Fiber optic cable wrap

Hi,

i need to bend my Fiber optic cable into a spiral (diameter 2cm) - anybody now how to do it without breaking the fiber??

Conny

Hi,

 

i need to bend my Fiber optic cable into a spiral (diameter 2cm) - anybody now how to do it without breaking the fiber??

 

Conny

I coil my Toslink cables by wrapping them around a mandrel, taping them in place then heating with a heat gun. They do not end up quite as pretty as the Inon cables but the work fine.

Bill

Thanks a lot Bill - it worked perfect with the heat gun :-). Looks like my original from Inon.

Conny

Doesn't the fiber optic break when you bend it with such a small diameter (e.g. about 2 cm)? I would think that using the heatgun before bending might help to prevent it from breaking. Or am I wrong on that, and is the heat gun just for the plastic cover?

I haven't tried it yet, but when I attempted to bend one, it definitely felt like it was going to break and I didn't continue.

First i put the fiber in hot water and than wrap it around a stick. Second i put some weight (i used my small bench vice) on both ends and heat it up with the gun - 4 times. When i removed the weight and the stick the cable stays accurately in new position.

So you need the heat to bend the plastic cover AND the fiber. When you do without it will break. If it's not hot enought the fiber will expand again.

Conny