Coating process for a fiber optic tape with a resin and apparatus for performing this process

摘要

Method of resin coating a ribbon of several optical fibres laid parallel to each other in the same plane with a UV curable resin forming a protective coating around and holding the fibres (101) consists of coating the parallel laid fibres with an uncured resin, then curing the coated fibres with UV radiation in two stages. The first stage being precure as the coated bundle runs through the axis of a hollow cylindrical lamp (23) in which is generated uniform UV radiation of less than a quarter of the power needed to fully cure the resin so that curing is just started to give a precured ribbon (103) with excessively heating the resin. The second stage completes the cure by subjecting the ribbon to UV radiation of greater power than the first stage (104).