| Nextrom, Switzerland, one of the world's premier suppliers of manufacturing solutions and services to the fibre optic industry, has released a new vertical tube sleeving and stretching system, model OFC 17. The model has been designed for rod-in-tube sleeving up to 150mm final preform diameter, which yields up to 1,400km of fibres per each meter of preform. The OFC 17 may also be configured for stretching core and/or finished performs, as well as tube stretching. When used for perform or tube stretching, the starting perform can be as large as 150mm �. OFC 17 can also be used for core preform stretching which is a standard process step when making VAD core preforms.
This new model is equipped with a large graphite induction furnace. Different equipment heights from 5 to 12m are available. With this model, it is possible to rotate the preform during the process to reach better final preform geometry. Latest available technology has been used in the component selection, as well as in designing the control system. The model OFC 17 for sleeving is targeted for companies who manufacture core preforms with MCVD and rod-in-tube sleeving technology. It enables these manufacturers to increase their preform size and to lower their manufacturing costs. These companies can also scale their big perform diameters to fit their existing fibre draw furnaces. OFC 17 is also targeted for companies, which use soot technology for manufacturing their preforms. These companies can stretch their core preforms, split them into several pieces for further processing and then again stretch the final perform to scale it to fit their existing fibre draw furnaces.
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