Extrusion International 6-2023

56 Extrusion International 6/2023 addition, alternative laying techniques are to be used more frequently for fibre optic expansion. In addi- tion, the expansion within the scope of Gigabyte fund- ing 2.0 will be supported by around three billion euros this year. The pressure to act is in- creasing, and not only in Germany. Because the chal- lenges are immense. For ex- ample, the implementation of Industry 4.0 in compa- nies will require very pow- erful data carriers. Even in households, lightning-fast surfing is expected, because here, too, data rates are ris - ing rapidly. On average, data traffic climbs by more than 30 percent every year. A case for fibre optic cables, whose light pulses rush through the line almost at the speed of light. They are thus many times faster than conventional copper cables and transport significantly more data. Oth - er advantages according to “fibre optic Internet” are: In comparison, fibre optic cables require little space, do not develop heat and consume far less energy. Measuring heads regulate the drawing process To be able to play out their advantages perfectly, fibre optic cables require the highest precision – and this is guaranteed by measuring and control devices that, for example, Sikora manufactures. “In the various stages of production, measuring heads and processor systems measure, monitor and control the entire drawing pro- cess to ensure fibre quality and increase production effi - ciency.” The company offers a new technology for high- precision tensile force measurement in a stand-alone system that employs the principle of birefringence with a measurement rate of up to ten kHz. “This allows an even faster measurement of the tensile force irrespec- tive of external production influences as well as direct control of the tensile force.” One-stop shop for plants For a long time, Rosendahl Nextrom has been one of the fibre optic specialists who see themselves as a one- stop shop for production equipment. The company's core competencies include its manufacturing solutions for the production of optical glass, the drawing of glass fibres for telecommunications and special applications, the coating of fibres, the production of ribbons, proof tests and the production of glass fibre cables. For the loose and tight buffering of glass fibres, cable lines are required, in addition to hose extrusions for fibre bun - dles and fibre ribbons. In addition, the company offers systems for the stranding of buffered fibres up to the sheathing process for fibre optic cables. Fibre optic sys - tems that meet high standards are indispensable for fi - bre optic cable producers. Coat as glass fibre protection The protection of the glass fibre is also es - sential. A single fibre has a core, a cladding glass and an outer cladding. “The mantle ensures the guidance of the lightwave sig- nals. The outer sheath gives the glass fibre flexible and robust properties due to its na - ture of plastic,” explains the glass fibre pro - vider Telekom. This prevents the fibre from breaking during bending and losing its func- tion as an optical waveguide. As a result, the optical signals cannot leave the core – unlike the copper cable, which transports data by means of electricity and loses large amounts of data over long distances. Cable manu- facturers and suppliers of cable production systems are also required to supply precision products at this point of production. The sometimes special installation is also important. In addition to underground laying and above-ground laying on masts, outdoor fibre optic cables are “main - ly blown with compressed air into small speed pipes, which were laid in advance in the ground or in jacket pipes” at Deutsche Telekom. The speedpipes have an inner diameter of four to eight millimetres and are of- ten designed in a pipe assembly with up to 22 pipes. The fibre optic cables (ø 2.3 millimetres to 6.5 millimetres) are then blown into these speedpipes with special com- pressed air compressors up to 2,000 meters at a time, explains the company. Common fibre-optic earth cables include four cables with twelve individual fibres each. Investments for Fibre Optic Expansion Worldwide, the demand for cables and pipes for fi - bre optic technology is growing immensely. Germany as example: According to estimates by the ”Scientific Institute for Infrastructure”, the nationwide fibre op - tic expansion would cost around 80 billion euros, an enormously large package. Orders of magnitude, which would also have to flow more or less into the glass fibre market in some other countries and in some cases would also be likely to be carried out. In order to keep up with global demand, production needs to be expanded and new production facilities set up. For example, egeplast is building a newmicroduct pro- duction hall in order to ensure delivery reliability for the expansion of the fibre-optic network in view of the in - creasing demand for the tube bundle, which consists of several microduct mono tubes. The new 11,000-square- meter production hall doubles the production capacity for microducts. Investments like these are likely to pay off accordingly, because fibre optics is the technology of the future. In the long run, only she will succeed in the world- wide speed quantum leap. Trends and highlights from the wire, cable and tube industry can be experienced at wire & Tube Expo from 15 to 19 April 2024 in Düsseldorf/Germany. Messe Düsseldorf GmbH www.wire.de and www.Tube.de