Compared with copper cables, optical cables are very fragile and easily damaged, especially during the optical fiber construction process. Today, this article will talk about the seven deadly sins in the optical fiber construction process.

 

Error 1 The fiber is not cleaned before splicing

 

Before performing fiber fusion splicing, cleaning the bare fiber is a very important step. It should be noted that the bare fiber must be cleaned first, and then the bare fiber must be cut. In fact, nothing is cleaner than the end face of a newly cut optical fiber, so never clean the optical fiber after cutting. This will stain the end face of the optical fiber. When cleaning bare optical fibers, it is strongly recommended that operators use a fast volatile, non-flammable precision cleaning fluid.

Mistake 2 using improper cutting tools

 

Whether the fiber end face is smooth or not has an important effect on the performance of the fiber after fusion or termination. In the past, people usually use fiber cleavers to manually cut optical fibers, which requires operators to be systematically trained and skilled. Now, with the development of technology, modern automatic cutting tools have become very common in the market. These tools can not only improve the safety of operators, but also protect the fiber. In general, the automated cutting tool is an important tool to ensure that the fiber end face after cutting is qualified.

Error three: No calibration before fiber splicing

 

It is very important to calibrate the fusion splicer. In particular, the intensity of the arc or the current intensity needs to be adjusted frequently to ensure that the size of the fusion is appropriate to ensure that the mechanical strength of the fusion joint is strong enough and the optical performance is good enough. This is especially important when the pressure changes or when working at high latitudes. In fact, the calibration is easy to do. For most fusion splicers, simply putting the optical fiber on it is like doing the fusion splicing. But when calibrating, you don't need to actually splice. Instead, you have to go to the maintenance menu of the splicer and select the option of arc calibration or arc back test. The splicer will tell the operator how to calibrate step by step. After the calibration is completed, the fusion splicer will also remind the calibration is completed or whether the entire system needs to be retested.

 

Error 4 The fiber is slightly bent

 

The microbending of the optical fiber is generally caused by excessive pressure on the optical fiber. The microbending of the optical fiber will cause the signal quality to decrease, and this kind of problem is difficult to detect by the naked eye unless it is checked by an OTDR.

Error 5 Fiber is excessively bent

 

All optical cables have their own small bending radius. Therefore, we must pay attention not to exceed the low bending radius of the optical cable when constructing the optical cable to avoid damage to the optical cable and the optical fiber in the sheath.

Mistake 6: Reusing wipe paper/cloth

 

Repeated use of wiping paper/cloth is a small loss. This is because when a connector is cleaned with a piece of wiping paper/cloth, the wiping paper/cloth will be dirty and will also be stained with oil on your hands. The dust layer, if you use it to wipe other connectors, it will contaminate other connectors. Of course, if you really want to save costs, you can buy small wipes/cloths.

Error 7 Do not check and clean the connector end face before installation

 

The end face of the connector is also a place that is extremely susceptible to dust and oil pollution. Therefore, when we install the connector, we should check and clean the end face of the optical fiber connector. The cost of a ferrule end face tester is less than the cost required for two on-site maintenance and construction. Are you willing to spend a small amount of money for cleaning and inspection in advance or repairing afterwards or at a high price?

to sum up

 

The seven deadly sins mentioned above are all long-standing problems in optical fiber communication. These problems slow down the optical fiber network and often cause network failures. However, as long as the network construction personnel strictly abide by the standard procedures, plus a little caution. These problems can be avoided very well.