Tag Archives: fiber optic cleaving

Types of Fiber Optic Cleaving Tools

When an optical fiber is “cut” or precisely broken for termination or splicing, we called this process as fiber optic cleaving. As we know, to get good fiber optic splice and terminations, expecially when using the pre-polished connectors with internal splices, it is very important to make sure that the fiber endface is good. At this moment, cleaving the fiber properly is very necessary. Thus, we usually need tools to make the cleaving process work well. In general, we use two kinds of fiber optic cleaving tools to achieve it. These two kinds of cleaving tools we generally called them fiber optic cleaver and fiber scribe.

Fiber Optic Cleaver
fiber-optic-cleaverIf you have more experiences in the cleaving and splicing, you must know that a right cleaver helps cut out costly mistakes. The working principle of cleaver is very easy to understand. It first holds the fiber under low tension, scores the surface at the proper location and then applies greater tension until the fiber breaks. Automatic cleavers now are widely used because they can produce consistent results, irrespective of the operator. It is easy to use and does not need training. Users just need to clamp the fiber into the cleaver and operate its controls. In addition, there are some cleavers less automated. This kind of cleavers are more dependent on operator technique and less predictable as they require operators to exert force manually for breaking the fiber.

Fiber Scribe
Fiber ScribeExcept the cleaver, there is another tool for cleaving which is typically used to remove excess fiber from the end of a connector before polishing. Scribe is a simple hand tool with a hard, sharp tip (generally made of carbide or diamond), that is used to scratch the fiber manually (some scribes are with pen-style shapes). Then the operator pulls the fiber to break it. However, it is less predictable than a cleaver because both the scribing and breaking process are under manual control. Nonetheless, scribe can produce adequate results for polishing so that it is still used today.

As we know, splicing two fibers requires mating two fiber ends. If the fiber ends are not precisely cleaved, the ends will not mate properly. If the cleaved ends are at an angle, there will be a gap between the fibers that will cause loss in a mechanical splice or uneven fusion splicing. If there is a protrusion, or lip, on one of the fibers, the two fibers will not butt up against each other. If there are surface defects, called hackle or mist, the ends will reflect or diffuse light, causing loss. Thus, proper cleaving is so important. A good cleaver helps us cut out costly mistakes and achieve high performance in fiber optic termination.

Reference:http://www.china-cable-suppliers.com/