SPL Splicing SPL-06 Step 6 of 13
Fiber Preparation: Strip, Clean, Cleave
Make a clean, flat, perpendicular fiber end that is ready to splice, with the protection sleeve already on the fiber.
Crew
- Lead Splicer
Hazards
- Glass Fiber Shards
- Flammable Alcohol
Purpose
Make a clean, flat, perpendicular fiber end ready to splice. The cleave often decides much of the splice loss. A dirty or angled end gives bubbles, high loss or a weak splice, and a splicer program usually cannot fix it.
When to Do It
- After the fibers are identified and routed to their tray (SPL-05).
- Right before each splice. Do not prepare ends ahead and leave them exposed, because they collect dust.
- Previous step: SPL-05 Fiber Identification and Routing. Next step: SPL-07 Fusion Splicing (Single Fiber) or SPL-08 Ribbon (Mass Fusion) Splicing.
Roles
- Lead splicer: strips, cleans, cleaves and checks every fiber end.
Equipment and Materials
- Heat-shrink protection sleeves sized for the splicer oven and tray holders.
- Precision coating stripper sized for the fiber coating.
- Isopropyl alcohol of the purity the splicer and cable manufacturers specify, and lint-free wipes.
- Precision cleaver with a sharp, correctly positioned blade.
- The fusion splicer’s display and cleave check.
- Fiber shard container and dark work mat.
Safety
Procedure
- Slide the heat-shrink protection sleeve onto one fiber first.
- Do this before you strip, because you cannot add a sleeve once the splice is made.
- Strip the coating with a precision stripper.
- Strip the length your splicer and cleaver require: per manufacturer instructions.
- Hold the stripper square to the fiber and pull in one smooth motion, so the glass is not scratched.
- Clean the bare fiber with an alcohol wipe in one pass.
- Wipe from the coating toward the end, once.
- Do not touch the bare fiber after cleaning, because skin oil and dust ruin the splice.
- Cleave with the precision cleaver.
- Set the fiber in the cleaver at the cleave length the splicer requires: per manufacturer instructions.
- Close the cleaver smoothly. Remove the scrap and put it in the shard container.
- Check the cleave on the splicer display.
- Load the fiber and read the splicer’s cleave-angle check.
- Re-strip and re-cleave if the angle exceeds the splicer’s limit (per manufacturer instructions) or the end face shows a lip, hackle or chip.
Hold Points
Records to Keep
- Cleaver blade position changes and the date, in the tool log, so blade wear is tracked.
- No other record is typically needed at this step unless the owner requires one; the splice record comes in SPL-07.
Common Mistakes
- Forgetting the sleeve. You have to break the splice and start over. Sleeve first, every time.
- Touching the cleaned fiber. One touch leaves oil. Re-clean and re-cleave.
- Worn cleaver blade. Angles creep up across the day. Rotate the blade per the manufacturer when angles drift.
- Reusing a bad cleave. A poor cleave rarely makes a good splice. Re-cleave.
Standards and References
- Fusion splicer manufacturer’s instructions (strip length, cleave length, cleave-angle limit).
- Cleaver manufacturer’s instructions (blade position and rotation).
Telcordia GR-771for the closure and tray system the sleeves are stored in.- Owner splicing specification.
On the Map
- Splice Tray: holds the protection sleeves once each prepared fiber is spliced.
Related Tools
Not applicable: no FAHMY tool covers stripping and cleaving.
SPL-06 · Field Checklist
Checklist
0/6items ticked
Tick each procedure step and hold point as the crew completes it. Ticks stay on this device only. They are a personal aid, not a hold-point release or a project record; follow the owner’s sign-off process.
OSP Map · Handhole Detail
On the Map
- Splice TrayTray that holds splice protection sleeves and routes fibers within bend radius.