Press Release

Beta LaserMike Products Meet the Wire & Cable Industry’s Growing Demand for Quality Monitoring Systems at IWCS 2014

Latest Lay Length measurement system and new LAN/Data cable testing systems deliver higher accuracies, production efficiencies, and savings for profit-minded wire and cable manufacturers

Dayton, Ohio–September 11, 2014 – NDC Technologies, a leading global provider of precision measurement and control solutions, will showcase several offerings from its line of Beta LaserMike products at this year’s IWCS 63rd IWCS Conference in Providence, Rhode Island from November 9 - 12 (Booth 106). The innovations on display include the latest LayScan® length measurement system and DCM ES-2G LAN/Data cable testing system. The Beta LaserMike product team will also be available to discuss the new DCM SCS-700 cable testing system with dual low-frequency and high-frequency testing capabilities. In addition, NDC Technologies and Hitachi Cable USA will give a joint paper presentation at the conference technical session.

“Each year at this conference, we continue to see manufacturing processes evolve and newly developed technology ready to meet the needs of industry,” says Bob Stockholm, Director of EMEAI Sales for the Beta LaserMike line of products at NDC Technologies. “We’re pleased to be a part of this exciting business and to be able to contribute the measurement solutions that help manufacturers better control the quality of their product and processes. At this year’s conference, we look forward to meeting with wire and cable industry leaders to discuss their unique challenges and give them an inside look at the latest gauging and cable testing technologies.”

The latest version of the LayScan lay length measurement system solves scrap, costly rework, and productivity loss problems due to manual, time-consuming lay length measurement methods and crosstalk performance issues from lay variations during Datacom cable production. LayScan enables manufacturers to simultaneously measure four pairs at the cabler and twinner to confirm the accuracy of twisted-pair cable construction during production. A data acquisition and control system effectively collects and processes each lay length and enables you to use off-line analysis tools such as trend charts, statistical analysis, or FFT analysis to readily observe, measure, and report systematic lay variations. LayScan measures lay lengths up to 25.4 mm at speeds up to 152.4 m/min with 0.025 mm accuracy. LayScan can also be used in conjunction with the Beta LaserMike SRL Pro structural return loss measurement system for a total on-line cable performance quality solution. SRL Pro can be used before and/or after the extruder to identify potential causes of structural return loss problems on Datacom cable.

The latest DCM ES-2G testing platform extends the high-frequency measurement range to test Cat 5e/6/6a/7/7a cables now up to 2.2 GHz. This bench-top system is also optimized to test next-generation 40 Gb/s Cat 8 cables. The base unit includes automatic 4-pair switching and the baluns needed to interface the cable under test to an external vector network analyzer for fast cable testing. Testing can be performed in less than 3 minutes. The DCM ES-2G cable testing system is also equipped with innovative technology that eliminates the effect of jacket removal on reflection measurements, such as input impedance and return loss. The heart of the system is the Windows®-based software engine that includes a simple, easy-to-use test program with automatic comparison to the test specification, full test reporting, and data management.

The new DCM SCS-700 LAN/Data cable testing system efficiently tests Cat 5e/6/6a cables to 700 MHz and offers a low-frequency option to test cables down to 100 Hz. Dual-frequency testing can be performed with a single connection to significantly reduce set-up and testing time. The DCM SCS-700 is engineered with an automated 4-pair switching platform, enabling operators to perform cable testing in less than 3 minutes. And, this system includes easy-to-use testing software with complete test management and reporting capabilities.

Beta LaserMike application specialists will also be available to discuss the following measurement and control solutions for wire and cable:
• LaserSpeed length and speed gauge
• CenterScan eccentricity gauge
• High-Frequency Spark Tester and Preheater systems
• BenchMike table-top cut sample measurement system
• DataPro process controller and data management system
• SRL Pro on-line structural return loss (SRL) prediction and analysis system
• DCM Cable Testing systems, bench-top and fully integrated, for LAN/Data, Telecom, Coaxial, and Aerospace/Defense cables

Technical Paper Presentation
NDC Technologies and Hitachi Cable USA will give a joint technical paper on the topic “8 Cable Transmission Measurements: A Comparative Study between 4-Port and 2-Port Vector Network Analyzer Methods.” The paper will be co-presented by Rafael Herrera and Nadim Kafati of NDC Technologies (DCM Cable Testing Product Line) and Stefan Estevanovich of Hitachi Cable USA. The presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12 (Session 12, 8:00 am – 11:25 am) in the main conference area. The presentation will provide a comparative analysis of both test methods and show an implementation of IEC/TR 61156-1-5 (Return Loss correction procedures) on the Return Loss data obtained with the TLT baluns.

For more information on the conference sessions, visit www.iwcs.org.

About NDC Technologies and Beta LaserMike Products
NDC Technologies is a global organization committed to the innovation, design, and manufacture of precision measurement and control systems for a wide range of industries. The Beta LaserMike line of laser and ultrasonic measurement technology provides in-process dimensional monitoring and sample/part inspection of products such as wire and cable, fiber optics, metals, rubber and plastic, flat rolled goods, tube and pipe, and other manufactured goods. Characterized by their ease of use, intuitive interfaces and low maintenance, NDC Technologies' products are supported worldwide by our Customer Care team, with local support in over 60 countries.