Patent ID: 6972378

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an insulator comprising the steps of: a) providing a body that includes an axis, contains a fiber and a polymer, encloses a cavity, and includes a first end and a second end; b) providing the first end of the body with a first outer diameter; c) providing the second end of the body with a second outer diameter; d) providing a first connector for assembly onto the body that includes a first connector axis and that has been cast and machined to provide an anchoring surface that is generally cylindrically shaped about the first connector axis; e) providing a second connector for assembly onto the body that includes a second connector axis and that has been cast and machined to provide an anchoring surface that is generally cylindrically shaped about the second connector axis; f) dimensioning the anchoring surface on the first connector so that the anchoring surface includes a first diameter that is smaller, at least before assembly onto the body, than the first outer diameter; g) dimensioning the anchoring surface on the second connector so that the anchoring surface includes a second diameter that is smaller, at least before assembly onto the body, than the second outer diameter; h) assembling the connectors onto the body so that, after assembly, the connectors and the body are generally coaxial; i) providing a housing defining element that has been previously shaped to form at least one shed with shield layer portions one each side; j) arranging the body and the housing defining element in relation to each other so that a distance exists between the body and the housing defining element that corresponds to a cylindrical thickness of a shield layer; k) ejecting rubber into the housing defining element so that the rubber forms a housing comprising the shield layer and at least one shed; and 1 ) molding, at least in part, the shield layer portions simultaneously on each side of the shed.