Selecting and ordering the right fluid dispense systems has never been an easy thing to do. This is why, after decades in this business, Fishman® Corporation set out to greatly simplify the process. The solution they developed is the Fiber Optic Connector Assembly Program (FOCAP), which is targeted at companies making LC, MT, and SC Fiber Optic Connector assemblies.
The program appreciably eases the selection and ordering process, providing a solution that reduces manufacturing downtime, resulting in increased throughput and profits. FOCAP consists of three program choices, covering companies doing annual production yields, ranging from low to mid to high.
Program Choice 1
Program Choice 1 features the SmartDispenser® MINI™ with AlgorithmicControl™. It’s ideal for dispensing epoxies designed to bond glass fiber to ceramic ferrules. It also ensures each ferrule is filled without overflow or air gaps, which is crucial when performing assembly work of this type. AlgorithmicControl™ also helps manage two-part epoxies and other Fiber Optic assembly fluids, making certain each ferrule is filled precisely.
Traditional air pressure systems cannot do this. Only AlgorithmicControl™ provides the technology able to stabilize the fluid dispensing process and, in doing so, deliver the highest repeatability. In addition, Program Choice 1 is available with SmartDispenser® MINI™ 3, 5, 10, and 30 cc Pencil Guns. All four are especially suited for blind filling into Fiber Optic connector ferrules and, thanks to AlgorithmicControl™, offer a level of precision that the companies making LC, MT, and SC Fiber Optic Connector assemblies expect and demand.
Program Choice 2
Program Choice 2 features the SmartDispenser® Benchtop System with AirFree® Technology. It delivers all the advantages of AlgorithmicControl™, and provides customers with the ability to add various smart features, helping to eliminate human error and increase productivity. With this level of intelligence, the SmartDispenser® can make decisions, report production data, reduce PLC programming, and establish machine-to-machine cross communication between workstations and with MES systems.
This will help customers achieve far greater control of the assembly process, allowing them to reap the many rewards that come along with it. Program Choice 2 is available with SmartDispenser® MINI™ 3, 5, 10, and 30 cc Pencil Guns. All four are especially suited for blind filling epoxies into Fiber Optic connector ferrules when bonding glass fiber to ceramic. AlgorithmicControl™ helps them provide the highest repeatability, from one dispense to the next. It also helps to manage two-part epoxies, ensuring each ferrule is filled to spec without overflow or air gaps.
Program Choice 3
Program Choice 3 combines AlgorithmicControl™ with the LC/MT/SC Genius™ Precision ConnectorMount™, the High Precision Benchtop Robot, the SmartReload™ Station, and the Fiber Optic Connector SmartApp™. The specifics of this unique and powerful SmartApp™ are outlined below. With this SmartAutomation™ Platform, featuring the SmartDispenser® with AlgorithmicControl™ and AirFree® Technology, companies making LC, MT, and SC Fiber Optic Connector assemblies have a superior solution that ensures each fiber optic connector is filled precisely, cycle after cycle.
Fiber Optic Connector SmartApp™
The LC, MT, and SC Fiber Optic Connector SmartApp™ allows for the input of data so the SmartDispenser® can conduct automatic process monitoring.
With this added data, the SmartDispenser® can:
- Monitor how much fluid is in the syringe compared with how much is needed to fill each fiber optic connector.
- Count how many connectors have been filled with epoxy, and how many have not.
- The SmartDispenser® will not stop until all the connectors in the ConnectorMount™ are filled.
- It also will monitor epoxy working time to ensure epoxy is not dispensed into the fiber optic connectors after the epoxy has exceeded the recommended working time.
- However, should working time expire partially through the filling of a ConnectorMount™, the SmartDispenser® will continue filling all the connectors before stopping.
- This is done because it is not possible to see inside the ConnectorMount™ or in each fiber optic connector. So, if the SmartDIspenser® stops part way through the process because the epoxy cure time has expired, the operator would have to throw out all the connectors because there is no way of determining if they are filled or not.
- The SmartDispenser® will not stop until all the connectors in the ConnectorMount™ are filled.
- Additionally, the SmartDispenser® will not start a new ConnectorMount™ if there is not enough fluid left in the syringe to fill the entire ConnectorMount™, thus eliminating the possibility that any fiber optic connectors are not filled with epoxy.
It Gets Even Better
If all that weren’t enough, each Program Choice is upgradeable to the next option level. Customers can start with the SmartDispenser® MINI™, then go to the SmartDispenser® Benchtop System, which can then be integrated into the SmartAutomation™ Platform. Better still, all these upgrades are designed to be done easily and affordably, ensuring that a customer’s investment in Fishman® is never lost. This unparalleled versatility helps to make the SmartDispenser® the most flexible fluid dispensing system available today.
Easy (and Affordably) Does It
If the idea of being able to easily and affordably select and order the best fluid dispense systems for your specific applications appeals to you, then we hope you contact Fishman® Corporation to begin the pain-free process we have created for you. You can also learn more by visiting fishmancorp.com.