Guide To The Intermittent Bonded Ribbon Production Line
At defined intervals, an intermittent bonded ribbon production line joins fiber subunits. This maintains fibers in an organized arrangement for mass-fusion splicing while letting the ribbon roll or fold into a compact cable shape. Flexible ribbon cable production is supported by this design while preserving efficient fiber handling.
Some processes apply bonding material before the subunit coating cures. The materials can diffuse across their interface and cure together. One commercial example is Prysmian’s FlexRibbon technology, whose original design the company says dates to 2018. Together, these methods demonstrate the connection between optical fiber ribbon manufacturing and fiber optic bonding.
Intermittent Bonded Ribbon Fibers In Stainless Steel Tube Fiber Secondary Coating Line
Understanding What An Intermittent Bonded Fiber Ribbon Is
Optical fibers are grouped into small subunits in an intermittent bonded fiber ribbon. Although they remain organized for splicing, the subunits can change their shape to fit within a cable.
How Fiber Subunits And Intermittent Bonds Are Arranged
A coating secures each adjacent fiber pair or group together. Instead of joining along their entire length, these optical fiber subunits are connected to neighboring subunits at spaced bond points. A 12-fiber design may use six two-fiber subunits. Configurations can contain 4 to 36 fibers, with bonds spaced from 10 to 1,000 millimeters apart.
Intermittent Bonded Ribbon Production Line
How Rollable Ribbons Differ From Conventional Flat Ribbons
A conventional flat ribbon holds its fibers in a single fixed plane. Between bonds, a rollable fiber ribbon can curl without losing the fiber alignment needed for mass-fusion splicing. Prysmian’s FlexRibbon uses compact bonding points to permit bending and folding.
How Flexible Ribbons Enable Compact, High-Density Cables
Inside a high-density fiber cable, a flexible ribbon can occupy less space. This enables cable designers to fit more fibers into a compact structure while preserving an organized fiber layout.
Process And Equipment For An Intermittent Bonded Ribbon Production Line
The intermittent bonded ribbon production process aligns optical fibers side by side along the ribbon’s length. Subunits are created when a first material coats groups containing two or more fibers. Neighboring subunits are joined at spaced points with a second material, leaving flexible sections between bonds.
Arrange Adjacent Optical Fibers Into Subunits
Fibers are positioned beside one another according to the planned ribbon layout. Each selected group becomes a subunit when the first coating material surrounds and holds its fibers together.
Deposit Subunit Coating And Intermittent Bonding Material
Fiber ribbon coating creates the subunits. A discrete coating applicator places bonding material between neighboring subunits at intervals rather than along their entire length.
Create Diffusion Zones Through Wet-On-Wet Application
Wet-on-wet bonding involves depositing the bonding material before the subunit coating has cured. The materials diffuse across their shared interface to form a diffusion zone.
Set The Subunit Coating And Bonds In One Cure
A single curing step cures both the subunit coating and the intermittent bonds. Optical fiber ribbon equipment performs these operations, although a complete equipment list, line speed, and production capacity are not specified.
| Production Stage | Material Or Operation | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Optical fiber arrangement | Place fibers side by side | Set the ribbon layout |
| Formation of subunits | Apply the first coating material around fiber groups | Hold two or more fibers as subunits |
| Intermittent bonding | Apply the second material between adjacent subunits | Join subunits at spaced points |
| Wet-on-wet interface | Apply bonds before the subunit coating cures | Allow materials to form a diffusion zone |
| Joint curing step | Cure coating and bonds in one step | Cure the assembled ribbon structure |
Main Production Line Stages And Process Controls
Fiber ribbon production stages take place in a specific sequence. The sequence involves arranging fibers into subunits, applying a subunit coating, placing intermittent bonds between adjacent subunits, and curing the coating and bonds together. Optical fiber coating application and bond placement must correspond to the ribbon design.
Example designs specify gaps of 5 to 100 micrometers between subunits. Example intermittent bond spacing extends from 10 to 1,000 millimeters. Some bond deposits take a diamond-like shape, tapering at the ends and widening in the center. The disclosed examples should not be interpreted as fixed settings that apply to every line.
The selected materials, bond layout, and curing method determine ribbon manufacturing process control. Because the source material provides no line speeds, curing temperatures, or inspection intervals, avoid assuming any values for them.
Ribbon Flexibility, Bond Design, And Materials
Ribbon behavior during cable making and splicing depends on the chosen materials and bond layout. Coatings shield each fiber while permitting the subunits to flex as intended.
Choose Compatible Coating And Bonding Materials
Because subunit coatings and ribbon bonding materials serve different roles, they do not have to share the same formula. A gradual interface can be created by resins that intermix or remain at least partly soluble. Intermixing may also be increased by lower coating viscosity.
This interface creates a diffusion zone in which properties change gradually. Differences in color, stiffness, surface friction, tear strength, or stretch may occur within this zone. The disclosed thickness range is 2 to 50 micrometers, while 5 to 15 micrometers is identified as a narrower range.
Manage Bond Placement, Spacing, And Geometry
Where subunits remain joined or move freely is governed by bond spacing. An intermittent bond layout creates unbonded spans separating the bond points. Some bond surfaces have a saddle shape made by intersecting convex and concave curves.
Balance Ribbon Flexibility With Fiber Organization
Unbonded spans allow the ribbon to shift from a flat layout into a rolled, curled, or folded shape. During cable installation, a flexible fiber ribbon can bend without disrupting the fiber organization needed for splicing.
Quality Checks To Maintain Consistent Ribbon Production
Reliable fiber ribbon quality checks measure defined features rather than relying on assumed pass limits. Design factors named in the patent include bond spacing, subunit gaps, diffusion-zone thickness, and bond shape. The patent does not, however, provide inspection methods or acceptance limits.
Check Bond Continuity And Subunit Alignment
Verify that intermittent bonds join adjacent subunits at the intended positions, with unbonded lengths between them. Subunit alignment and gaps require checking because shifts may change ribbon shape and bond geometry.
Assess Ribbon Flexibility And Rollability
Assess ribbon rollability by observing how the ribbon bends and gathers without changing fiber order. Compare bond spacing and flexibility across the entire ribbon design. These comparisons are checks of the design, not universal production tolerances.
Verify Fiber Identification And Ribbon Configuration
Use fiber color coding to check the position of each fiber. Blue, orange, green, brown, slate, white, red, black, yellow, violet, rose, and aqua make up a widely used 12-color sequence. For ribbons containing more than 12 fibers, this sequence may repeat.
Cable Applications, Integration, And Splicing Benefits
Intermittently bonded ribbons can roll inside a cable, enabling more fibers to fit into a compact design. According to Prysmian, FlexRibbon enables high-density ribbon cable designs with smaller diameters and better fiber duct utilization.
Support High-Density Cable Designs And Duct Utilization
For indoor, outdoor, and indoor/outdoor applications, Prysmian provides FusionLink and MassLink with FlexRibbon. Dry water blocking is used in FusionLink, which comes with either 250 μm or 200 μm ribbon. Under NESC Heavy loading conditions, EcoSpan aerial cable can support spans of up to 300 feet. As a small-diameter outdoor option, FlexDrop can hold up to two 12-fiber ribbons.
Enable Mass-Fusion Splicing And Faster Deployment
Mass-fusion splicing connects several ribbon fibers in a single operation, often 12 at once. This approach may shorten splice time where ribbon routes are compatible. When connecting to loose-tube cable, technicians split ribbon fibers and individually splice them with a single-fiber splicer.
Review Indoor, Outdoor, Access, And Broadband Applications
Ribbon cable is used in point-to-point networks, indoor FTTH systems, MTP wiring-box links, and urban trunk routes. Choosing indoor and outdoor fiber cable to suit the route matches its construction with building, aerial, and underground requirements.
Final Conclusions
An intermittent bonded ribbon line guide brings together fiber layout, bond placement, curing, and inspection. The process produces a flexible optical fiber ribbon that stays organized for handling while rolling or folding into compact cable designs.
In this process, bonds are placed before the subunit coating cures. The materials form a diffusion zone before curing together. Careful control throughout the process helps maintain reliable fiber cable manufacturing.
Mass-fusion ribbon splicing is also supported by flexible ribbons, helping crews splice many fibers in one operation. FlexRibbon is described by Prysmian as suitable for various cable designs, including compact configurations with up to 6,912 fibers.
For manufacturers and network planners, the priority is to coordinate fiber alignment, bond strength, and rollability. This balance may make cable packaging easier while ensuring ribbons remain prepared for efficient installation and splicing.