Causes of the Apex of a Radius to be Imperfect, Off-center

QUESTION:

What causes the Apex of a radius to be imperfect, to be off-center? 

ANSWER:

Angles do.  Angles create Apex Offset.  Apex Offset is the result of polishing at an angle.  The ferrule being at an angle to the polishing surface during polishing  (for whatever reason—-imprecise hole bore in a polishing fixture, uneven polishing surface, contamination on ferrule OD, etc.) will cause the Apex of that radius to be cut off-set from the ferrule center.   The larger the angle, the larger the Apex Offset.  There is a mathematical relationship between Angle, Apex Offset and Radius:   Tan (Angle) = Apex/Radius.  If we know any two values, we can mathematically calculate the third.    This applies to APC ferrules as well, but with one additional factor:  Key Error.

READ THE FULL BLOG ARTICLE HERE: Polished Connector Geometries, APC

ADDITIONAL CONTENT & RESOURCES:

• Category Resource:
  • FOC Polish Page

• Find More Information in this Blog:
  • Polishing Tips and Best Practices for Single Fiber Connectors
  • Steps to Overcome Common APC Polishing Issues

  Answered by AskFOC Technical Team November 8 , 2018

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