Fiber Optic Cable Equipment Unveiling the Tools_NEWS_OPTICAL FIBER CABLE,OPGW,ADSS,FTTH

What Equipment is Used to Make Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber optic cables are an essential component of modern telecommunications infrastructure, enabling the transmission of vast amounts of data at high speeds over long distances. The manufacturing process for fiber optic cables requires specialized equipment to ensure the quality and reliability of the final product. In this article, we will explore the equipment used in making fiber optic cables from four different aspects: fiber drawing, coating, cabling, and testing.

1. Fiber Drawing

The first step in making a fiber optic cable is drawing the glass fibers that will carry the optical signals. This process involves pulling a preform through a series of heated furnaces until it reaches its desired diameter and length. The following equipment is used in this stage:

Drawing Tower: A drawing tower consists of multiple stages where each stage has a set temperature profile to gradually reduce the diameter of the preform as it passes through them. The tower also includes tension control mechanisms to ensure uniformity and strength in the drawn fibers.

Preform Loader: Preforms are loaded into a loader that feeds them into the drawing tower automatically. This equipment ensures continuous production without interruptions.

Fiber Coating Applicator: After being drawn, bare glass fibers need to be coated with protective layers for durability and ease of handling during cable assembly. A coating applicator applies liquid polymer coatings onto each individual fiber as they pass through it.

2. Coating

The next step after drawing is applying protective coatings on individual fibers to provide mechanical strength and protection against environmental factors such as moisture or abrasion during installation or operation.

Curing Oven: Once coated with liquid polymer materials, fibers need to go through curing ovens where heat or ultraviolet light solidifies these coatings into thin layers around each fiber strand.

Sintering Furnace: For certain types of specialty coatings like carbon-doped polymers or metal-coated fibers used in specific applications such as sensing or high-power transmission systems, sintering furnaces are employed instead of curing ovens for achieving optimal performance characteristics.

3.Cabling

In this stage, several coated optical fibers are combined together along with additional components like strength members and water-blocking materials (for outdoor cables) before being enclosed within an outer jacket for protection against external elements.

Tight Buffering Machine :Tight buffering machines apply buffer material around each individual coated optical fiber before they are stranded together.

Cable Stranding Machine :This machine twists multiple buffered optical fibers along with other components like strength members (usually aramid yarns) according to specific designs required by different cable types.

. .