Semray® UV LED Curing System for Optical Fiber Manufacturing

A New Innovation for Optical Fiber Manufacturing is Here!

Semray UVPC6003 on Draw Tower

Introducing the Semray® UV PC6003, a UV LED curing system designed from the ground up for optical fiber draw and coloring manufacturing processes!

Active in the optical fiber market since its inception, Noblelight understands your challenges and the requirements your UV curing systems need to deliver. Reliable and consistent UV curing for high quality, 24/7 continuous manufacturing operations are a must. Downtime is very costly!

Our new Semray® UV PC6003 LED curing system, goes above and beyond to meet production speeds while reducing downtime and lowering total cost of ownership. Plus we made retrofitting existing draw towers and other fiber and cable processing lines easy and cost effective. The typical payback for retrofitting a draw tower is about 2 years.

Learn more about the advantages Semray® UV PC6003 UV LED curing systems offer.

Semray UVPC6000 Lamp Head
  • Faster production speeds versus other UV LED curing systems due to higher UV output and better uniformity
  • Reduced downtime due to long operating lifetime of LEDs, optimized thermal management, and quick and easy LED array module changes
  • Easy to retrofit, drop-in replacement for existing microwave-powered UV curing systems
  • Energy cost savings of 83% due to efficient LED technology and optimized optical design*
  • Industry 4.0 ready with its embedded sensors and microprocessor data
  • Easily monitor system performance to reduce unscheduled downtime and scrap rates using optional AIMS® software
  • Lowest total cost of ownership due to lower operating and maintenance costs

*Energy savings as compared to an F600S microwave-powered UV curing system

  • Optical fiber drawing and coloring (limited formulations available now) processes
  • We fully expect the following applications will commercialize once formulations suitable to UV LED curing become available:
    • Optical fiber ribbon coating
    • Strength member rod curing
    • Wire and cable marking

The Semray® UV PC6003 UV LED curing system consists of the lamp assembly and the controller power supply.

UV PC6003 UV LED Lamp Assembly
Cooling Internal fans
Wavelength 395 nm
Irradiance at Target 65-70 W/cm2
Uniformity >80% at target
Power Output Range 40%-100%

Proprietary innovations are the foundation for the most advanced UV LED curing technology designed from the ground up to meet requirements of the optical fiber draw manufacturing process.

Irradiance levels in 10% increments shows the uniformity of UV LED output around the fiber using Heraeus Noblelight’s innovative design

Noblelight’s innovative and unique triple-module optical design delivers high intensity UV energy while also providing unmatched uniformity around the fiber. The result is a solution that significantly reduces operating costs while delivering faster production speeds versus other UV LED curing systems.

The design leverages and optimizes the inherent characteristics of LED technology and the optical fiber draw process. Compared to traditional UV curing technology, UV LEDs are more compact and it’s easier to optically control their UV output. This enabled a revolutionary design concept of “curing a line with a line” -- the optical design mirrors the line of LED’s UV energy onto the line of glass fiber. In fact, the new design, using 3 UV LED array modules in combination with 3 reflectors, results in 80% of the total UV output reaching the fiber! It produces even better uniformity around the glass fiber and more UV energy than a traditional microwave-powered UV curing system.

In addition, the UV curing process in optical fiber draw towers already uses an inerted environment which is ideal for UV LED curing chemistries to perform at peak efficiency. Test data shows production lines speeds in excess of 3,000 m/min are possible.

The overall result of our innovative UV LED curing system design applied to existing optical fiber draw tower applications is the ability to reduce energy costs by 83%* while still meeting production speed requirements.

*Energy savings as compared to an F600S microwave-powered UV curing system

UV LED Heatsink Design Heat Map Semray UVPC6003 series

Thermal management of UV LEDs is critical for achieving long operating lifetimes which is so important for reducing downtime in optical fiber manufacturing. However, traditional high thermal conductivity materials used for UV LED heatsinks are typically quite expensive and difficult to manufacture.

As part of a broad, materials-based company, Noblelight’s team worked closely with Heraeus Electronics to develop a lower cost electrical design without compromising thermal performance. The resulting solution uses thick film dielectric (Celcion®) technology adopted from the automotive and visible lighting industries. This allows electrical design and fabrication similar to standard printed circuit boards (PCBs). The result is greatly improved manufacturability, reliability, and reduced costs while also improving thermal performance and operating lifetime. And just as important, it enables driving the LEDs to produce higher UV output without causing shorter lifetimes.

PC6003 LED module

Optical fiber production runs 24/7, so minimizing downtime and maintenance costs is critical. A major benefit of UV LED curing technology is its long operating life. However, eventually the LEDs will need replacing. When this happens, most UV LED systems require users to keep replacement systems on hand so the user can swap in the spare system and return the used system for replacement of the LED arrays inside. Keeping these spare systems on hand is costly.

In contrast, Noblelight’s proprietary design makes it quick and easy for users to replace only the UV LED array module. Each UV LED array module has two quick-release fasteners and a “plug and play” cable – it couldn’t be simpler!

Instead of keeping an entire UV LED curing system in inventory, users can keep only spare LED array modules on hand. This significantly reduces spare parts inventory and maintenance costs as well as downtime. Users can further reduce unexpected downtime by using the AIMS® (Advanced Intelligent Monitoring System) software which constantly monitors the health of the UVLED curing equipment and provides notifications and alerts when the UV LEDs need replacing.

UV LEC curing for optical fiber

Fiber optic customers want to monitor the performance of the UV LED lamp head to improve production rates and quality and, ultimately, drive higher revenues. Our proprietary innovation tightly integrates sensors and a microprocessor with the LED array. The microprocessor collects sensor data for monitoring electrical current, heat, and LED lifetime. Combined with Noblelight’s monitoring software, AIMS® (Advanced Intelligent Monitor System), users can monitor their UV LED lamp performance in real time to prevent unscheduled downtime and reduce scrap.