Thermal Drawing Device Update

We have been working on our thermal drawing device and have recently tested it to thermally draw fibers.

Here's how we constructed it:

 

Components of the Heating System

The elements of the heating system are displayed above. The heating block was created by drilling a hollow core in an aluminum block and wrapping the block in an insulating material. The block is heated with two heater cartridges (blue wires) and the temperature is monitored with a thermocouple (silver wire) embedded in the block. The PID (proportional, integral, derivative) temperature controller is connected to the thermocouple. This allows us to choose a set value for the temperature of the block. The solid state relay (SSR) enables the power supplied to the heating block to be regulated based on temperature sensing of the thermocouple. The power supply adapter allows the entire device to be powered with a 110V wall outlet.

 

Acrylic Box to Hold Heating Components

An acrylic, laser cut box was assembled to hold the components of the heating system, with the heating block attached to the frame of the device.

The elements to move the preform and spool the fibers are controlled by an Arduino UNO with a motor shield. 

 

Fiber Movement Elements

The continuous servo rotates a 3D printed spool specially designed for the project. The actuator (vertical motor) is connected to a 3D printed “preform holder” which has holes for pins that can attach to a preform in the middle. This allows the preform to slowly be lowered into the heating block, as controlled by the Arduino. The frame is composed of maker beams that allow easy attachment of the various parts with bolts and hex nuts.

 

Assembled Thermal Drawing Device

Here's the assembled device, maintaining the set temperature of 150 degrees Celcius. The closer look on the left shows how the preform would be held and lowered into the block.