New Fiber Optic Micro-Polisher Offers Automated Micro-Feed Feature
By Ron Grunsby, Editor
Krell Technologies, Inc. has released the Rev2 automated fiber optic micro-polisher for the polishing of bare fibers and optical connectors. The Rev2 features several advancements over its predecessor, the REV micro-polisher, including an optional automated workholder fixture that provides Z-axis micro-feeding movement for integrated connector air polishing and controlled bare fiber polishing.
This automated micro-feed feature advances bare fiber to the polishing surface at a very controlled, slow rate. This minimizes the possibility of bare fiber breakage against the polishing film and allows the ability to air polish the connectors in the polisher with a controlled mechanism rather than manually by hand, providing better end-face quality. Connectors and MIL-spec termini are polished to Telcordia compliance.
This video illustrates the micro-feed feature during the polishing of a bare fiber.
“The micro-feed feature has always been in our Scepter Polishing System, and now we’re incorporating it into our micro-polisher,” said Al Cheswick, VP of sales and marketing at Krell Technologies. “No one else has the ability to advance the bare fiber to the polishing surface at a very controlled, slow rate – especially in smaller, low-volume portable units like the Rev2.”
While the original Rev could only polish one component at a time, the Rev2 has the ability to simultaneously polish two components. Plus, the Rev2’s workholder fixture, like all other Krell workholders, features independent suspension for each connector position, and each connector position is optically aligned for geometry control.
Another feature of the Rev2 is a user-adjustable digital cycle timer, which is an upgrade over the pneumatic timer used by the previous version. “You had to set the original Rev at 15-second increments,” Cheswick said. “Every time you hit the button it would go for an additional 15 seconds — if you needed 30 seconds, you would hit it twice for 15 plus 15. The Rev2 has a dial on the front that lets you set the time – 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, etc.”
As is the case with all other Krell polishers, the Rev2 provides the ability to do inline inspection with a video probe that engages with the polisher so the connector finish can be qualified while still in the machine.