The Core of Fiber Optic Cable Equipment Manufacturing: The “Metal Core” Inside the Differential Gearbox and the “Eyes” on the Sheathing Line
In 2025, the journal Wire & Cable published a paper on the design of high‑speed stranding and cabling units. The paper pointed out that traditional stranding units in high‑speed cabling processes have shortcomings in speed, durability, accuracy, and digital interconnectivity – issues that need to be addressed through the adoption of new servo motors, optimized mechanical structures, improved materials, and enhanced informatization.
Behind this paper lies a technological upgrade that the fiber optic cable equipment manufacturing industry is undergoing.
The core of an SZ stranding and cabling line is the differential gearbox – a cluster of meshing gears rotating forward and backward, tens of thousands of cycles per day. The quality of the differential gearbox directly determines how many years the stranding machine will last and whether the pitch stays accurate. The core of a fiber optic cable sheathing extrusion line is the laser diameter gauge – if the sheath outer diameter deviates by just 0.01 mm, it detects it and automatically adjusts. The sensitivity of the gauge directly determines whether sheath concentricity can reach above 98%.
In the workshop of Guangdong Hongkai Optical Cable Equipment Technology Co., Ltd. in Humen, Dongguan, these core components are being crafted one by one by a team of veteran workers who have been in the wire and cable equipment industry for over a decade.
