Automotive applications
Optical fibre is increasingly being used in cars for infotainment, e-safety, sensors, interconnections
and drive-by-wire. In this environment, fibre needs reliable protection as it is less robust than
traditional copper cables. Damage can be caused during assembly or transportation of the fibre within
the wiring harness and during installation into the car. Fibre can get crushed when adjacent wires are
tightly packed within wiring looms. This leads to micro-bending, which can cause momentary, unstable
optical losses or spikes in the signal. In turn, this can mean data corruption and intermittent faults
in output devices, such as satellite navigation systems. These kinds of faults are difficult to diagnose
and resolve. Often, they are wrongly attributed to software or hardware units which are replaced at the
manufacturer's cost. The customer suffers the inconvenience of several trips to the service centre and
their faith in the brand is undermined.
Miniflex prevents this type of damage occurring, thereby eradicating intermittent faults. This guarantee of reliability is paramount when it comes to safety-critical areas, such as airbag control and brake-by-wire systems. Our OFPT also provides better protection than the copper protection tubing products frequently used in the automotive sector.
Miniflex products are already trusted by many luxury car brands, who want to protect their investment in fibre optic installations. These including Saab, Land Rover, Volvo, Aston Martin and Range Rover.