POLISH: Tips

Key Error, Angle, and Apex are all related. If you know any two of these geometric characteristics, you can mathematically calculate the third. For this reason, the Key Error causes above also can relate to Angle and Apex values. ...

When developing a polishing process, be sure to use only brand-new rubber polishing pads. Rubber pads play a critical role in polish results and are often overlooked. Having a consistent hardness (durometer) across the surface of the rubber pad is CRITICAL ...

Monitoring the end-face geometries of polished ferrules is an excellent way to monitor the quality of your polishing fixture. Any significant deficiencies in the fixture will be reflected in end-face geometry parameters. For example, changes in Apex Offset ...

When polishing an MT ferrule, it is virtually impossible to polish an array of fibers to EXACTLY the same heights. There will always be some deviation in height between fibers in the array. But, when the fibers and ferrule are mated and under load, they undergo a...

Whether you’re using step ferrules or conical ferrules, you may have problems achieving consistent results for the 4 basic geometric characteristics – Radius, Angle/Apex, and Key Error – that are relevant to the APC polishing process. The following paragraphs...

Apex Offset for APC connectors is really the combination of two factors: Polishing angle, and key error. When troubleshooting an APC process which is resulting in poor Apex Offset values, we must identify which component—Angle, Key Error, or both—is the ...

Step 5. Conduct a visual inspection. Your customers will require some type of visual inspection. (Clearly, you cannot ship a connector with a shattered fiber.) After achieving desired geometry values, measure the visual appearance of the end-face, looking for ...

When developing a polishing process, carefully evaluate other major visual defects: shattered fibers, core cracks, no visible fiber, etc. In many cases, the cause of the defect is not related to your polishing process but rather to cleaving, product handling, curing...

Each step of How to Develop a Fiber Optic Polishing Process that Produces Consistent Results can be found in our article of the same name but here we highlight: Step 4. To adjust your process, start with a focus on Radius. The ability to achieve desirable,...

Contamination within the ferrule bore is building up, “pushing” the ferrule to one side: the slurry generated from polishing can accumulate in the bore or other areas of the fixture, building up to prevent the ferrule from seating at precisely 90 degrees to the...