Changes

Jim and I talked while he was working on getting the ferrules back in the splicing unit.

Jim and I talked while he was working on getting the ferrules back in the splicing unit.

I said I thought if I fused rough cut fibers strong enough, I would definitely fuse polished fibers strong enough since the polished fibers have much better contact than rough cut ones. But Jim said the rough cut ones with their rough surface might absorb more light and heat up more than polished fibers. The light might be more likely to shine through polished fibers and not heat them as much. We don't know for sure, so it is best to polish the scrap fibers before fusing and weight testing them.  

I said I thought if I fused rough cut fibers strong enough, I would definitely fuse polished fibers strong enough since the polished fibers have much better contact than rough cut ones. But Jim said the rough cut ones with their rough surface might absorb more light and heat up more than polished fibers. The light might be more likely to shine through polished fibers and not heat them as much. We don't know for sure, so it is best to polish the scrap fibers before fusing and weight testing them. We only need to polish as far as 5 micron grit, though.

Jim also explained that the ferrules crack if they are slammed together during fusing. When we fuse we need to hold the top ferrule down against the bottom one before pressing the start button that would slam them together.

Jim also explained that the ferrules crack if they are slammed together during fusing. When we fuse we need to hold the top ferrule down against the bottom one before pressing the start button that would slam them together.