Best Practices to Properly Prepare Epoxy

Published: April 2, 2018

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Epoxy must be thoroughly mixed and then degassed to remove bubbles. (In the production process, you don’t want to dispense any bubbles inside the ferrule.)

You may have heard the advice to mix epoxy based on time, for example, 1 minute of mixing or 90 seconds of mixing. But when mixing manually, different users may mix at different rates – that is, one person may stir more quickly than another, or if roll-mixing a bi-pack one person may roll faster than another.

For epoxy bi-pack mixing, using a roller or the edge of a table, we recommend using a counting-based process rather than a time-based process. Usually, 20-25 uniform passes using a consistent mixing rhythm should be sufficient. The goal is to thoroughly blend Part A and Part B with minimal bubbles. Bubbles will appear in properly mixed epoxy. If you mix too vigorously, you can trap more air and introduce more bubbles, and this may add time to your degassing process.

Click HERE to read step-by-step mixing instructions, with illustrations, for epoxy burst pouch bi-packs.

MORE INFORMATION:

Bonding Optical Fiber to the Ceramic Ferrule SERIES:

November 2017: Part 1: Best practices for epoxy preparation and dispensing

December 2017: Part 2: Best practices to characterize oven ports used to thermally cure epoxy

January 2018: Part 3: Best practices to validate your epoxy curing schedule

Click to learn more:

Additional resources from the FOC team include:

Category Resource:
- FOC Epoxy Page
View the Glossary, Acronyms, Military Specifications for Connectors
Q&A Resource: email technical questions to AskFOC@focenter.com

Have questions about this FOC Tip?

Contact FOC with questions at: (800) 473-4237 / 508-992-6464 or email: FiberOpticCenter@focenter.com and we will respond ASAP.

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FOC Tips Fiber Optic Center has a team of technical experts and marketing strategists with decades of years in the field. This team contributes to the fiber, cable and specialty industries coverage through news, alerts, reports and general media information.

About Fiber Optic Center, Inc.

Fiber Optic Center, Inc., (FOC), is an international leader in distributing fiber optic components, equipment and supplies and has been helping customers make the best cable assemblies in the world for over two decades. Several areas of specialization and expertise, in which they are the industry leader, make them the preferred choice for many of the world’s fiber professionals. In these key technology areas, FOC is "at least as technical as the manufacturer" about the products they sell. Striving to "make the business part easy," they offer outstanding and personal customer service, low or no minimum purchase order values, and from-stock delivery on industry-leading products and technology. FOC is the industry connection to the most innovative optical products, technologies and technical experts who integrate their manufacturing knowledge and vast experience into customers' worldwide operations. @FiberOpticCntr

For further information contact:

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