The use of different structural materials like fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) and metal in lightweight systems offers great benefits with respect to economical and technical requirements. The application of such multi-material design for lightweight structures demands the development of joining technologies which cope with the used materials and construction methods. At a new generation of lightweight hydraulic actuators for example an innovative pipe thread enables the stable joining of the metallic flange with the FRP tube. The design of the pipe thread and the arrangement of the fibre layers in the joining area considers both mechanical demands and production processes. For the dimensioning of this pipe thread, finite element calculation software and new physically based failure criteria are applied. Afterwards load-adapted tube structures with integrated pipe thread were manufactured of carbon-fibre- reinforced plastic by filament winding and were tested extensively.