Automation system development for alignment of fiber optics | |
| Author | Buot, Joan Rey V. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. ISE-01-32 |
| Subject(s) | Programmable controllers Fiber optics industry |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. ISE-01-32 |
| Abstract | Internet is becoming very important nowadays. Business transactions, information gathering, communications, etc. is made easier and faster. In the industry, faster communication is the main goal as far as networking is concerned. This goal leads to the development of Fiber Optics. It can convey more data, faster, and the components are smaller and lighter with several advantages over the copper wires. In the assembly of optical switch, manual process is now used since the process is too complicated and the fibers have a core diameter of 9 µm, which is too small for robots to handle. One fiber optics company in Thailand is currently using full manual labor in the alignment process to operate the system in the assembly line. It takes much time and affects the operator's health badly because of continuous strain on eyes, legs, and back. Optical "SN"switch is a device, which consists of four optical fibers. It has a driving mechanism to move the mirror up and down, which is situated in between the fibers. The objective of my thesis is to develop an automation system for optical switch assembly to improve the accuracy, to reduce the operator's difficulties and reduce the lead-time. In optical switch assembly, there are two modes to align the fibers namely: reflection mode and transmission mode. Alignment in the reflection mode means that in one side, there are two fibers, one is input and one is output. Data conveyed using a laser are sent from the input and reflected to the output using a mirror (mirror down), which is located at the center between the two pairs of fibers. In the transmission mode, the data is transmitted from input fiber of one side to the output fiber on the other side (mirror up). The assembly is currently done by an existing machine, which uses manual alignment method by manually rotating axes, x, y, and z on two sides. One side is for one pair of fiber and another side is for the other pair of fiber (these pair of fibers are each contained in a glass tube) to be aligned simultaneously with respect to the optical switch where it would be fastened. Automation has been developed for the manual alignment operation using servomotors to control x, y, & z on both sides to meet the requirements (at least 900nm displacement). These axes can only align fibers in reflection mode. In transmission mode, x, y, & z rotations are not enough. One extra rotational axis is added to rotate the tube containing the fibers in one side to align in such a way that the two fibers in both sides are concentric to one another. Using Intelligent motors with a customized programming language would make automation feasible, easy to maintain and user friendly. Aside from motors, simulation software (ADAMS) is used to analyze the mechanical design dynamically and verify the analytical calculation of parameters such as force, torque, velocity, inertia, etc |
| Year | 2001 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. ISE-01-32 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Advanced Technologies (SAT) |
| Department | Department of Industrial Systems Engineering (DISE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Industrial Systems Engineering (ISE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Nitin V Afzulpurkar; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Lertsak Lekawat ;Bohez, Erik L.J. ;Teera Achariyapaopan ;Pichai Sirirungruang |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Germany (DAAD) ; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001 |