How carbon fingers fail
The carbon finger is the element that grips the fruit and stem. It is deliberately a sacrificial part: it is meant to wear instead of the machine. Failure therefore shows up in two quite different ways — the finger wears down in service, or it breaks at the mount.
These two failure modes need different responses, and confusing them is what leads people to order the wrong part.
Case A — the finger has worn down
This is normal service wear. The rod reaches its minimum working section and grip performance drops: fruit is dropped more often, or stems are left on the tree. The remedy is a replacement finger of the correct size, and nothing else.
Case B — the insert or thread is damaged
Here the mount has taken the load. A stripped female insert, a deformed male screw or a cracked plastic cover means the finger did not fail first — something upstream did, and the finger absorbed it. Replacing only the finger leaves the cause in place.
Check the mount before you order in Case B
If the insert threads are stripped or the screw spins without engaging, tell us before ordering. Our carbon fingers use several different connections (M6 female, M8 female, M12 male, and an ST4 × 10 mm screw on CF-07), and a damaged mount may need a different interface rather than the same part again.
What to check on the machine before ordering
These are the checks that decide whether you need a finger at all, and which one you need. All of them are things you can do with the part in your hand.
- Compare against a known good finger. If you have the old and new part side by side, the difference is obvious at the grip section.
- Measure the shaft diameter. Our range covers 4.5 mm and 5.0 mm. Measure the shaft, not the plastic cover.
- Identify the thread. M6 female, M8 female or M12 male. This is the one dimension that cannot be approximated.
- Establish which length is missing. Total assembly length or carbon finger segment — CF-03 is specified as a full rod, so the segment length is confirmed separately.
- Read the machine model plate. Brand alone is not a fitment; the model decides.
- Count how many positions need replacing. Fingers are consumed as a set, and matching batches keep wear even across the machine.
Why we do not publish a wear limit
You will see plenty of pages claiming a wear threshold in millimetres or in hours. We do not publish one, because we have no verified test data behind it — and a number we cannot stand behind is worse than no number. What we can do is confirm fitment precisely and repeat it on the same specification for every repeat order. That consistency is what a buyer actually needs.
Planning a repeat order
Once a machine's finger specification is confirmed, repeat orders ship against that same confirmed specification — no re-confirmation cycle each season. For dealers servicing several machines, the useful step is to record the confirmed specification per machine model in your own parts list, so the next order is a repeat rather than a fresh match.
If you are restocking across several models, we can quote against the confirmed specification per model. Garden tool lines are made to order with a 15–30 day lead time; carbon finger lead time is confirmed with the quotation.
Specifications referenced in this guide
| Model | Type | Key dimensions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CF-01 | Carbon finger | 4.5 mm × 370 mm | Customer supplied |
| CF-02 | Carbon finger | 5 mm × 350 mm | Customer supplied |
| CF-03 | Rod with plastic cover | 5.0 mm × L385 mm, M12 × 1.75 male | Customer supplied |
| CF-03-2 | Carbon finger | 4.5 mm × 380 mm, M12 male | To be confirmed |
| CF-06 | Carbon finger | 5 mm × 353 mm | Customer supplied |
| CF-07 | Carbon finger | 4.5 mm × 380 mm, ST4 × 10 mm | Customer supplied |
| CF-08 | Carbon finger | 4.5 mm × 352 mm | Customer supplied |
| CF-10 | Carbon finger | 5 mm × 360 mm | Customer supplied |
Compatibility by machine model
| Machine model | Status | Match note |
|---|---|---|
| PELLENC OLIVION P230 | Customer supplied | CF-07 (4.5 mm × 380 mm, ST4 × 10 mm). |
| PELLENC OLIVION T220 / T300 | Customer supplied | CF-07, same specification as P230. |
| CAMPAGNOLA ICARUS 58 | Customer supplied | CF-08 (4.5 mm × 352 mm). |
| CAMPAGNOLA ECO | Customer supplied | CF-08, same specification as ICARUS 58. |
| ZANON olive harvesters | Customer supplied | CF-01 / CF-02. Individual models still to be listed. |
| STIHL olive harvesters | Customer supplied | CF-03. Compare original part dimensions before ordering. |
| INFACO | To be confirmed | CF-06. Specific models and interface unconfirmed. |
| OLEO-MAC / CIFARELLI | To be confirmed | CF-10. Not guaranteed across the full range. |
Detail shots
Parts referenced above
Continue reading
Data source: data/products.json (snapshot 2026-10-04). Lead time for garden tool lines is
15–30 days; carbon finger lead time is confirmed with the quotation.