FiberOpticx Fiber Stripper
FiberOpticx Fiber Stripper from ComputerCableStore™. To create a full solution, SMP offers Fiber Strippers and Cleavers to assist in field fiber polishes and terminations. These tools, necessary for any fiber optic project installation, are backed by SMP's 15 year product warranty and are a value added component to the SMP FiberOpticx product line.
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Steps for terminating fiber
optic cable using epoxy
Once you have your
bulk fiber cable, follow the
steps below:
To begin, strip the cable down
to the bare fiber using an
appropriate fiber stripper such
as the
FiberOpticx Fiber Stripper.
After you have prepared the end
of the cable you may begin to
mix the epoxy resin and hardener
together and load it into a
syringe, unless of course you
are using pre-loaded epoxy
syringes, which are premixed and
kept frozen until use. Now, from
the syringe you must inject the
epoxy directly into the
connector ferrule.
Once you have your connector
properly prepared with epoxy,
you are ready to insert the
fiber cable so that the cable is
seated inside of the connector
wall and the bare fiber core
sticks out about a half an inch
from the front of the ferrule.
At this point, if your cable is
jacketed, you will want to use a
crimping tool such as the Premier Master Crimp Tool to
secure the connector to the
jacket and strength members of
the cable. Two crimps may be
required to accomplish this
properly.
The next step in the process is
allowing the epoxy to cure.
Place the connected end into a
curing holder to ensure that the
end of the fiber is not damaged
while curing. Now place the
cable and curing holder into a
curing oven. To avoid “wicking”
while curing with a conventional
oven, situate the connector so
that the end is facing down.
This positioning will ensure
that the epoxy does not come out
of the back side of the
connector and compromise the
strength member of the cable.
Refer to the documentation of
your specific epoxy for accurate
curing times and temperatures.
Having sufficiently cured the
epoxy you are now ready to move
on to the next step, cleaving
the excess protruding fiber
core. You will want to cleave
the fiber with a fiber cleaver
tool such as the
FiberOpticx Economy Fiber
Cleaver, as close to the
ferrule tip as possible while
avoiding any sort of twisting
motion. Once cleaved, it is
important that you properly
dispose of the fiber clipping. A
regular piece of tape will do
just fine at retaining your
fiber debris. If you do not
properly dispose of all fiber
pieces they could easily end up
in your skin or even in
somebody’s eye or respiratory
system. A short strand of fiber
can cause more damage than you
would at first imagine.
With the excess fiber cleaved
and properly disposed of, you
may begin the task of polishing
the fiber end to a smooth
finish. Using either
fiber polishing film or a
fiber polishing tool you
will effectively remove any
excess epoxy from the ferrule
tip and buff out any
imperfections on the face of the
fiber. Without a smooth fiber
surface any light passing
through is subject to loss. The
idea is to start with a coarse
grit and work your way to a very
fine grit film.
If you are satisfied with your
polished finish then you may
move on to the cleaning of the
ferrule and fiber tip. With a
lint-free wipe dipped in 99%
reagent-grade alcohol, gently
wipe the surface area of the
ferrule and fiber tip and
immediately wipe them dry with
another dry lint-free wipe. You
may optionally use a can of
compressed air to finish the
process.
Your connectorized cable is now
complete. To ensure good
standards, however, it is wise
to inspect the tip with a 100x
to 200x microscope such as the
Fiber Inspection Microscrope.
Finally, test your cable with an
optical fiber testing tool
for insertion loss and return
loss where needed.
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