Keyence's Armoured Tough Flex fibre optic sensors with built-in flexible stainless steel jacket will not break even when sharply bent.
Keyence's Armoured Tough Flex fibre optic sensors with built-in flexible stainless steel jacket will not break even when sharply bent. Impact and Shock Resistant, the fibre unit will continue to operate even if repeatedly hit or snagged by an object or tool. With Reflective and Thrubeam models they are designed to solve difficult applications or simply to protect the fibre from daily wear and exposure to harsh environmental conditions.

Conventional fibre optics' construction mean they cannot be routed like electrical cables with tight turns and twists as the LED light they transmit (from the amplifier) is easily decreased if they are bent too tightly.

All fibre optics therefore have a 'minimum bending radius' specification to prevent damage or poor performance of the sensor.

Due to a large minimum bend radius (typically 25mm), conventional fibre types cannot be fitted tightly around corners on a machine, therefore large loops have to be left which can easily be accidentally snagged or damaged and in the worst case broken.

In applications where the fibre may be frequently bent then poor performance or even breakage can occur.

In harsh environments where there may be shock or impact, the chance of mechanical damage to conventional fibre optics also increases.

Keyence's 'Super Tough Flex' fibre optics however enable a minimum bending radius down to 0.5 mm.

Now the fibre optic cable can be bent around right-angle corners without any decrease in performance, no loops are required.

In cases where there is harsh environments, Keyence's Armoured Tough Flex range with stainless steel protective jackets are equally as flexible compared to conventional spiral fibres.