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[[BW New Procedure|New Procedure]]
I can try using the microscope to determine which end of a sci-fi to fuse. If the microscope does not work well, I can request a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass goes in the box on the soldering table when we are done with it.
I can try using the microscope to determine which end of a sci-fi to fuse. If the microscope does not work well, I can request a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass goes in the box on the soldering table when we are done with it.
5/30/18
5/30/18
I found the [https://campbellhausfeld.com/air-compressor-1-gallon-pancake-oilless-36-cfm-33hp-120v-3a-fp2028.html?category_id=66 website for the air compressor we will use for fiber cleaning]. It is a Campbell Hausfeld FP2028 compressor.
I found the [https://campbellhausfeld.com/air-compressor-1-gallon-pancake-oilless-36-cfm-33hp-120v-3a-fp2028.html?category_id=66 website for the air compressor we will use for fiber cleaning]. It is a Campbell Hausfeld FP202801 compressor. I also found [http://parts.campbellhausfeld.com/IMAGES/pdfs/manual09/614208_0512-web.pdf a product manual for the compressor].
Jim made more marks to show when the grippers are bottoming out to the right.
Sometimes there are lips at the end of a fiber. They usually look like white lines, maybe where the cladding has flared. Today we found that when there are lips at the end of a fiber, they can cause an incomplete fuse.
I should try to fuse the fiber ends that do not have lips.
Jim used a laser to check whether light was scattering from a fiber after wings were removed. We did not see much scattering from that fiber.
6/4/18
I realized today that if a wing forms during the first fuse, one will also form during the second fuse because the first wing keeps the ferrules from meeting properly.
6/7/18
Dr. Jones said we have been too focused on getting strong fibers. We need ones that will transmit light.
I should push but not as hard or as long as I have been doing. As soon as the clamps start moving to the right, I should let go but not pull the fiber back. The thinking is that the light turns on first and then as soon as I see the clamps move I let go.
6/13/18
Jim said that the razor blades come with oil on them, which is bad for the fibers, ferrules, and splicing unit. We need to remove the oil before using them to remove wings.
To remove the oil, we should wash the blades with soap and water, then follow up with ethanol. They should then be dried and clean before use.
6/18/18
Some of the light guides are too narrow and the clamps start moving before the light turns on. For those fibers I should try putting a little paper or piece of lint-free cloth on the bottom gripping clamp. It should not get between the clamps because then it would keep the ferrules apart. It should be at the end of the clamps farthest from the ferrules so that if it does keep the clamps from closing completely maybe the ferrules will still be in sufficient contact.
Today I tried paper and lint-free cloth as methods of enhancing the grip of the ferrules on the fibers. I tried a small strip of paper, a larger piece folded into a v shape, a large piece wrapped around the long fiber, a small strip of lint-free cloth, and a larger strip of lint-free cloth that would have extended between the clamp surfaces that are supposed to be in contact.
The paper wrapped around the fiber prevented the clamps from moving at all except when I pushed hard enough to make them move suddenly. Sudden motion is not acceptable. The clamps should move steadily and gradually as the heating light is on. With the paper I got fuses that broke at 850 grams. When I switched to lint-free cloth, some of the fuses held 850 grams. However, the clamps still moved to the right spontaneously during some fusing attempts.
Today Andrew and I tried removing lips from some fibers. He used 1000 grit and I used 5 micron grit. I fused some of mine and weight tested them. Two broke at 850 and one broke at 1000.
Even with 5 micron grit it is easy to remove some of the core while removing a lip. 1 micron grit and copier paper don't seem very effective, though.
6/20/2018
If the clamps seem to be moving too fast, I sometimes push the top ferrule and clamp down to try to slow the clamps. Sometimes this seems to work. I am not sure if it is better just to let the clamps move or to slow them down that way.
I want to find a better way to remove lips. The problem is that, as with polishing, the fibers may not be aligned correctly as we use sandpaper. They easily tilt as they slide across the paper.
7/13/2018
Jim said today that we should try to avoid wings. If the sponge gasket is too thick, we might try electrical tape to prevent the clamps from bottoming out while fusing thin fibers.
He was concerned that if the light guides hang off the table during fusing, they could twist and cause problems. We could clamp a wide board to the table so the fibers will not hang off during fusing. We should put the black cloth from the dark box over the board, and even without a board we should cover the the area with the cloth. However, we will need to avoid snagging the end of the fiber on the cloth and possibly damaging the cladding.
Jim looked at one of my fuses from yesterday. He noticed that the line around the fuse site was faint on two sides but more pronounced on the other two. He said the fuse was incomplete somewhere, maybe at a corner. That may have been because some cladding was missing from one of the fibers. I am not sure whether he said the fuse was incomplete only at the cladding level or if some of the core was not fused either.