THORLABS Vytran GPX3400 User Manual page 12

GPX3400 and GPX3600 Glass Processors Chapter 3: Description
Filament Tower
After the splice head moves to the correct position, the Filament Tower raises in the Y-axis to a predefined height
to surround the fibers. A filament assembly, available in many different sizes for various applications, sits atop the
filament tower. This assembly is screwed to the filament tower and also held down by two filament clamps. In
addition to holding down the filament assembly, the filament clamps also serve to limit the influx of room air into
the splicing area, as they have protrusions that cover most of the filament housing cavity.
To change a filament assembly, please see Section 6.4.1 Changing the Filament
Filament Tower
Filaments
The filaments are omega-shaped resistive heaters. Thorlabs offers these filaments preassembled in a variety of
sizes as well as different materials that could be more appropriate to a particular splicing application.
Graphite filaments are capable of achieving the high temperature required for splicing large-diameter silica fibers.
It uses less argon and outgases very little compared to the other filaments. Iridium filaments are also available for
with soft glass fibers.
Proper filament selection and splice parameters are essential for optimum splice performance. For filament
selection guidelines, see Figure 7. In addition to the standard sizes, custom filaments may be specially designed
for various applications. Contact Thorlabs for more information.
Filament Heater Element
Rev B, July 24, 2017 Page 11