Ok I'm tied of trying to find cheap telescoping magnetic rods or antennas that fit my weird needs for the project I am working on. I need a friction fit telescoping rod with a screw at the top and the bottom. It needs 5 segments minimum 11 preferred. Still designing the other sides of the product but I'd perfer #6-32 screw sizes.
Thats my requirements. Now I hacked open a telescoping rod and investigated how they are made. Each segment is rolled slightly on one end and the other end has a set of holes punched into it and a thin copper sleeve that is punched to fit into that slot. This provides the friction and the roll at one end stops the tube coming out and the punches prevent the inner tube from falling out.
That said I have an idea and will be experimenting with it but if someone has experience with this or resources that can help let me know. Still working on how to attach the screws and then I need to do a little design for manufacturing so I can crank out a lot of these without to much pain. I'll keep posting updates because this info might help someone later.
