Tabletop fibre draw tower - part 2

Abstract

Optical fibres are all around us in today’s age and society. They have a wide variety of applications such as the Internet, in medical devices and the automotive industry, making them an integral part of our lives. While most optical fibre projects focus on an application, this project looks at the stages in the fabrication process of a commercial fibre draw tower and reproduces it on a miniaturized albeit simplified scale for demonstrational purposes. This is Part 2 of a 2-part project. Part 1 oversees the furnace, researching the most suitable plastic that will act as the preform and designing the tower frame. Part 2 oversees researching the microcontroller, applying PID control methods in a feedback loop with a motor as well as the feeding and drawing mechanisms of the tower. The result is an inexpensive, portable, light-weight tower that can produce polymer fibres with relative ease. The tower has be constructed using accessible materials, be it hardware or software, that allows room for modification and improvement for future work.