Tools for Stripping and Cleaving of Fibers

A common type of fiber stripper tool looks like a pincer. When starting with a fiber cable, one first has to cut into the polymer jacket with the stripper tool and pull the end part of the jacket away. The tool can then also be used to strip off the polymer buffer from the fiber over the last few centimeters. (Some strippers are specialized either for jacket removal or for stripping buffer coatings and smaller polymer coatings.) 

The device is made such that it cuts into the jacket or the buffer coating, but without damaging the glass fiber inside. Careful handling is important in order to avoid damages to the fiber, which could later cause breaking. With an alcohol-soaked pad one can then remove any residues of the coating, which might later on cause problems.

The cleaving of fibers can often be done with quite simple mechanical fiber cleaver tools. In the simplest case, one only has a sharp diamond, carbide or ceramic blade (scribe) in a pencil-like form for scratching the fiber, and uses a finger kick to break it. Alternatively, one may put the fiber on a simple holder, hold it with two fingers, scratch it in between, and finally break it by applying some more tension. Such simple blades and holders are contained in simple fiber termination kits (preparation kits).

High Precision Fiber Cleaver

For cleaving with more controlled conditions, leading to more consistent results, there are special apparatuses, called mechanical precision fiber cleavers, which work as follows. Here, one inserts the stripped fiber and fixes it, typically with a V groove and two clamps. One then applies a tension, the magnitude of which can often be adjusted (e.g. with a screwdriver). One now lets a diamond blade approach the fiber, causing the required scratch. The blade may be made vibrating with a small electromagnet or piezo. Finally, the tension is increased such that the fiber breaks. Some semi-automatic fiber cleavers also allow for angle cleaving, i.e., for preparing fiber ends with some angle against the fiber axis.

With standard silica fibers, stripping and cleaving is usually no problem. There are problematic cases, however, e.g. for non-standard fiber diameters, photonic crystal fibers with large air filling fraction, or for fragile fluoride fibers.

For more information, please browse our website or contact a Sopto representative by calling 86-755-36946668, or by sending an email to info@sopto.com.