Abstract:
Meso-tapering or intermediate range tapering is a new tapering system that is inspired by the capability of the drawing tower technique (long range taper) as well as from the ame brush technique (short taper range). The drawing tower technique has tapering pro le monitoring and coating systems in the production line while ame brush technique is capable of producing very deep tapered pro le. In term of length, long range tapering is suitable for tapering of more than 10 metres. On the other hand, shot range tapering is only capable of up to 10 cm. This makes it very essential to have a way to not only ll in the gap between those mechanisms production pro les but also to apply their capabilities in the meso-range tapering. Interesting dispersion pro le is created as a result of the changes in the core diameter. It urges researches around the world to study optical e ects in the tapering bre. Building such high pro le system needed a lot of thoughts. Although the system is still at its initial, complete stage, the heater is well programmed for good accuracy in temperature control. The measuring head and the feeding and drawing motors are pc-commanded to operate at the desired users pro le and an upgrade feedback loop is applied. Heater was detected to be wrongly calibrated however the optimal temperature successfully found alongside with its best drawing speed. Disturbances and shock in changing motors' speed were also minimised with the optimal PID parameters. Products of the tapering were absolutely well controlled and go beyond what was capable by ame brush technique. Future improvements and expectations were also discussed.