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Glossary of Terminology
What is a Fusion Splicer?
What is an Oscilloscope?
What is an OTDR?
What is a Logic Analyzer?
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| A fusion splicer is a precision instrument which splices or connects two optical fibers together by melting or fusing them in order to create a continuous optical waveguide. Optical fibers must be joined together perfectly in order to operate correctly with minimal optical loss. Here's exactly how the process works.
Fiber fusion splicing is a highly precise process with no room for error. First the fiber cable ends are fastened into an enclosure in order to protect them. After that the ends of the fibers are stripped of their coating and outer jacket. The ends are then cut using a fiber cleaver. A fiber cleaver is a precision device which cuts the fibers in a manner which leaves the ends perfectly flat and smooth. If the cable ends are not perfectly flat then a perfect splice cannot be achieved. After the ends are cleaved they are placed into special holders in the fusion splicer. Generally the fiber ends are inspected before and after the splice using the splicer's built-in display screen which provides a magnified image. The splicer's motors gently align the cable end faces together. After this it generates a small spark or arc at the gap using two electrodes. This is done in order to burn off any moisture or dust which could cause the process to fail. The splicer then creates a large arc which raises the temperature at the cable ends above the melting point of glass, typically between 1600 and 1700 °C. This fuses the ends together and creates one single, continuous cable. The location of the arc and the amount of electricity in it are very precisely controlled so that the glass fiber and the cladding do not mix. If they are allowed to mix the result is optical loss. After fusing the cable ends together the splicer inputs light through the cladding on one side of the splice and measures the light leaking from the cladding on the other side. This measurement is done in order to determine the amount of splice loss. Splice loss is the amount of optical power lost at the splice point due to the splicing procedure. Fusion splicers normally achieve a splice loss of less than 0.1 dB.
With the advent of ribbon fiber cables containing multiple fibers, mass fusion splicers quickly became a necessity. Mass fusion splicers enable multiple splices to be performed simultaneously. The most common mass fusion splicers can splice six or twelve fibers at a time. The process is the same as a single fiber splicer except that the individual fibers in the ribbon cable are put into a V-groove which ensures that each cable is precisely aligned.
Fusion splicers are used extensively in the telecommunications and networking industries. Some of the more prominent manufacturers of fusion splicers are Fujikura, Ericsson, Sumitomo, Fitel/Furukawa and Siecor. At Industrial Test Equipment we invite you to check out the new and used models of fusion splicers which are available, many at discount prices.
What you see below is just some of the fusion splicing equipment that is currently available on eBay. If you don't see what you need search here to perform a more exhaustive inventory search.
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US $5,995.00 |
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US $2,995.00 |
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US $3,395.00 |
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US $6,500.00 |
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US $17,000.00 |
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US $8,250.00 |
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US $16,500.00 |
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US $8,500.00 |
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US $145.00 |
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US $3,500.00 |
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US $2,000.00 |
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US $1,500.00 |
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US $2,495.00 |
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US $15,000.00 |
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US $275.00 |
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US $10,500.00 |
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US $17,250.00 |
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US $6,195.00 |
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US $6,795.00 |
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US $6,995.00 |
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