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The downstream unpolished ends of the bundles are closest to the colored rubber elastics.
The downstream unpolished ends of the bundles are closest to the colored rubber elastics.
1/9: I started polishing another bundle of light guides with 400 grit paper. Micah noticed that the cladding of one of the fibers was flaring, and dust from the polishing was getting caught between the cladding and the interior of the fiber. A white line was visible along the edge of the fiber when the end was facing towards me, and there was a curve of white from one corner to the other when you looked at the side of the fiber. I could barely see that curve, so we looked at it through the microscope. I eventually got a better glimpse of the flare looking at the end of the fiber, but not such a good look at the curve on the side of it.
1/9: I started polishing bundle 407 of light guides with 400 grit paper. Micah noticed that the cladding of one of the fibers was flaring, and dust from the polishing was getting caught between the cladding and the interior of the fiber. A white line was visible along the edge of the fiber when the end was facing towards me, and there was a curve of white from one corner to the other when you looked at the side of the fiber. I could barely see that curve, so we looked at it through the microscope. I eventually got a better glimpse of the flare looking at the end of the fiber, but not such a good look at the curve on the side of it.
Micah said we should polish with the 400 grit paper until the flare is gone. We may need to move the fibers forward in the collars to continue polishing after finishing with the 400 grit or 1000 grit. They are protruding around 0.016" beyond the collar, and we might want 0.032".
Micah said we should polish with the 400 grit paper until the flare is gone. We may need to move the fibers forward in the collars to continue polishing after finishing with the 400 grit or 1000 grit. They are protruding around 0.016" beyond the collar, and we might want 0.032".
When Micah left I started polishing a bundle of sci-fis with 400 grit. I progressed to the point where the ends of the fibers seem to be all in one plane. For now that is as far as we want to take them because we aren't sure how long they should be.
When Micah left I started polishing a bundle of sci-fis with 400 grit. I progressed to the point where the ends of the fibers seem to be all in one plane. For now that is as far as we want to take them because we aren't sure how long they should be.
1/10 I continued polishing the sci-fi bundle with 400 grit, but the cladding was flaring. I wondered if St. Gobain had any documentation about what to do with the ends after cutting fibers. I asked Jim about that, and he gave me a research paper from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory about polishing optical fibers. However, the paper did not give me ideas for our situation.
Jim said I could be pressing the fibers too hard against the sandpaper, spinning the wheel too fast, or not changing the sandpaper enough. Something must be different because the fibers did not flare during the summer when Micah was polishing.