Terminating a Fiber Optic Cable
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is what one
customer said!
"I
am starting a new job tomorrow putting in structured (cat 5e & 6)
and fibre cable which I have never done before. After watching these videos
and reading the material it has given me a great head start in the job.
Thanks for the information, money well spent."
Regards
Carl W.
with an SC connector using the cold cure method
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Cold
Cure Termination |
As with all fiber
termination methods, safety is very important so first some safety tips.
* Always work in a clean and tidy area.
* Fiber offcuts are hard to see and can easily penetrate the skin especially
if they get into your clothes, so care must be taken to ensure the safe
disposal of all offcuts. Dispose of fiber scraps immediately using a
suitable container and do not throw into a waste paper bin.
*
Because of the dangers of ingesting a fiber, do not eat or drink in the
termination area.
* Observe manufacturers recommendations when using solvent based adhesives.
* Never look into the end of a live fiber connector. Holding some multimode fibers up to a piece of paper may prove the presence of light and therefore prove that it is live, but it doesn't prove that it isn't live! Some laser powered equipment use light which is outside of the visible spectrum, so err on the side of caution.
On to the lesson
. . . . . .
The Connector
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There
are three parts to a fiber connector (four if you count the dust
cap) they are: The connector housing, the connector body
and the strain relief boot.
The body contains the ferrule which aligns the fiber perfectly for mating with another |
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connector,
it's a precision engineered component. The housing contains the
fiber body and provides the latching mechanism. The strain relief
boot prevents the fiber from bending past the critical point at
which it can break.
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Fill
the syringe with adhesive ready to use. |
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Do
this a small section at a time to prevent the fiber breaking, about
10mm (3/8 in) on each cut is fine until you get used to it. Strip
back about 30mm (1.25 in).
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"Sticking"
on the connector!
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Inject
the adhesive into the connector body until a small bead appears
at the end of the ferrule.
Clean the bare fiber with a lint free wipe and isopropyl alcohol, it will "squeak" when it is clean. Apply the primer to the bare fiber either with the brush supplied or by dipping it into the bottle. Push the fiber in to the connector body in one smooth action until you feel the buffer reach the back of the ferrule. |
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The
chemical reaction between the adhesive and the primer happens
almost instantly so don't stop while inserting the fiber otherwise
it will stick before it is fully home.
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Cleaving
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The
purpose of cleaving the fiber is to ensure that it breaks cleanly
at 90 degrees, although you may think that because it is ground
down to the ferrule and then polished it wouldn't make any difference
if it were just snapped off! It makes a big difference. If the
fiber shatters or splinters down past the ferrule then no amount
of polishing will turn it into a good connection. A hand held
scribe or pen cleaver is adequate for this job, unlike fusion
splicing where a perfectly cleaved end is essential for a good
connection.
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Lightly scribe the fiber as close to the ferrule as possible and use a slight tug to break the fiber end away. Dispose of the fiber offcut immediately in the hazardous debris container. |
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Polishing
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The
first step in polishing is to take the fiber down to the ferrule,
for this we use about a 9 micron lapping film. Hold the connector
in one hand and rub the nub of fiber down to the ferrule with
the lapping film. When it is close enough you will feel it get
smoother.
Step two. Insert the connector into the polishing puck, this keeps it perpendicular to the polishing surface. Place a sheet of 2 micron lapping film on a suitable flat surface. |
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Hold
the connector and puck, and place it on the polishing surface.
Then move it in a figure of 8 pattern about 30 times using slight
pressure. The end is now polished and can be inspected with the
microscope. Some people recommend 3 or 4 stages of polishing but
we find that we get just as good results from just these two grades
of abrasives.
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Visual Check
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Using the illuminated microscope check that the polished end is OK. Things to look out for are excessive scratches or remnants of the epoxy adhesive. You can now fit the housing and dust cap. Testing
This tutorial should be read in conjunction with the video. Click Here |
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