Mercury-4E

The Mercury-4E dual axis optics allows flexible wire stripping:

From top to bottom:

• cross-cut: laser separates the slug of insulation - Operator pulls off as a second operation
• slit: laser makes a cross cut but also slits along the insulation to aid peeling off a long length. Especially used for cable jackets
• window: like a slit, but two cross cuts are made to allow a window section of insulation to be removed - used especially for accessing the shield of a cable for attaching to the shield
• area ablation: the laser passes back and forth over the wire multiple times to completely vaporize an area of insulation.

The Mercury-4E strips wires and shielded cable ranging in size from 0.001" to 0.24" (0.025 mm to 6 mm) outer diameter.

The Mercury-4E is suited to:

• removing jackets from shielded multi-conductor cables
• removing jackets and dialetrics from high performance microwave cables
• cutting aluminized mylar foils of twin-ax cables
• removing bonded insulations.

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. Full vaporization can be achieved by passing the laser spot over the wire multiple times at high speed in a hatch pattern. For bonded materials this may be the best method for insulation removal. In the case of shielded cables, the shield needs to be reasonably complete (>80% coverage) in order to protect the inner wire insulation whilst laser cutting the outer jacket.

All polymer insulations can be cut with the Mercury-4E laser. The amount of melt, vaporization or chemical decomposition depends on the exact polymers used. Below is a non-exhaustive list of materials that can be stripped:

• Fluoropolymers, such as PTFE, ETFE, PFA
• Polyethylene
• Nylon
• Silicone
• PVC
• Rubber
• Mylar
• Fiberglass
• Polyurethane
• Polyester

Technical Data