What is Fiber Color Ink? Usage of Fiber Color Ink

What is fiber coloring ink? Fiber coloring ink refers to an acrylic-based ink specifically used to color optical fibers.

When using coloring ink for coloring, the viscosity of the ink must be controlled. At the same time, the thickness of the fiber coating and the degree of drying of the coating must be controlled. If the ink coloring color is too thin, the optical fiber is not easy to distinguish. If the ink coloring color is too thick, it is easy to affect the optical fiber transmission. Produce a large additional loss.

The Purpose of Fiber Optic Coloring

Give the optical fiber a bright color, smooth surface, stable and reliable color mainly to facilitate the identification of optical fibers during the production and construction of optical cables. Common fiber optic coloring methods: fiber color ink, uv coloring resin, led uv coloring…

Requirements for Coloring with Fiber Coloring Ink

1. Good curing. The color does not migrate, fade, or dissolve in grease;

2. There is no significant change in the attenuation coefficient of the optical fiber before and after coloring;

3. The other performance indicators of the optical fiber remain unchanged after coloring;

Fiber Color ink

Main ingredients: composed of high-viscosity oligomers, low-viscosity monomers, photoinitiators, pigments and additives. The stability performance is valid for 12 months. It needs to be placed in a dark and cool place.

Shaking material: If the coloring ink is not stirred or stirred insufficiently, the color material will separate from the base material and there will be sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Therefore, the ink must be stirred at a constant speed and for a long time before use. 35 degrees Celsius, 8rpm, more than 4 hours.

In order to make the ink work better, the thickness of the colored ink is generally between 3 and 5 microns. The problems when the coloring thickness is large are:

(1) The required amount of INK increases

(2) The friction characteristics decrease (the bonding force between the optical fiber and the coloring layer decreases)

(3) The loss increases after coloring and the bending characteristics are low.

Fiber Coloring Process

The optical fiber is stably released from the pay-off unit, through the guide wheel to the pay-off tension adjustment wheel. The stable pay-off tension is adjusted at any time so that the optical fiber can always be paid under constant tension. Before entering the coloring mold, the optical fiber is ionized and blown. To remove static electricity and dust. Then it passes through a suitable coloring mold (including an inlet mold and an outlet mold). The cavity of the coloring mold is filled with a bubble-free optical fiber coloring ink with a suitable pressure to color the passing optical fiber. The colored optical fiber enters the UV curing furnace protected by N2 and is quickly cured. Then it passes through the traction guide and the take-up tension adjustment wheel and goes to the take-up reel. The take-up device automatically takes up and arranges the wires. At the same time, ionized air blows away static electricity and dust on the surface of the colored optical fiber.