Method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical fibre cable and cable so manufactured

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing optical cables, particularly for manufacturing optical cables containing optical fibres loosely placed and a cable so manufactured. Undesired and unforeseeable shrinkage may occur in a tube of plastic material containing optical fibres following its manufacture, especially during storage when the tube is wound on a reel. As a result, there may be uncontrollable variations of the ratio between length of the tube and length of the optical fibre contained therein ("excess fibre variation"). A method and equipment for limiting the excess fibre variations in a plastic tube, by stretching the tube by a predefined amount during manufacturing are described. The present invention also relates to a plastic tube subjected to a predefined stretching, a cable made of such a tube and the equipment suitable for manufacturing such a tube.