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The Laser Wire Solutions Mercury-3 strips wires and shielded cable ranging in size from 0.025 – 5 mm OD (0.001" – 0.2"). The laser is strongly absorbed by the wire/cable insulation causing it to melt or vaporize. By stripping from both sides automatically a slug of insulation can be separated from the main wire/cable insulation. The slug can be left on to keep the wire strands together, only being pulled off by the Operator immediately before termination. The Mercury-3 also allows the possibility to fully vaporize the wire insulation by passing the laser spot over the wire multiple times at high speed in a hatch pattern. This may not be suitable for all materials - but for bonded insulations it can be the best method for insulation removal. The laser light fully reflects from the wire conductor ensuring there can never be nicks or scrapes. In the case of shielded cables, the laser can be used to cut off the jacket, the laser light reflecting from the shield or aluminized foil. The shield needs to be reasonably complete (>80% coverage) in order to protect the inner wire insulation.
The main applications are difficult to process insulations and wires where a mechanical blade could cause damage. Examples include removing the jackets from shielded multiconductor cables, removing the jackets and dielectrics from high performance microwave cables, cutting the aluminized mylar foils of twin-ax cables etc. However, the Mercury-3 is most suited when an area of insulation has to be vaporized (e.g. bonded insulation).
The strip patterns and laser settings are programmed via a laptop with a graphical user interface. The strip patterns are then stored in the machine in non-volatile memory so there is no need for a PC on the shop floor. The machines user interface allows hundreds of patterns to be stored, each with a unique ID and the Operator can call up the ID using the machine keypad.
Mercury-3 begins the stripping process when the Operator starts the process via the footswitch.
The wires/cables are held in position via a configurable fixture plate. Up to ten wires/ cables can be stripped as part of one operation. A standard fixture plate is supplied, but if required a custom plate can be designed for your requirement.