One aspect is an ablation system with a wire feed configured to feed a wire and a wire take-up configured to take-up the wire. A wire handling system is configured to advance the wire and to stop the wire between the wire feed and the wire take-up in a controlled manner. A laser ablation processor is located between the wire feed and the wire take-up, the laser ablation processor having at least one laser configured to ablate the wire when the wire is stopped. A clamp system is located between wire feed and the wire take-up and configured to clamp onto the wire when the wire is stopped.

A method for stripping a part of a shielding foil of a sheathed cable includes the following steps: provide the sheathed cable with the shielding foil that has a predetermined breaking point running along a circumference of the shielding foil; bend a subarea of the sheathed cable with the shielding foil in a first direction to apply a tearing stress at the predetermined breaking point that tears the shielding foil on a part of the circumference of the shielding foil; move a first part of the sheathed cable in an elliptical, particularly circular, movement to apply the tearing stress across essentially the entire circumference of the shielding foil, so that the shielding foil tears at the predetermined breaking point across the entire circumference of the shielding foil; and remove from the sheathed cable the part of the shielding foil that was stripped from the sheathed cable.

A wire guide and a laser wire-processing device that includes a wire guide are provided. The laser wire-processing device includes a housing and an aperture in a side of the housing, wherein the aperture defines a longitudinal axis that is substantially perpendicular to the aperture. The laser wire-processing device also includes a backstop arranged in the housing and aligned with the longitudinal axis, the backstop defining a wire-contact surface in a facing relationship with the aperture. The laser wire-processing device also includes a wire guide arranged in the housing to manipulate a wire inserted through the aperture into a desired position relative to the longitudinal axis between the aperture and the backstop. The laser wire-processing device also includes a laser operable to direct a laser beam toward an insulation layer of the wire. The wire guide could be a tube arranged in the device or a backstop guide.

One aspect is a method for producing an ablated conductor, including providing a coated conductor including an inner layer that is electrically conducting and at least one coating layer that at least partially covers the inner layer, and providing at least one laser beam. The method includes at least partially removing the at least one coating layer in a first section by moving the at least one laser beam and the coated conductor with respect to each other along at least one scan line in the first section. A first energy density of a first radiation, produced by the at least one laser beam, that irradiates a surface of the first section is adjusted according to a first ablation depth of the first section.

The method and apparatus comprise the following features: —forming coil members (21) by bending an electric conductor (20) externally coated with an outer insulation (20′); wherein the bending is made at predetermined lengths from a reference position (16′), and wherein each one of the coil members (21), when formed, comprises at least one head portion (21′) and leg portions (21″) extending from said at least one head portion (21′); —feeding the electric conductor (20) to accomplish the bending; —cutting the electric conductor (20) to detach a formed coil member (21) from said electric conductor (20); —inserting the leg portions (21″) of the coil members (21) into slots of the stator, so that parts of said leg portions (21″) extend from one end of the stator and the head portions (21′) extend from an opposite end of the stator; —arranging at least one laser beam (13′a, 13′b) to remove the insulation (20′) from predetermined areas (20a, 20b) of the electric conductor (20); —radiating the surface of the electric conductor (20) with said at least one laser beam (13′a, 13′b) situated at a predetermined position (IP, 2P) with respect to the reference position (16′) along the length of the electric conductor (20) being fed, and at a predetermined stage of the bending of a coil member (20).

An automated system for processing an end of a cable. The system includes: a cable delivery system; a cable processing module; a pallet supported by the cable delivery system; a drive wheel rotatably coupled to the pallet; a motor operatively coupled for driving rotation of the drive wheel; and an idler wheel rotatably coupled to the pallet and forming a nip with the drive wheel. The cable processing module includes cable processing equipment and a computer system. The computer system is configured to: (a) cause the drive wheel to rotate in a cable pushing direction to cause a specified length of cable to be inserted into the cable processing equipment; (b) activate the cable processing equipment to operate on the cable end; and (c) cause the drive wheel to rotate in a cable pulling direction to cause the length of cable to be removed from the cable processing equipment.

A system configured to position a tip of a cable. The system includes: a cable delivery system; a cable tip positioning module situated at a workstation in proximity to the cable delivery system; a pair of wheels operable to push a cable into the cable tip positioning module when a cable is in a nip between the wheels; an apparatus configured to hold the wheels; a motor operatively coupled to drive rotation of the wheels; and a proximity sensor configured to issue a cable present signal indicating the proximity of a conductor in the cable. The cable tip positioning module comprises a computer system configured to activate the motor to drive rotation of the wheels in a cable pulling direction in response to issuance of the cable present signal.

A system and method for removing a protective shield from an electrical cable using an ablation process is disclosed. The circumference of the protective shield may not be perfectly circular. To compensate, a measurement, such as a distance measurement to a point on a surface of the electrical cable, is performed. Based on the distance measurement, the system performs a compensation operation, such as moving the lens in the laser system in order to compensate. Thereby, the focus of the laser radiation may be placed consistently at a predetermined position relative to the surface of the protective shield, thereby sufficiently ablating the protective shield without harming interior layers of the electrical cable. Further, the protective shield may be wrapped so that there is an overlap. To account for this, the protective shield on both sides of the ablated groove is held and twisted in order to shear along the groove.

A laser processing device for processing shielded conductors includes a processing chamber configured to process an end portion of a shielded conductor disposed therein using laser radiation. The processing chamber has a housing defining an opening. In a processing position of the laser processing device, the end portion of the shielded conductor is inserted along an insertion axis into the opening and extends into the processing chamber. A gripping device is configured to fix the shielded conductor in the opening in the processing position of the laser processing device. In the processing position of the laser processing device, the gripping device is positioned at the housing without contact therebetween. The gripping device includes a first projection portion which extends at least partially into the opening along the insertion axis in the processing position of the laser processing device.

The method and apparatus comprise the following features: forming coil members (21) by bending an electric conductor (20) externally coated with an outer insulation (20); wherein the bending is made at predetermined lengths from a reference position (16), and wherein each one of the coil members (21), when formed, comprises at least one head portion (21) and leg portions (21) extending from said at least one head portion (21); feeding the electric conductor (20) to accomplish the bending; cutting the electric conductor (20) to detach a formed coil member (21) from said electric conductor (20); inserting the leg portions (21) of the coil members (21) into slots of the stator, so that parts of said leg portions (21) extend from one end of the stator and the head portions (21) extend from an opposite end of the stator; arranging at least one laser beam (13a, 13b) to remove the insulation (20) from predetermined areas (20a, 20b) of the electric conductor (20); radiating the surface of the electric conductor (20) with said at least one laser beam (13a, 13b) situated at a predetermined position (IP, 2P) with respect to the reference position (16) along the length of the electric conductor (20) being fed, and at a predetermined stage of the bending of a coil member (20).