NUVA-2-Fibre-Optic-Coater

Optical fibre coatings and UV curing

GEW has developed a high efficiency fully air-cooled arc lamp solution of the UV technology typically used to cure optical fibre coatings on optical fibre and wire at speeds in excess of 3,000 metres per minute (10,000 ft/min).

How is it different?

With mercury arc lamp technology, the electrical power is applied directly to the UV lamp as opposed to using it to create microwaves to indirectly energise the lamp. This cuts out an unnecessary intermediate step in the process, saving significant amounts of energy and protecting the product from heat damage.

Mercury lamps are available in any length and can be made as long as necessary to suit the speed of the machine. This eliminates the need for multiple lamp units on high-speed machines.

A single medium pressure mercury arc lamp is positioned along the fibre with a focussed reflector to capture all of the lamp’s energy and concentrate it onto the coated fibre. The unit opens up easily to access the inerted curing tube that contains the fibre.

Fibre coatings and UV curing – the benefits

  • Curing tube does not fog up on stand by: higher uptime
  • Higher production speed
  • Less heat on fibre
  • Energy saving
  • Versatile design, lamp can be made as long as necessary to suit the speed of the coating machine.
  • Mechanical shutter – never burn the fibre when stopping the machine
  • Less cleaning of tube needed: higher uptime
  • Single lamp, lower cost of spare and ongoing operation
  • Cassette system: very fast lamp change
  • Embedded service
  • 5-year warranty avoids unplanned maintenance expenditure for a significant portion of the system’s early life

Learn more about GEW’s NUVA mercury arc curing system that’s discussed here by clicking the button below: