Thorlabs CO2 Laser Beam for Cutting Glass Fibers
*Update* - The Thorlabs CO2 cutter has been replaced with the Cometx Laser Cutter.
View the demonstration above and request a quote of the Cometx today.
Transcript:
Thorlabs Vytran LCM10 laser cutter uses a 40-watt co2 laser to trim protruding fiber and epoxy beads for a connector ferrules during fiber optic patch cable or cannula production, the LCM10 is designed to replace the manual cleave, de-nubbing and epoxy removal steps normally employed by patch cable manufacturers with a single fast, precise process. The laser cutter is compatible with many common connector types and ferrule types including LC, FCPC, SMA, and others. The co2 laser can cut glass fibers up to 1500 microns in diameter, and epoxy beads up to 3000 microns in diameter. There is no lower limit for the size of fiber that can be cut.
Before each cut, the fiber protruding from the ferrule can be inspected, full screen and zoom features can be enabled, and guides on screen will indicate where the ferrule should be positioned and where the laser will cut. A micrometer can be used to manually adjust the position of the ferrule relative to these guides. Though adjustment may not be necessary before every cut. When a cut is initiated, the heat dissipated by the fiber will cause it to glow, and it may saturate the image. When the cut is complete, the guidance can be used to visually confirm the cut height. Fumes from the cutting process are extracted and filtered through user replaceable carbon air filter. Scrapped stubs are collected in a discard chamber, for easy disposal in a sharps bin. If the discard chambers opened, the laser power will be turned off even if the laser key switch is on. The item being processed is placed in the connector mound, which is fitted to the loading dock situated on the front of the unit.
The loading dock will usually move up after a cut to make it easier to remove the ferrule and load new one. However, the user can choose to keep the loading dock in the lower cutting position to speed up process time. If the operator’s hands are occupied with handling fibers, a footswitch may also be used to initiate the cut, rather than pressing the start button on the front of the unit. The LCM10 comes with the FCPC connector mount pre installed. Other connector mounts and cannula stops can be easily fitted by the user if required. The touchscreen controls offer two modes engineering mode with full access to cutting parameters such as cut height and laser power and Operator mode for use of previously defined files. The USB port on the front of the machine allows cutting files to be imported and exported between machines.
In addition, image files can be exported on to a USB drive. If a larger image is required, an external monitor can be connected to the rear of the unit which accepts an HDMI connector. The back panel also has an Ethernet port for optional remote diagnostics and port for the footswitch to enable hands-free operation.
