Excess Fiber Length Measurement System

Excess Fiber Length Measurement System Enables Optical Cable Makers to Produce Product More Cost Efficiently and at Higher Quality

NDC Technologies, a leading global provider of precision measurement and control solutions, sees a growing trend among loose tube fiber and fiber ribbon cable manufacturers to accurately and efficiently control the excess fiber length (EFL) of products to ensure the fiber-to-jacket ratio meets exact product specifications.

“The precise monitoring of excess fiber length is important in loose tube and fiber ribbon cable production, and is essential to the cable's optical and mechanical performance,” says Ethem Erdas, Product Manager for NDC Technologies. “Optical cable manufacturers understand that excess fiber length can change dramatically during the production process. Many still use time-consuming, costly techniques such as cutting cable and exposing, cleaning cable fibers to measure product and calculate the excess fiber length-to-jacket ratio. Our EFL measurement system accurately measures the excess fiber length, ensuring products meet the desired product specifications. As a result, manufacturers are realizing a number of process, product quality and bottom-line benefits.”

The EFL measurement system integrates the Beta LaserMike LaserSpeed® length and speed gauge and EFLTrak™ software. This system enables you to compare the fiber bundle-to-jacket ratio during the jacketing phase with an EFL ratio of 0.01% (0.1 per mil). The EFLTrak software is simple to use and enables operators to quickly create and store an unlimited number of product recipes for efficient production run setup, document product quality via data logging, conveniently configure input/outputs to monitor external devices and use real-time statistical process control to improve product quality and reduce unwanted process variation to minimize waste, scrap, and rework.