| Fiber
optic draw towers produce fibers to be used for illumination,
communications, sensing, or other applications that transmit,
and in some cases manipulate, light and other electromagnetic
waves. The number and type of these applications are
growing quickly to support new technologies, making the
ability to quickly modify the manufacturing process to
produce different types and sizes of fiber with different
materials important. Fiber optic draw towers are thus
a good candidate for flexible automation, both for R&D and production use. |
AEi’s
Bundle Fiber Draw Tower is used to make bundles of
fiber for illumination purposes. For this application,
fibers are drawn and then laid out on the face of a
large 2.5 meter or 3 meter drum in bundles of 10,000
or more fibers. These bundles are later pulled off
the drum and cut to lengths as needed to make fiber
light guides. The light guides are used for illumination
purposes in machine vision, medical devices such as
endoscopes, and for signage.
AEi’s Single Fiber Draw
Tower is used to draw single optical fibers rather
than bundles of fibers simultaneously. To provide increased
flexibility in the type of fibers that can be drawn,
AEi’s use of a tractor mechanism controlled by adjustable
pressure control is the best approach for drawing the
fiber. This is in preference to a pinch-wheel that
has more commonly been used for drawing single fibers.
The combination of the tractor and pressure control
minimizes fiber shape distortion, especially for hollow
fibers, and accommodates a wide range of fiber sizes and types. Dynamic control of draw speed using laser micrometer measurement
of fiber diameter adds the flexibility to produce different
types of fiber accurately and uniformly.
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