What is the procedure for fusing optical fiber

The steps of welding optical fiber mainly include the following aspects:

First, preparation

Tools and materials: Ensure that the welding machine, optical fiber cutting knife, Miller pliers (wire strippers), alcohol cotton, and optical fiber heat shrink tube are available and the quality of the optical fibers and heat shrink tubes meet standards.

Welding machine startup and setting: gently press the welding machine switch button, and let go when the startup indicator light up. According to the type of optical fiber and welding requirements, set the corresponding welding parameters on the welding machine, such as pre-melting current, main melting current, welding time, etc.

Second, optical fiber processing

Strip the fiber coating layer: Use Miller pliers to strip the coating layer of the fiber, and the strip length is generally about 4cm. When stripping, pay attention to moderate strength to avoid damage to the optical fiber body.

Clean the optical fiber surface: Clean the optical fiber surface with alcohol cotton at least three times to ensure that the optical fiber surface is free of impurities such as attachments and oil. When cleaning, wipe along the fiber axis, avoid circular or back-and-forth wiping.

Cut the fiber end: Put the clean fiber into the guide slot of the fiber cutting knife, ensuring that the front end of the coating is aligned with the specified position of the cutting knife scale (generally between 16mm and 12mm). Then cut the optical fiber end face smoothly and evenly to ensure that the end face is flat and without burrs.

Third, welding operation

Place the optical fiber: Place the two cut optical fibers in the V-shaped slot of the welding machine, and ensure that the end of the optical fiber is closely aligned with the bottom of the V-shaped slot. Then gently close the optical fiber platen and clamp, and fix the optical fiber.

Welding start: Cover the wind shield and start the welding process. The welding machine will automatically perform the discharge welding and estimate the welding loss during the welding process. The operator should pay attention to the display and indicator light of the welding machine to ensure the smooth welding process.

Take out the optical fiber: After the welding is completed, open the wind hood, open the left and right clamp platener in turn, and take out the fused optical fiber. When taking out the optical fiber, do not touch the fusion point to avoid damage to the optical fiber.

Fourth, follow-up treatment

Heating the heat shrink tube: Slide the heat shrink tube to the center of the welding point and then heat it in the heater of the welding machine. The heating time and temperature depend on the type and specification of the heat shrink tube. Generally, the heat shrink tube will shrink and tightly wrap the weld point after heating.

Disk fiber fixation: Coil and fix the fused optical fiber according to the specified disk fiber method. A certain radius and arc should be maintained to avoid sharp bends or small circles to reduce the additional loss of the fiber.

Quality check: Use OTDR tester or other related equipment to check the quality of the welding points to ensure that the welding loss meets the standard requirements. If necessary, unqualified joints can be re-fused or repaired.

To sum up, the steps of the welding machine to weld optical fibers include pre-preparation, optical fiber treatment, welding operation and subsequent treatment. Each link requires careful and careful operation by the operator to ensure welding quality and efficiency.

Chengdu Focus Infra Materials Co.,Ltd is a global business trading company. The company focused on the field of fiber optical networks and data communications, our products are widely used in telecommunication transmission network systems, wide area networks, FTTH, FTTX, FTTA and security monitoring systems. Products mainly include：heat shrink tubes, cold shrink tubes, joint closures, terminal connector, terminal box, fiber optic splice closure, PLC splitter, fiber pigtail, FTTH accessories.