The fiber optic fusion splicer is the most commonly used tool in fiber optic splicing and is one of the essential tools for the construction and maintenance of optical cable lines. Correctly mastering the operation method of the fusion splicer is the prerequisite for ensuring the quality of fiber optic splicing.
Operation procedures for fiber optic fusion splicers
The operation procedures of common fiber optic fusion splicers are generally basically the same:
1. Strip the optical cable and fix it to the fiber reel:
Common optical cables include layer-twisted, skeleton-type and ZX bundle-tube optical cables. Different optical cables require different stripping methods. After stripping, the optical cable must be fixed to the fiber reel.
2. Pass the stripped optical fibers through the heat shrink tubes separately:
Fibers with different bundles and different colors must be separated and passed through the heat shrink tubes separately.
3. Turn on the power of the fiber fusion splicer and select the appropriate fusion method:
Common fiber types and specifications include: SM dispersion non-shifted single-mode fiber (ITU-TG.652), MM multimode fiber (ITU-TG.651), DS dispersion-shifted single-mode fiber (ITU-TG.653), NZ non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (ITU-TG.655), BI bend-resistant fiber (ITU-TG.657), etc. You should choose the appropriate fusion method according to the different fiber types. Zxin's fiber fusion splicer has the function of automatically identifying optical fibers, which can automatically identify various types of optical fibers.
4. Prepare the fiber end face:
The quality of the fiber end face will directly affect the fusion quality, so a qualified end face must be prepared before fusion. Use a special stripping tool to strip off the coating layer, and then use a clean linen or cotton soaked in alcohol to wipe the bare fiber several times. Use a precision fiber cleaver to cut the fiber. For 0.25mm (outer coating) fiber, the cutting length is 8mm-16mm, and for 0.9mm (outer coating) fiber, the cutting length can only be 16mm.
5. Place the fiber:
Place the fiber in the V-groove of the fusion splicer, carefully press the fiber pressure plate and fiber clamp, set the position of the fiber in the pressure plate according to the fiber cutting length, and put it correctly into the windshield.
6. Connect the fiber:
After pressing the connection button, the optical fibers move toward each other. During the movement, a short discharge is generated to clean the optical fiber surface. When the gap between the optical fiber end faces is appropriate, the fiber fusion splicer stops moving toward each other, sets the initial gap, and the fiber fusion splicer measures and displays the cutting angle. After the initial gap setting is completed, the core or cladding alignment is started, and then the fiber fusion splicer reduces the gap (the final gap setting). The arc generated by the high-voltage discharge melts the left fiber into the right fiber. Finally, the microprocessor calculates the loss and displays the value on the display. If the estimated loss value is higher than expected, you can press the discharge key to discharge again. After the discharge, the fiber fusion splicer will still calculate the loss.
7. Take out the optical fiber and reinforce the fiber fusion point with a heater:
Open the windshield, take the optical fiber out of the fiber fusion splicer, move the heat shrink tube to the position of the fusion point, put it in the heater for heating, and take out the optical fiber from the heater after heating. During operation, due to the high temperature, do not touch the ceramic part of the heat shrink tube and the heater.
8. Coil and fix:
Coil the spliced optical fiber onto the fiber storage tray, fix the optical fiber, storage tray, joint box, terminal box, etc., and the operation is completed.
Precautions for using the fiber fusion splicer
1. Do not let the fiber fusion splicer get wet in the rain.
2. The fiber fusion splicer will discharge through arc, so do not use it in places where flammable gas may be generated or where anti-riot equipment is installed to avoid fire or explosion.
3. Do not touch the discharging electrode to avoid burns or electric shock.
4. Do not put water into the battery to avoid explosion or fire.
5. Be sure to use the dedicated charger configured for the fiber fusion splicer. Using other chargers will cause abnormal excessive charging current. Abnormalities or chemical reactions inside the battery may cause the battery to heat up and rupture.
6. Do not directly weld the fiber fusion splicer without optical fiber.
7. Be sure to turn off the power of the machine after use. If it is powered on for a long time, it will cause excessive discharge and battery aging.
8. Please take dust prevention measures in case of severe dust. Using the fiber fusion splicer with dust inside will cause short circuit of electrical components or hinder heat dissipation, thereby causing the fiber fusion splicer to fail and age, leading to electric shock and fire accidents.
9. Do not use drugs other than alcohol to clean the fiber fusion splicer, so as not to reduce the performance of the fiber fusion splicer or cause damage.
Experience of using the fiber fusion splicer
1. The treatment of the fiber before fusion will directly affect the quality of fusion. It is necessary to ensure that the fiber is clean and the fiber end face is flat, without any burrs, cracks, or large end face angles.
2. Due to the high degree of automation of the current fiber fusion splicer, "AUTO" mode is selected for fusion in most cases. Therefore, be especially careful when placing the cleaned fiber into the fiber clamp and V-groove. First of all, it should be noted that the distance between the fiber end face and the electrode rod should not be too large or too small, generally about 3mm; then after pressing the "SET" button, the fiber fusion splicer will automatically complete the alignment of the fiber core and cladding. In the process of aligning the fiber core (X axis, Y axis) on the focused screen, it should be noted that the axis deviation of the two optical fibers displayed on the display screen should not exceed the diameter of the fiber cross section, otherwise it will cause the motor to move significantly on the X axis and Y axis, causing the motor to run beyond the limit. If the above situation occurs, please press the "RESET" button immediately to restore the drive, then check and clean the V-groove and other components, and reposition the optical fiber to meet the requirements.
3. Cable TV optical receivers have strict requirements on optical power, generally between 0 and 2dBm. Too much optical power will cause mutual interference, and too low will reduce the carrier-to-noise ratio. Therefore, in special cases, it is necessary to reduce the optical power to meet the input requirements of the optical receiver. While buying an optical attenuator is relatively expensive, you can use a fiber fusion splicer to produce an online attenuator. By setting an "attenuation" parameter, the fiber fusion splicer intentionally creates an axial deviation to obtain a high splicing loss. The method is: place the optical fiber, enter the "Attenuation" function of the auxiliary function menu, modify the "Attenuation" item (optional between 1 and 15dBm), select the fusion splicing method according to the type of optical fiber used, and then press the "SET" button to start fusion splicing. This will produce a high value of splicing loss. Finally, a mark should be made on this optical fiber to distinguish it from the conventional fusion node.