Patent Publication Number: US-2021194226-A1

Title: System and method for removing a protective shield from an electrical cable

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to the electrical cable and connector industry, and in particular to a system and method for removing a protective shield, such as a foil shield (e.g., metal foil shield, Mylar shield, etc.) or a mesh (e.g., a metal wire mesh) from electrical wires and/or cables. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Different electrical and electronic equipment and their devices communicate between them through physical connectors and cables. Each device and/or apparatus may have specific connectivity requirements. Connectivity requirements could relate to physical connectivity between devices and to the communication protocol. Physical connectivity requirements could include a range of amplitude of current and/or voltage, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) protection and others. A cable is most frequently used to connect between different electric and electronic devices. 
     The electrical cable is usually one or more wires running side by side. The wires can be bonded, twisted, or braided together to form a single assembly. Every current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates an electromagnetic field. Likewise, any conductor or cable will pick up electromagnetic energy from any existing around electromagnetic field. This causes losses of transmitted energy and adversely affects electronic equipment or devices of the same equipment, since the noise picked-up is masking the desired signal being carried by the electrical cable. 
     There are particular cable designs that minimize EMI pickup and transmission. The main design techniques include electromagnetic cable shielding, coaxial cable geometry, and twisted-pair cable geometry. Shielding makes use of the electrical principle of the Faraday cage. The electrical cable is encased for its entire length in a metal foil or a metal wire mesh (shield). The metal could be such as aluminum or copper. 
     Coaxial cable design reduces electromagnetic transmission and pickup. In this design the current conductors are surrounded a tubular current conducting metal shield which could be a metal foil or a mesh. The foil or mesh shield has a circular cross section with the electric current conductors located at its center. This causes the voltages induced by a magnetic field between the shield and the conductors to consist of two nearly equal magnitudes which cancel each other. To reduce or prevent electromagnetic interference, other types of cables could also include an electromagnetic shield. 
     Cable assembly is a process that includes coupling of cut to measure individual wires or pair of wires and a metal foil shield into an electrical cable. Connectors terminate one or both ends of the electrical cable. Individual wires are stripped from the isolation and soldered to connector pins. If the electrical cable contains a metal foil shield, the shield has to be at least partially removed to allow unobstructed access to the individual wires and pins. 
     At present at least the metal shield removal is performed manually with the help of a knife or a cutter that cut the shield. The cut segment of the metal shield is manually removed or separated from the remaining part of the electrical cable. In some occasions the current conducting wires are damaged by the cutting tools. Such manual operation is slow, inaccurate, prone to error and costly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various aspects of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain its principles. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements. 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates an electrical cable cross section according to a first example; 
         FIG. 1B  illustrates an electrical cable cross section according to a second example; 
         FIG. 1C  illustrates a perspective view of an electrical cable after the protective shield has been removed from a part of the electrical cable; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of a metal foil removal system according to an example; 
         FIG. 3A  is a schematic illustration of an example of a metal foil removal system; 
         FIG. 3B  is a detail of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the process of with relevant processes of metal foil shield removal according to an example; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of sensing at least one aspect of the protective shield (such as distance of a sensor to the surface of the protective shield) and modifying at least one aspect of operation to compensate for the sensed aspect (such as moving the focal point of the laser system relative to the electrical cable); 
         FIG. 6A  is a first schematic illustration of moving the lens relative to the electrical cable in order to compensate for variations at a first point of the surface of the electrical cable; 
         FIG. 6B  is a second schematic illustration of moving the lens relative to the electrical cable in order to compensate for variations at a second point of the surface of the electrical cable; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating a process of compensating for deviations in the surface of the protective shield according to an example. 
         FIG. 8A  is a cross sectional view of the protective shield prior to laser ablating, including illustrating an overlapping region of the protective shield layer. 
         FIG. 8B  is a cross sectional view of the protective shield, including illustrating both pre and post laser ablating. 
         FIG. 8C  is an expanded view of the protective shield after laser ablating, including illustrating an overlapping region of the protective shield layer remains after laser ablating. 
         FIG. 9  is a top view illustrating the holder and the gripper both physically contacting the exposed section of the protective shield in order to perform the twisting movement. 
         FIG. 10A  is a first perspective view of an example of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable. 
         FIG. 10B  is a second perspective view (opposite the perspective shown in  FIG. 10A ) of the example of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable. 
         FIG. 10C  is a cross-sectional view of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable illustrated in  FIGS. 10A-B . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present document discloses a method and apparatus for removal of a protective shield from an electrical cable. Various types of protective shields are contemplated. In one implementation, a metal protective shield (such as an aluminum mesh shield or a metal foil shield) is used. In another implementation, a non-metal protective shield (such as a Mylar (also known as biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) shield or other type of polyester-based substance), fabric (or other cloth for covering electrical wire)) is used. In still another implementation, a combination of metal and non-metal materials may be used for the protective shield (e.g., an aluminum mesh shield coated with a cellophane or other transparent sheet). 
     The method is at least in part free of the drawbacks of manual metal foil shield removal. In one implementation, the apparatus is removing the protective shield, such as at least a part of the mesh shield or at least a part of the metal foil shield, using ablation process, shear stress generation and video camera feedback. In one implementation, ablation is a process of removing material from a solid where the material is converted to another aggregate state without any interim aggregate state. For example, metal is converted to plasma or gas without being converted into a liquid state. Ablation supports selective material removal and depth of the groove generated by the ablation process. In one implementation, the process is extremely short and no heat is transferred to underlying wire isolation layers. 
     Further, electrical cables may not be perfectly circular in cross-section. Rather, the electrical cables may be oval, elliptical, or other non-circular shape in cross-section. In this regard, the surface of the electrical cable may deviate from being a perfect circle. For example, the electrical cable may have one or more interior wires, such as illustrated in  FIGS. 1A-B , which may result in the electrical cable having a non-circular cross-sectional shape. The non-circular cross-sectional shape may not necessarily be considered a defect; rather, the surface deviations may simply a design feature of the electrical cable. 
     However, the non-circular cross-sectional shape may make removing of the protective shield on the electrical cable more difficult. In particular, because of this irregularity or deviations, it may be more difficult to control the laser/position of the electrical cable in order to ablate the protective shield (either by ablating a groove on the entire circumference of the protective shield or entirely ablating the protective shield around the circumference). In one implementation, a method and system are disclosed which senses the deviations or irregularities in the shape of the electrical cable and compensates for the deviations or irregularities in order to ablate the protective shield as desired. 
     In a particular implementation, at least one sensor senses the deviations or irregularities of the shape of the electrical cable. For example, a distance sensor may be used in order to measure a distance of the distance sensor (e.g., the distance sensor may be mounted in pre-determined relation on a carousel or other hardware on the apparatus) to the electrical cable (e.g., the electrical cable may be held in a holder so that the electrical cable is likewise in a positioned in pre-determined relation to the distance sensor). In practice, while the electrical cable is being held in at least one holder, the distance sensor may measure the distance to the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, and may forward the distance to a processor. The processor may analyze the distance as generated by the distance sensor in order to determine whether there is any need to modify operation (e.g., whether there is any deviation from a typical or expected distance). 
     Based on the distance measured, the processor may determine whether a movement of a compensation distance by one or both of a part of the laser system (such as the lens) or the holder should be performed in order to compensate for the deviation in the surface of the electrical cable. The processor may determine whether a compensation is warranted in one of several ways. In one way, the processor may compare the distance measured (e.g., 77 mm as generated by the distance sensor) with a typical or expected distance (e.g., 75 mm), determine a deviation (e.g., 2 mm), and correct the system accordingly (e.g., move the lens in the laser system by 2 mm closer to the electrical cable). In another way, the processor may directly correlate the distance as generated by the sensor (e.g., 77 mm) with a position that the lens should be moved to (e.g., command the motor to move the lens to a correlated position). In either way, the distance as generated by the sensor may be used to compensate for the irregularly shaped electrical cable. 
     For example, the typical or expected distance may comprise the distance at which the laser system is configured for ablating the surface of the protective shield. In particular, the laser system may comprise one or more lasers and one or more lenses. The laser(s) generate laser radiation (with the beams of the laser radiation being considered parallel or nearly parallel), which may then be focused using lens(es) to a focus (e.g., the point or area at which the laser radiation meet after reflection or refraction). In one implementation, the system may seek to position the focus in predetermined relation to the surface of the protective shield (e.g., the focus of the laser radiation is at a predetermined distance relative to the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable). 
     In one implementation, the predetermined distance is zero (meaning that the focus intersects or is directly on the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable). Alternatively, the predetermined distance is non-zero (meaning that the focus is outside of the electrical cable or inside the electrical cable (e.g., in an interior layer below the protective shield and closer to the center of the electrical cable)). Thus, in one implementation, the predetermined distance results in the focus being outside of the electrical cable (e.g., at least 0.1 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable; at least 0.2 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.3 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.4 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.5 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.6 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.7 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.8 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 0.9 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, at least 1 mm outside of the electrical cable as measured from the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, etc.). In an alternate implementation, the predetermined distance results in the focus being inside of the electrical cable (e.g., at least 0.1 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.2 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.3 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.4 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.5 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.6 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.7 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.8 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 0.9 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, at least 1 mm inside of the electrical cable relative to the protective shield, etc.). 
     Thus, in one implementation, the processor may access a memory (either separate from or as a part of the processor), with the memory storing the typical or expected difference (e.g., the memory stores the typical distance of 75 mm). The processor may then calculate the deviation from the typical or expected distance. In turn, the deviation may be used by the processor in order to compensate at least one aspect of the system in order for the focus of the laser radiation to be at the predetermined distance relative to the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable. Alternatively, the processor may access a data construct that directly correlates the distance measurement with the amount to compensate (e.g., the absolute position of the lens). 
     Thus, in one example, the distance sensor may sense a distance measurement of 73 mm at a first point on the surface of the protective shield. Responsive to receipt of the distance measurement of 73 mm, the processor may calculate the deviation for the first point. For example, the processor may subtract the typical or expected difference from the sensed distance (e.g., 73 mm-75 mm=−2 mm). As another example, the processor may subtract the sensed distance from the typical or expected difference (e.g., 75 mm-73 mm=2 mm). Regardless, the processor may determine the deviation (e.g., the first point on the surface of the protective shield is 2 mm closer to the distance sensor than the typical or expected difference). As another example, the distance sensor may sense a distance measurement of 76 mm at a second point on the surface of the protective shield. Responsive to receipt of the distance measurement of 76 mm, the processor may calculate the deviation for the second point. For example, the processor may subtract the typical or expected difference from the sensed distance (e.g., 76 mm-75 mm=1 mm). As another example, the processor may subtract the sensed distance from the typical or expected difference (e.g., 75 mm-76 mm=−1 mm). Regardless, the processor may determine the deviation (e.g., the second point on the surface of the protective shield is 1 mm further away from the distance sensor than the typical or expected difference). 
     Given the distance (which may be used to determine the deviation from the typical or expected difference or which may be used for a direct correlation), the processor may control the modification of at least a part of the apparatus in order compensate for the distance measurement (e.g., compensate for the deviation) so that the focus of the laser radiation is at the predetermined distance relative to the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable. 
     Various modifications are contemplated. In one implementation, the processor may control the position of one or both of at least a part of the laser system (e.g., the lens (or lenses) of the laser system) or the holder in order to compensate for the deviation between the typical or expected difference from the sensed distance so that the focus of the laser radiation is at the predetermined distance relative to the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable. As one example, the processor may determine a compensation distance by determining the deviation between the typical or expected difference from the sensed distance (e.g., in the example above for the first point, the compensation distance is 2 mm). As another example, the processor may correlate a distance measurement to the electrical cable with a configuration of the system (e.g., a distance measurement of 73 mm correlates to a lens position of 20 mm; a distance measurement of 75 mm correlates to a lens position of 22 mm; a distance measurement of 77 mm correlates to a lens position of 24 mm; etc.). 
     In one implementation, the processor may control one or more motors in order to move one or both of the electrical cable or at least a part of a laser system the compensation distance relative to one another in order to position the focus of the laser radiation at the predetermined distance relative to the protective shield of the electrical cable. In a first specific implementation, the processor controls the one or more motors in order to move a part of the laser system the compensation distance, thereby positioning the focus at the predetermined distance relative to the protective shield of the electrical cable. For example, the processor may control one or more motors in order to move the lens(es) the compensation distance (e.g., move the lens(es) laterally in the direction toward or away from the electrical cable in order to move the focus the compensation distance so that the focus is at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable). In the example above at the first point where the deviation=2 mm closer to the distance sensor, the lens(es) may be moved 2 mm (e.g., the compensation distance) away from the electrical cable in order for the focus to be at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable. In the example above at the second point where the deviation=1 mm further from the distance sensor, the lens(es) may be moved 1 mm (e.g., the compensation distance) toward the electrical cable in order for the focus to be at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable. In this way, the focus of the laser radiation may be moved to compensate for the deviation. Put another way, distance from a distance sensor to various points along the circumference of the protective shield of the electrical may be measured. The system may dynamically update the position of the lens based on the distance measurements to the various points along the circumference of the protective shield in order for the focus on the laser radiation to be constant (or substantially constant) relative to the surface of the protective shield along the various points in the circumference of the protective shield. 
     In a second specific implementation, the processor may control one or more motors in order to move the electrical cable the compensation distance. For example, the processor may control the one or more motors in order to move the holder holding the electrical cable the compensation distance (e.g., laterally in the direction toward or away from the lens(es) in order to move the focus the compensation distance so that the focus is at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable). In the example above at the first point where the deviation=2 mm closer to the distance sensor, the holder of the electrical cable may be moved 2 mm (e.g., the compensation distance) closer to the lens(es) in order for the focus to be at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable. In the example above at the second point where the deviation=1 mm further from the distance sensor, the holder may be moved 1 mm (e.g., the compensation distance) away from the lens(es) in order for the focus to be at the predetermined distance from the protective shield of the electrical cable. Again, in this way, the focus of the laser radiation may be moved to compensate for the deviation. In a third specific implementation, the processor may control one or more motors in order to move both the at least a part of the laser system (e.g., the lens(es)) and the electrical cable so that the relative movement between the electrical cable at the lens(es) is the compensation distance so that the focus of the laser radiation may be moved to compensate for the deviation. 
     In one implementation, the distance sensor, the laser(s) and the lens(s) and the at least one holder move relative to one another. In a first specific implementation, the distance sensor, the laser(s) and the lens(s) are mounted on a carousel which revolves around the stationary holder. In a second specific implementation, the holder moves and the distance sensor, the laser(s) and the lens(s) remain stationary. In a third specific implementation, the holder moves and the distance sensor, the laser(s) and the lens(s) move relative to one another. Thus, through the relative movement, the deviation along a circumference of the surface of the protective shield may be determined. For example, the deviation may be calculated along at least 100 points evenly distributed along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield, at least 200 points evenly distributed along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield, at least 300 points evenly distributed along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield, at least 400 points evenly distributed along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield, etc. With the deviation determined at each of the respective points, at least a part of the system may be modified in order to compensate for the deviation (e.g., at each of the respective points, the lens may be moved to compensate for the deviation). In other words, at each of the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield, the processor may dynamically determine how to configure at least a part of the system (e.g., the lens being moved) in order to maintain the focus of the laser radiation to be in predetermined relation with each of the respective points (e.g., the focus is 0.5 mm outside of the electrical cable at least of the respective points). 
     As discussed above, the electrical cable may have different tiers or layers. For example, the electrical cable may have a protective shield tier in which a protective shield is wrapped thereon. As another example, the electrical cable may have an insulating tier in which an insulating layer is wrapped thereon. As still another example, the electrical cable may have an external tier external to the protective shield tier. In one implementation, the wrapping of the protective shield in the protective tier results in a section where there is an overlap, namely that wrapping the protective shield results in two layers of the protective shield. For example, a metal foil shield may be wrapped around an insulator (e.g., around the insulating tier or insulating layer) such that a section of the metal foil tier may have two layers of metal foil shield (e.g., an upper protective shield layer, such as an upper foil metal shield layer, and a lower protective shield layer, such as a lower metal foil shield layer, so that in at least a part of the circumference of the protective shield tier, there is the upper protective shield layer on top of the lower protective shield layer). This overlap may make removing the protective shield in the protective shield tier more difficult. In particular, it may be more difficult to gauge the application of the laser radiation in order to remove the protective shield while avoiding damaging an inner tier, such as the insulating layer underneath the protective shield. 
     Thus, in one implementation, a method and apparatus are disclosed in which the external tier (such as an external protective layer made of rubber) is removed, such as by using a knife or other cutting implement. Other means by which to remove the external tier are contemplated. After which, there is an exposed section of the protective shield. That exposed section of the protective shield may include, along at least a part of the circumference, overlapping protective shield layers (e.g., an upper protective shield layer at least partly overlapping a lower protective shield layer). The laser radiation is applied to a part of the exposed section of the protective shield, thereby creating a groove. In one implementation, after applying the laser radiation, the groove is on the surface of the protective shield layer (so that the insulating layer underneath is still not exposed). In an alternate implementation, after applying the laser radiation, the groove goes through at least a part of an upper protective shield layer but does not go entirely through the lower protective shield layer. 
     In this regard, after the groove is created, there are two parts of the exposed section of the protective shield, including a first part of the exposed section of the protective shield on one side of the groove and a second part of the exposed section of the protective shield on the other side of the groove. A holder may physically contact and hold the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield on the one side of the groove (either before the groove is created or after the groove is created). A gripper (interchangeably referred to as a gripping mechanism) may physically contact and hold or grip the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield on the other side of the groove (again either before the groove is created or after the groove is created). While the holder contacts/holds the first part and the gripper contacts/grips the second part, a twisting movement (e.g., a twisting motion) may be generated, whereby the twisting movement of the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield and the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield is generated relative to one another. The twisting movement results in generating shear stress in the groove thereby separating the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield from the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield. 
     In one implementation, the twisting movement is performed by the gripper (while contacting/twisting the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield) with the holder remaining stationary (while contacting/holding the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield). In another implementation, the twisting movement is performed by the holder (while contacting/twisting the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield) with the gripper remaining stationary (while contacting/gripping the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield). In still another implementation, the twisting movement is performed by both the gripper and the holder (e.g., the gripper twists in one direction and the holder twists in the opposite direction, both contacting/twisting the respective exposed section of the protective shield). 
     Further, in one implementation, the twisting movement may comprise a series of twisting movements, including a first twisting movement in a first direction and a second twisting movement in a second direction, with the second direction being opposite the first direction. For example, with the holder holding the first part of the exposed section, the gripper may perform a first clockwise twisting movement on the second part of the exposed section and thereafter may perform a second counter-clockwise twisting movement on the second part of the exposed section. As another example, with the gripper gripping the second part of the exposed section, the holder may perform a first counter-clockwise twisting movement on the first part of the exposed section and thereafter may perform a second clockwise twisting movement on the first part of the exposed section. 
     In one implementation, the twisting movement is at least greater than an entire revolution (e.g., at least greater than a 360° revolution, at least greater than a 370° revolution, at least greater than a 380° revolution, at least greater than a 390° revolution, at least greater than a 400° revolution, at least greater than a 410° revolution, at least greater than a 540° revolution, at least greater than a 630° revolution, at least greater than a 720° revolution, at least greater than an 810° revolution, at least greater than a 900° revolution, at least greater than a 990° revolution, at least greater than a 1080° revolution, etc.). By performing the twisting movement at least greater than one revolution (while holding both the first part and the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield), a crack may be created in the protective shield, growing with the rotation (e.g., greater than 360°) and thereby ripping the part of the protective shield (such as the lower protective shield layer) that has not been ablated at all by the laser (or has been ablated less than the upper protective shield layer). 
     Reference is made to  FIG. 1A  that illustrates an electrical cable cross section according to an example, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 10,476,245, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A shielded twisted pair (STP) cable  100  could include a shielding/screening sleeve or sleeves  130  and a plurality of twisted pair inner wires. Each of inner wires  132   a  and  132   b  is covered by isolation  134   a  and  134   b . Inner wires  132   a  and  132   b  represent a twisted pair that could be further covered by a metal foil shield or sleeve  136 . The particular cable  100  includes two sets of twisted pair wires. Each twisted pair could include an additional inner wire  138 . Inner wire  138  may serve as a drain wire. 
       FIG. 1B  illustrates a cross section of an electrical cable  150  according to a second example. As shown, a protective shield  160  may encircle an interior of the electrical cable. The interior may comprise dividers  152 ,  154 , which may result in one or more interior areas (e.g., as shown in FIG. B, dividers  152 ,  154  result in four quadrants). Each respective interior area may include wiring  170 ,  174 ,  179 ,  182  and corresponding free space  172 ,  176 ,  180 ,  184 . As shown in  FIG. 1B , the curvature of the protective shield  160  is not circular. Rather, the curvature in the circumference of the protective shield  160  may vary based on the wiring  170 ,  174 ,  179 ,  182  and/or corresponding free space  172 ,  176 ,  180 ,  184 . 
       FIG. 1C  illustrates a perspective view  190  of an electrical cable after the protective shield  193  has been removed from a part of the electrical cable. As shown, another layer  192 , exterior to the protective shield  193 , is also removed. Further, the electrical cable is held in holder  191 . After removal of the protective shield  193 , interior wires  194 ,  195 ,  196 ,  197  are exposed. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of an example of a metal foil shield removal system, which is an example of a protective shield removal system. Metal foil shield removal system  200  includes a holder mechanism or simply a holder  210  configured to hold an electrical cable such that a segment of the electrical cable metal foil shield to be removed protrudes from holder  210 ; a metal foil shield ablation system  220 , a control computer  230 , which could be a personal computer (PC), a process monitoring system  240  and a gripper  250 . Control computer  230  controls operation of all units and devices of the metal foil removal system  200  or simply system  200 . 
       FIG. 3A  is a schematic illustration of an example of a metal foil removal system. Metal or foil shield ablation system  220  includes a laser  304  configured to provide a laser radiation beam  308  and an optical system that includes a lens  312  and a number of folding mirrors  316 - 1 ,  316 - 2 ,  316 - 3 . Laser  304  could be such as a q-switched Pulse/CW fiber laser, commercially available from Optisiv Ltd. Kibbutz Einat 48805, Israel. (Fiber laser is a laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth elements such as erbium, ytterbium, neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, and thulium.) The optical system may be attached to a common mount. In particular, the lens may concentrate the laser radiation on surface of protective layer and at least one motor rotates the common mount to scan the laser beam on the surface of the protective layer of the electrical cable. Linear movement of the lens may support ablation of different size electrical cables. Control of laser beam power and pulse rate provides tools to gradually control the energy density. The fiber laser could be operated either in Pulse or Continuous Wave (CW) mode. Use of a fiber laser has some advantages over solid state lasers such as Nd-YAG, and gas lasers such as CO 2 . Fiber laser has a compact size, low cost, simple maintenance, and long lifetime, all of these are important for industrial use. The fiber laser in pulse mode generates pulses with duration from 300 psec to 500 nsec and peak power of 1 kw to 500 kw. The high peak power supports metal foil shield material removal by ablation without heating wire insulation layers located beneath the shield. Ablation produces a clean groove at different shield thickness. Fiber laser could be operated at a high Continuous Repetition Rate from a few KHz to 500 KHz, in pulse-on-demand mode or issue a burst of pulses. In some examples the fiber laser is providing laser radiation in continuous in an alternating or sequential mode where a number of pulses are followed by a continuous mode of operation and vice-versa. High power emitted by the fiber laser supports efficient frequency conversion. Different wavelength such as 255-270 nanometers, 510-540 nanometers and 1020-1080 nanometers have been tested. Ablation of the metal foil shield was obtained at wavelengths of 1030 nm, 1064 nm, 532 nm, 355 nm or 266 nm. 
     The optical system is configured to shape the laser radiation beam  308  and concentrate the laser radiation beam  308  on surface  326  (Detail D) of the metal foil shield  320  with power sufficient to ablate at least some of the metal foil shield and form a groove  322  (Detail D) on surface  326  of the metal foil shield  320  protruding from holder  210 . Motor  324  is operated to rotate the assembly of folding mirrors  316 - 1 ,  316 - 2 ,  316 - 3  around metal foil shield  320  to scan laser radiation beam  308  such that laser radiation beam  308  would be concentrated on the surface of metal foil shield  320 . Rotation of the mirrors  316 - 1 ,  316 - 2 ,  316 - 3  assembly with properly concentrated laser radiation power ablates a certain depth of the metal foil shield  320  and ablates a groove  322 . The depth of the groove could be 1.0 to 7.0 micron and the laser radiation power could be 1 kW to 500 kW. 
     In some examples, the speed of rotation of the mirror assembly that delivers laser radiation beam  308  to the metal foil shield can be used to control the amount of laser power delivered to the metal foil shield. Control of the laser energy could be used to determine the depth of the groove  322  and corresponding reduction in the strength of the metal foil shield. 
     Monitoring system  240  can include one or more video cameras  332  and an image processing module  336 . The video cameras can be placed in several locations around the perimeter or circumference of the electrical cable. Video cameras  332  are configured to capture or help to observe the segment of the electrical cable that protrudes from holder  210  and in particular help to observe one or both of the groove  322  ablation and the segment of metal foil shield separation. Each of the cameras  332  can deliver the captured image to an image processing unit  336  that is configured to analyze the video images. The information derived from processing of the images received may be delivered as a feedback to the control computer  230 . In this regard, the control computer, using the feedback, may control, among one or more other operations, the removal of the segment of the protective layer from the remainder of the electrical cable. 
     Metal foil removal system  200  further includes a gripper  250  configured to grip a segment of metal foil shield  320  of the electrical cable shield or foil that protrudes from holder  210  and is proximate to gripper  250 , twist the segment of metal foil shield  320  such as to generate a shear stress in the groove  322  (Detail D) and separate the segment of metal foil shield  320  of the electrical cable that protrudes from holder  210  from the rest of the electrical cable. In addition to twisting movement, separation of the segment of the electrical cable that protrudes from holder  210  is performed by linear movement of holder  210 . In order to avoid damage to the electrical cable gripper  250  includes a plurality of soft and sticky fingers  252  (Detail D) configured to grip and hold the segment of electrical cable that protrudes from the holder and is proximal to gripper  250 . Motor  324  could also provide the desired movement to gripper  250 . Pressurized air activated or release the foil from the gripper. 
     Various types of processing functionality are contemplated. One example of a controller or processing functionality comprises control computer  230 , which may comprise a personal computer (PC) including a processor and memory. Control computer  230  could communicate with other system  200  devices via industry standard communication buses and protocols. Different types of fixed  232  or removable memory such as RAM, ROM, magnetic media, optical media, bubble memory, FLASH memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc. removable memory could be used to record for repeat use electrical cable parameters and system  200  operating parameters. Control computer  230  could also include a display and a keyboard, facilitating display and entry of information that could be required to operate system  200 . Control computer  230  may also be connected to a local area network and/or Internet. 
     Metal foil removal system  200  is adapted to receive electrical cables of different size (diameter or perimeter). Lens  312  could be displaced or moved to maintain a laser radiation concentration point on surface  326  (Detail D) of metal foil shield  320  of electrical cables with different size. Motor  324  could also be configured to displace or move lens  312  to maintain a laser radiation concentration point on surface  326  of metal foil shields of electrical cables with different size. Lens  312  displacement or movement also supports control of the concentration of the laser radiation on surface of the metal shield of the electrical cable. As discussed above, lens  312  may be displaced or moved in lateral direction  350  (such as illustrated in  FIG. 3A ) in order to compensate for deviations in the distance of the electrical cable from a typical distance. In this regard, control computer  230  may determine, based on the deviations in the distance of the electrical cable from a typical distance or based on an absolute distance of the sensor to the electrical cable, an amount to displace or move lens  312 . Responsive to this determination, control computer  230  may command motor  324  to move lens  312  the determined amount to displace the lens  312 . The rotating or scanning mirror system supports uniform energy density distribution along the metal foil shield perimeter. 
     Prior to system  200  operation, a process may be performed to determine laser radiation power sufficient to ablate a groove  322  in the metal foil shield  320  and separate the segment of metal shield from the rest of the electrical cable. To determine the laser radiation power sufficient to ablate a groove  322  in metal foil shield  320 , a cut to measure and stripped from its outer jacket and braded shield electrical cable is inserted into holder  210 . To facilitate the process, a set of parameters related to the sample cable inserted in holder  210  of system  200  may be entered into control computer  230 . Alternatively, electrical cable parameters may be called from a look-up table stored in control computer  230  memory. The electrical cable parameters could be such as metal foil shield size, thickness, foil material and others. Laser  304  is activated and mirror assembly is rotated to ablate a circumferential groove  322  in the metal foil shield  320 . The laser power is gradually increased until the laser power ablates a grove with sufficient depth supporting easy protruding metal foil shield segment separation. The determined electrical cable metal foil shield removal parameters could include mirror assembly rotation speed, pulse duration and repetition rate, pulse peak power and others. 
     The determined electrical cable metal foil shield removal parameters could be entered into control computer  230  (Block  404 ) and the process of metal foil shield removal for a batch of electrical cables could be initiated. Cut to size electrical cable stripped from its outer jacket and a braded shield if such exists, is inserted (Block  408 ) into system  200  where holder  210  picks-up the electrical cable and advances it to a desired length that could be 1.0 to 250 mm Lens  312  is displaced (Bloc  412 ) to adapt location of the concentrate the laser radiation beam  308  to the size (diameter) of the electrical cable and locate concentrate the laser radiation beam  308  on surface  326  of the metal foil shield  320 . Control computer  230  activates laser  304  and motor  324  that rotates the mirror assembly (Block  416 ). Since laser  304  is activated and emits laser radiation beam  308 , rotation of mirror assembly ablates a groove  322  in the metal foil shield (Block  420 ). Laser  304  is deactivated after one full mirror assembly rotation. In some examples, there could be more than one full mirror assembly rotation. Following completion of one full mirror assembly rotation, control computer  230  activates the pneumatic or electrical system and gripper  250  to grip the protruding (proximate) segment of metal foil shield (Block  424 ) located after the groove. Next, gripper  250  is rotated. Sticky fingers  252  that firmly grip the metal-foil shield after the groove  322  force the segment of metal foil shield located after the groove  322  to rotate and generate shear stress (Block  428 ) in the groove  322  to tear the segment of metal foil shield. 
     Following the tear or separation of the segment of metal foil shield, holder  210  pulls the electrical cable back (Block  432 ), to leave the removed segment of metal foil shield inside gripper  250 . Gripper  250  is deactivated and a pressurized air pushes the removed segment of metal foil shield out of gripper  250 . Next metal foil shield removal cycle could start. 
     In course of the process, video camera  332  captures images of the groove  322  and the segment of metal foil shield following the groove  322  and communicates the images to control computer  230  that includes software adapted to perform analyses related to the accuracy of the place of the groove  322  and also verifies that there is not metal material left on the electrical cable. 
     As discussed above, in one implementation, the system may dynamically update to compensate for irregularities in the electrical cable, such as a protective shield layer surface of the electrical cable that is not circular in cross section.  FIG. 5  is an example schematic illustration  500  of sensing at least one aspect of the protective shield (such as distance of a sensor to the surface of the protective shield) and modifying at least one aspect of operation to compensate for the sensed aspect (such as moving the focal point of the laser system relative to the electrical cable). The cross section of the electrical cable  150  (illustrated in  FIG. 5 ) may be held in a holder (not shown in  FIG. 5 ). In one implementation, a single holder may hold the electrical cable  150  while the distance measurement from the proximity sensor is performed and while the position of the lens  504  is adjusted and the laser radiation is applied to the surface of the electrical cable. Alternatively, a first holder may hold the electrical cable  150  while the distance measurement from the proximity sensor is performed and a second holder may hold the electrical cable  150  while the lens is adjusted and the laser radiation is applied to the surface of the electrical cable. In this regard, at least one holder, such as a single holder or multiple holders, may be used in holding the electrical cable  150 . 
     A support structure  512  may support various elements, such as proximity sensor  502 , lens,  504 , laser  506 , camera  508 , and fingers  510 . One example of a support structure is a carousel, or other rotating type structure. Support structure  512  may rotate, such as in a clockwise direction  514 , via support motor  522 . Alternatively, support structure  512  may rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , proximity sensor  502  is measuring the distance from the proximity sensor  502  to point “A” on the surface of the protective shield. This measurement may be sent to a processor (not shown in  FIG. 5 ), which may determine the position of the lens when support structure  512  rotates such that point “A” is in front of lens  504  (as shown in  FIG. 5 , point “B” on the surface of the protective shield is in front of lens  504 ). As discussed above, for compensation, lens  504  may be moved (such as by lens motor  520 , which may move laterally along a movement range) closer to or further away from the electrical cable. 
     Further, camera  508  may be supported on support structure  512 . The camera may be used for any one, any combination, or all of: obtain an image after the laser radiation has been applied in order for the processor to determine whether the cut has been made to the protective shield (e.g., identify a change in color in order to determine whether cut has been made); obtain an image for the processor to determine at what location the foil starts (e.g., identifying at what location the foil starts may assist in the processor controlling a motor, such as support motor  522 , thereby controlling where to place the fingers  510  in order to peel the foil); after the peeling operation by the fingers  510  has been performed, obtain an image so that the processor may determine that the inside layer (e.g., the wires) are exposed. 
       FIG. 6A  is a first schematic illustration  600  of moving the lens  504  relative to the electrical cable  150  in order to compensate for variations at a first point (point “B”) of the surface of the electrical cable  150 . As discussed above, the compensation may be relative (e.g., relative to a zero position or zero offset of the lens) or may be absolute (e.g., an absolute position of the lens).  FIG. 6A  illustrates relative compensation, in which lens  504  is at a current offset  630  (relative to zero offset  640 ), which is distance (at time=X) that the lens is moved to compensate for the shape of the surface of the protective shield. Because of the movement of lens  504 , the focus  620  of the laser radiation  610  is a predetermined distance from the surface of the protective shield.  FIG. 6A  does not depict a mirror. Alternatively, one or more mirrors may be used. For example, lens  504  may be placed between mirrors  316 - 1  and  316 - 2 . 
       FIG. 6B  is a second schematic illustration  650  of moving the lens  504  relative to the electrical cable in order to compensate for variations in at a second point (point “C”) of the surface of the electrical cable  150 .  FIG. 6B  illustrates relative compensation, in which lens  504  is at a current offset  630  (relative to zero offset  640 ), which is distance (at time=Y) that the lens is moved to compensate for the shape of the surface of the protective shield. As shown, the distance between current offset  630  and zero offset  640  in  FIG. 6B  is less than the distance between current offset  630  and zero offset  640  in  FIG. 6A . This is due to the movement of lens  504  closer to the electrical cable  150  in order to compensate for the variations in the surface of the electrical cable  150 . This movement or change in the position of lens  504  results in a consistent placement of the focus  620  relative to the surface of the electrical cable. In particular, in both  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , lens  504  is positioned such that the focus  620  is the same predetermined distance from the surface of the shield (e.g., both in  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , focus is 0.5 mm from the surface of the protective shield). In this regard, because of the movement of lens  504 , the focus  620  of the laser radiation  610  is the predetermined distance from the surface of the protective shield so that the laser radiation  610  may be consistently applied to the surface of the protective shield. 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart  700  illustrating a process of compensating for deviations in the surface of the protective shield according to an example. At  710 , the distance from the sensor to the surface of the electrical cable is sensed. At  720 , the deviation of the sensed distance from the typical distance is computed. At  730 , the position of the lens to compensate for the deviation is determined. At  740 , the processor commands a motor to move the lens to the determined position. Alternatively, a direct correlation between the sensed distance and a position of the lens may be computed. 
     As discussed above, the distance at a plurality of discrete points along the surface of the electrical cable (such as at least 50 points, etc.) may be detected, and the lens may be moved to compensate accordingly. As such, at  750 , it is determined whether an entire revolution has been performed. If yes, flowchart  700  stops at  760 . If not, flowchart  700  loops back to  710 . 
     As discussed above, the protective shield tier in the electrical cable may have more than one protective shield layer (e.g., due to wrapping of the protective shield). This is illustrated, for example, in  FIG. 8A , which is a cross sectional view  800  of the protective shield  810  prior to laser ablating. Protective shield  810  is shown as non-uniform in thickness. This is merely for illustration purposes. Alternatively, protective shield  810  may be uniform in thickness along some or all of its length. The protective shield  810  (with ends  812 ,  814 ) is wrapped around an inner layer, which may result in an overlapping region  816  of the protective shield  810 . In this way, the overlapping region  816  includes a lower protective shield layer  818  and an upper protective shield layer  820  are created. Overlapping region  816  is not necessarily drawn to scale but is shown for illustration purposes only that a section of the protective shield tier may have a greater thickness due to overlap. 
       FIG. 8B  is a cross sectional view  830  of the protective shield, including illustrating both pre and post laser ablating. In particular, in one implementation, after laser ablating, a part (but not all) of the protective shield  810  is ablated (represented as  832 ). As shown, ablated protective shield  832  is thinner than protective shield  810 . 
       FIG. 8C  is an expanded view  850  of the protective shield  832  after laser ablating, including illustrating an overlapping region  816  of the protective shield remains after laser ablating. As shown, upper protective shield layer  820  is ablated to become ablated upper protective shield layer  834 , which is thinner than upper protective shield layer  820 . Further, lower protective shield layer  818  is not affected by the ablation. Rather, the thickness of lower protective shield layer  818  remains the same after laser ablating. At junction  840 , it is illustrated that ablated protective shield  832  is thinner than lower protective shield layer  818 . Nevertheless, because a part of the protective shield is weakened, the twisting movement (e.g., holding the protective shield on both sides of the groove during twisting, as discussed in  FIG. 9 ) results in the weakened part of the protective shield to crack or rip, with the continued twisting movement cracking or ripping other sections of the protective shield, including lower protective shield layer  818  (which may not be affected by ablation). In this way, even though lower protective shield layer  818  is not subject to ablation, the twisting movement results in its ripping. 
       FIG. 9  is a top view  900  illustrating the holder  910  and the gripper  912  both physically contacting the exposed section of the protective shield  920  in order to perform the twisting movement. As discussed above, exterior protective layer (e.g., rubber)  902  may be removed by a knife or other type of cutting tool, resulting in the exposed section of the protective shield  920 . Laser radiation may be applied to part or an entire circumference of the exposed section of the protective shield  920 , resulting in groove  906 . Holder  910  may physically contact protective shield  904  at a first part of the exposed section of the protective shield  922 , and gripper  912  may physically contact protective shield  904  at a second part of the exposed section of the protective shield  924 . The physical contact of the gripper may be at an end  930  of the electrical cable, or may be proximate to the end  930  of the electrical cable. While the holder  910  is physically contacting and holding at least a part of the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield  922  and while the gripper is physically contacting and holding at least a part of the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield  924 , a twisting movement is generated. The twisting movement may be generated by the gripper  912  (with the holder  910  remaining stationary), the holder  910  (with the gripper  912  remaining stationary) or both the gripper  912  and the holder  910  generating the twisting movement. Because both the holder  910  and the gripper  912  are contacting a part of the exposed section of the protective shield  920  on either side of groove  906  and because of the twisting movement, the protective shield  904  may be ripped apart even if the protective shield  904  under groove  906  remains and/or even if one or more protective layers for the protective shield  904  under groove  906  is unablated. 
     The twisting movement may be performed in one or both of a clockwise direction and a counter-clockwise direction. Further, the twisting movement may be performed in one or both of the clockwise direction and the counter-clockwise direction for more than 360° (e.g., in one or both of the clockwise direction and the counter-clockwise direction for at least greater than a 360° revolution, at least greater than a 540° revolution, at least greater than a 630° revolution, at least greater than a 720° revolution, at least greater than an 810° revolution, at least greater than a 900° revolution, at least greater than a 990° revolution, at least greater than a 1080° revolution, etc.). 
     In one implementation, the revolutions in the clockwise and/or counter clockwise directions may be greater than 360° but less than 1080°, may be greater than 540° but less than 1440°, may be greater than 540° but less than 1080°, etc. In particular, the revolutions may first be in one of the clockwise direction or counter clockwise direction, and then in the other of the clockwise direction or counter clockwise direction. Further, both the clockwise direction and the counter clockwise direction may be greater than 360° but less than 540°. 
       FIG. 10A  is a first perspective view  1000  of an example of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable.  FIG. 10B  is a second perspective  1020  view (opposite the perspective shown in  FIG. 10A ) of the example of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable.  FIG. 10C  is a cross-sectional view  1030  of the system for removing the protective shield from the electrical cable illustrated in  FIGS. 10A-B . 
       FIGS. 10A-C  illustrates various parts of the system, including front fixed gripper  1002 , camera  1004 , distance sensor  1008 , laser power sensor  1010 , laser source  1012 , front portable gripper  1024 , and laser mirrors  1026 . In particular, laser source  1012  may generate a laser, which may be guided by one or more laser mirrors  1026  and the power of which is sensed by laser power sensor  1010 . 
     In addition, the cable  1022  may be held by one or more grippers. In one or some embodiments, the grippers (interchangeably referred to as holders) may grip or hold the cable. In the instance of multiple grippers or holders, such as illustrated in  FIGS. 10A-B , the grippers or holders may be positioned in separate parts of the system. Moreover, one gripper may be stationary, such as front fixed gripper  1002 , and another gripper may be portable or movable, such as front portable gripper  1024 . For example, a portable gripper may be moved based on at least one aspect of the cable, such as where the groove on the cable is placed. In one embodiment, the groove is first ablated onto the protective shield of the cable. After which, the groove is detected (such as by camera  1004 ) in order to move the position the portable gripper (such as holder  910 ) relative to the groove (such as groove  906 ). Alternatively, the portable gripper may be moved prior to the groove is first ablated onto the protective shield of the cable. Specifically, the portable gripper may be moved relative to an anticipated placement of the groove onto the protective shield of the cable. 
     In one or some embodiments, prior to insertion of the cable into an opening of the machine, the grippers, such as front fixed gripper  1002  and front portable gripper  1024 , may be opened. After insertion of the cable into the machine, one of the grippers, such as front fixed gripper  1002 , may clasp, grip, or hold onto the cable. Thereafter, a second gripper, such as front portable gripper  1024 , may clasp, grip, or hold onto the cable. In this regard, the different grippers may clasp, grip, or hold onto the cable at different times and in a predetermined sequence. Further, the different grippers may clasp, grip, or hold onto different parts of the cable. As one example, the front fixed gripper  1002  may clasp, grip, or hold onto the exterior protective layer (e.g., rubber)  902  whereas the front portable gripper clasp, grip, or hold onto the protective shield  904  of the cable. 
     Further, distance sensor  1008  may measure or sense the distance to the cable  1022 , such as illustrated in  FIG. 10C . In this way, one or both of at least a part of the laser system (e.g., the lens(es)) or the cable may be moved to compensate for the measured distance, as discussed above. 
     It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood as an illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not as a definition of the invention. It is only the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of the claimed invention. Finally, it should be noted that any aspect of any of the preferred embodiments described herein can be used alone or in combination with one another. 
     The following example embodiments of the invention are also disclosed: 
     Embodiment 1 
     A method for ablating a protective shield of an electrical cable, the method comprising:
         inserting the electrical cable in at least one holder;   sensing, by a sensor, respective distances of the sensor to respective points along a circumference of a surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable while the electrical cable is held in the at least one holder;   determining, based on the respective distances, whether or how much to move at least one of the electrical cable or a part of a laser system in order to position a focus of laser radiation generated by the laser system to be at a predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable;   moving the at least one of the electrical cable or a part of a laser system in order to position the focus of laser radiation generated by the laser system to be at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable; and   operating the laser system to generate the laser radiation, with the position of the focus of the laser radiation at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, in order for the laser radiation to ablate at least a part of the protective shield at the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 2 
     The method of embodiment 1:
         wherein the laser system comprises a laser and at least one lens; and   wherein moving the at least one of the electrical cable or the part of the laser system a part of a laser system comprises moving the lens.       

     Embodiment 3 
     The method of any of embodiments 1 or 2,
         wherein the lens is moved respective compensation distances in order to position the focus of the laser radiation at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the protective shield of the electrical cable; and   wherein the respective compensation distance comprises a distance to move the lens in order to compensate for a surface deviation at the respective point.       

     Embodiment 4 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-3,
         wherein moving the lens the respective compensation distance results in the focus of the laser radiation being outside of the electrical cable by the predetermined distance at the respective point along the circumference of the protective shield of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 5 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-4,
         wherein a motor pushes the lens in a lateral movement so that the lens is positioned closer to or further away from the electrical cable in order for the focus of the laser to be outside of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 6 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-5,
         wherein the laser and the lens are positioned on a carousel;   wherein, while the at least one holder holding the electrical cable is stationary, the carousel is rotated so that the laser radiation is applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield; and   wherein, while the carousel is rotated such that the laser radiation is applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield, the laser radiation generated by the laser remains constant while the motor moves the lens laterally in order for the focus of the laser radiation to be at the predetermined distance relative to the protective shield of the electrical cable at each respective point along the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 7 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-6,
         wherein the sensor is positioned on the carousel so that the laser and lens rotate in combination with the sensor.       

     Embodiment 8 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-7,
         wherein the laser radiation applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield ablates some, but not all, of the protective shield thereby generating a groove on the protective shield; and   further comprising:
           gripping, using a gripper, a segment of the protective shield; and   generating, while the gripper is gripping the segment and while the at least one holder is holding the electrical cable, a twisting movement of the segment of the protective shield and a remainder of the electrical cable relative to one another in order to generate shear stress in the groove on the surface of the at least a part of the protective shield thereby separating the segment of the protective shield from the remainder of the electrical cable.   
               

     Embodiment 9 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-8,
         wherein the laser radiation applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield entirely ablates the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 10 
     The method of any of embodiments 1-9,
         wherein the protective shield comprises a metal shield.       

     Embodiment 11 
     An apparatus for ablating a protective shield of an electrical cable, the apparatus comprising:
         at least one holder configured to hold the electrical cable;   at least one sensor configured to sense a distance of the sensor to the electrical cable while the electrical cable is held in the at least one holder;   a laser system including a laser and at least one lens;   at least one motor; and   a processor in communication with the at least one sensor, the laser system, and the at least one motor, the processor configured to:
           receive, from the at least one sensor, respective distances of the sensor to respective points along a circumference of a surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable;   determine, based on the respective distances, whether or how much to move at least one of the electrical cable or a part of a laser system in order to position a focus of laser radiation generated by the laser system to be at a predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable;   control the at least one motor in order to move the at least one of the electrical cable or a part of a laser system in order to position the focus of laser radiation generated by the laser system to be at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable; and   control the laser system in order to generate the laser radiation, with the position of the focus of the laser radiation at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable, in order for the laser radiation to ablate at least a part of the protective shield at the respective points along the circumference of the surface of the protective shield of the electrical cable.   
               

     Embodiment 12 
     The method of embodiment 11:
         wherein the processor is configured to control the at least one motor in order to move the lens.       

     Embodiment 13 
     The method of any of embodiments 11 or 12,
         wherein the processor is configured to control the at least one motor in order to move the lens respective compensation distances in order to position the focus of the laser radiation at the predetermined distance relative to the respective points along the circumference of the protective shield of the electrical cable; and   wherein the respective compensation distance comprises a distance to move the lens in order to compensate for a surface deviation at the respective point.       

     Embodiment 14 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-13,
         wherein the processor is configured to control the at least one motor in order to move the lens the respective compensation distance thereby resulting in the focus of the laser radiation being outside of the electrical cable by the predetermined distance at the respective point along the circumference of the protective shield of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 15 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-14,
         wherein the motor is configured to push the lens in a lateral movement so that the lens is positioned closer to or further away from the electrical cable in order for the focus of the laser to be outside of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 16 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-15,
         wherein the at least one motor comprises a first motor and a second motor;   wherein the processor is configured to control the first motor in order for the laser system and the at least one holder to move relative to one another in order for the laser radiation to be applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield; and   wherein the processor is configured to control the second motor in order to move the lens the respective compensation distances such that the focus of the laser radiation is outside of the electrical cable at the predetermined distance relative to the protective shield of the electrical cable at the respective points along the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 17 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-16,
         further comprising a carousel on which the laser and the lens are positioned;   wherein, while the at least one holder holding the electrical cable is stationary, the processor is configured to control the first motor in order to rotate the carousel so that the laser radiation is applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield; and   wherein, while the carousel is rotated such that the laser radiation is applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield, the laser radiation generated by the laser remains constant while the processor controls the second motor in order to move the lens laterally, thereby moving the focus of the laser radiation to be at the predetermined distance relative to the protective shield of the electrical cable at each of the respective points along the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 18 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-17,
         wherein the sensor is positioned on the carousel so that the laser and lens rotate in combination with the sensor.       

     Embodiment 19 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-18,
         wherein the processor controls the laser system such that the laser radiation applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield ablates some, but not all, of the protective shield thereby generating a groove on the protective shield;   further comprising a gripper configured to grip a segment of the protective shield; and   wherein the processor is configured to control the gripper, the at least one holder, and at least one motor in order to generate, while the gripper is gripping the segment and while the at least one holder is holding the electrical cable, a twisting movement of the segment of the protective shield and a remainder of the electrical cable relative to one another in order to generate shear stress in the groove on the surface of the at least a part of the protective shield thereby separating the segment of the protective shield from the remainder of the electrical cable.       

     Embodiment 20 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-19,
         wherein the processor controls the laser system such that the laser radiation is applied to the entire circumference of the surface of the protective shield entirely ablates the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 21 
     The method of any of embodiments 11-20,
         wherein the protective shield comprises a metal shield.       

     Embodiment 22 
     A method for ablating a protective shield of an electrical cable, the electrical cable including a protective shield tier comprising the protective shield and an external tier external to the protective shield tier, the method comprising:
         removing at least a part of the external tier thereby created an exposed section of the protective shield;   operating a laser system to generate laser radiation in order for the laser radiation to ablate and create a groove on the exposed section of the protective shield, thereby defining a first part of the exposed section of the protective shield on one side of the groove and a second part of the exposed section of the protective shield on another side of the groove; and   while a holder is physically contacting the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield and while a gripper is physically contacting the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield, generating a twisting movement of the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield and the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield relative to one another in order to generate shear stress in the groove thereby separating the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield from the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 23 
     The method of embodiment 22:
         wherein the protective shield tier comprises one or more layers of the protective shield; and   wherein at least a part of the protective shield in the protective shield tier is untouched after the laser radiation is applied such that the twisting movement rips the at least the at least a part of the protective shield that is untouched.       

     Embodiment 24 
     The method of any of embodiments 22 or 23,
         wherein the protective shield at least partly overlaps itself along a circumference of the protective shield tier thereby defining an overlapping region of an upper protective shield layer exposed to the laser radiation and a lower protective shield layer; and   wherein at least a part of the lower protective shield layer is untouched after the laser radiation is applied and is ripped by the twisting movement.       

     Embodiment 25 
     The method of any of embodiments 22-24,
         wherein the gripper performs the twisting movement while the gripper is physically contacting and gripping the second part of the exposed section of the protective shield; and   wherein the holder remains stationary while the gripper performs the twisting movement and while the holder is physically contacting and holding the first part of the exposed section of the protective shield.       

     Embodiment 26 
     The method of any of embodiments 22-25,
         wherein the laser radiation ablates a groove along the entire circumference of the upper protective shield layer.       

     Embodiment 27 
     The method of any of embodiments 22-26,
         wherein the twisting movement comprises a greater than 360° twisting movement.       

     Embodiment 28 
     The method of any of embodiments 22-27,
         wherein the twisting movement comprises:
           a first twisting movement in a first direction, the first twisting movement greater than 360°; and   a second twisting movement in a second direction, the second twisting movement greater than 360°, the second direction being in an opposite direction to the first direction.   
               

     Embodiment 29 
     An apparatus configured to perform the method steps disclosed in any of embodiments 22-28.