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.