black – 2-piece aluminum component with sliding end cap (11mm center hole) – 1 twist lock telescopic pole- inner pipe 22mm / outer pipe 25mm – folding length 26 inches – total extended length 34 inches.
5. Green – 2-piece aluminum component with sliding end cap (11mm center hole) – 1 twist lock telescopic pole – inner pipe 22mm / outer pipe 25mm – folding length 26 inches – total extended length 34 inches.

• Wall thickness negotiation

Our company’s telescoping aluminum tubing has a wall thickness of 0.8mm, but the customer still wants a wall thickness of 1.0mm mainly due to load-bearing issues.

The customer saw in our catalog that there is a 22.5-26 size with a wall thickness of 1.0mm and asked if it is feasible.

We replied that this telescoping aluminum tubing is different from the pipe rotation we have been discussing, and we do not have suitable end caps for this pipe.

The customer understood, so they still chose the style and size we recommended earlier.

• End cap negotiation

The customer asked to see our end caps. They hope that the end caps can be like as below.

But the end caps we usually use are as follows.

• Sampling

The customer agreed and finalized the size and details for sampling, which are as follows:

– twist lock telescopic pole 2 sections OD 22-25mm WT 0.8mm

– 26 “- 36” (660.4-914.4mm)

– Removable end cap (center hole 11-12mm)

– Five green sets &/ five blue sets

Problems encountered during production

• Issue of hollow and solid pipes

After the customer paid, we discovered an important issue when sorting out the details of this order:

although the customer did not inform us of the purpose of this telescoping aluminum tubing, they mentioned that a hole should be dug in the middle of the end cap to allow water to flow through, which means that the pipe must be hollow.

But our pipe rotation telescopic pipe accessories are solid, as shown in the figure.

To ensure that the aluminum pipe is hollow, we must replace the pipe rotation telescopic pipe with an external rotation telescopic tube.

We sent the videos of the two pipes to the customer for reference. (Pipe rotation: rotate the pipe; external rotation: rotate the accessory)

The customer replied that water will not “flow through” the component, but it may occasionally enter the interior and needs to be easily discharged.

The hole on the end cap can also be easily connected to another component (made by the customer).

For the customer, the locking strength is very important.

If one lock is much stronger than another lock, the customer will choose it without comparison.

If the strengths of the two locks are equal, the customer wants to compare the differences between the two locking mechanisms (pipe rotation lock/ accessory rotation lock).

• Issue of the length of the inner and outer pipes

The customer has a question about how to prevent the inner aluminum pipe from falling into the outer pipe. Can a “groove” be made on the outer pipe to prevent the inner pipe from falling in if necessary? What is the exact length of the inner and outer pipes?

We replied:

– Pipe rotation: Load-bearing 8kg

– External rotation: Load-bearing 20kg

Regarding the issue of “how to prevent the inner pipe from falling into the outer pipe,” our current design is as follows:

– Outer diameter 22mm: 650mm

– Outer diameter 25mm: 292mm

Since the inner pipe is longer than the outer pipe, the situation described by the customer will not occur.

The customer hoped that the outer would be longer than the inner pipe and invited us to explain their design and application over the phone.

The customer explained that this telescoping aluminum tubing would be used as a kayak paddle, so it needs to have the greatest possible load-bearing capacity;

The hole in the end cap is also because it will be used in water, and water may flow into the pipe, so it needs to be drained;

The end cap needs to be slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe because they will add another component to the pipe, and the end cap can hold the component in place to prevent it from slipping off;

To save space, the customer hopes that the outer pipe will be longer than the inner pipe.

After the phone call, the customer sent us a set of photos of the pipes they previously sampled.

We did not disappoint the customer and found the accessories they wanted, with a bottom diameter of about 34mm.

 The bottom of the Aluminum Telescoping Pole was drilled with a hole.

We demonstrated the removable end cap as requested.

The final product:

The customer are very satisfied with the products and ready to place an bulk order soon.