Fusion Splicing Solutions
3SAE Technologies designs and manufactures a wide range of high performance fiber optic stripping tools for optical fiber coating removal, providing the most advanced line of high strength thermal mechanical strippers, non-contact high strength fiber optic strippers and the industry’s only diameter adjustable thermal fiber stripper. With several patents for fiber optic stripping, such as Burst™ Technology and the Ring of Fire®, 3SAE’s state-of-the-art non-contact, chemical free fiber coating removal solutions are ideal for the end stripping and mid-span window stripping of optical fiber coatings such as acrylate, PVC, polyimide, carbon, and gold.
Acrylate Coating Stripping
Acrylate polymers are a group of polymers noted for their transparency, resistance to breakage, and elasticity.
Acrylate polymer is commonly used as the primary coating for most standard optical fibers. Acrylate coating is fairly easy to remove with the appropriate amount of heat and mechanical blades to close over the acrylate primary coating stripping the coating down to the typical 125um cladding diameter of the fiber. This is an ideal method for fusion splicing but other applications can require a completely, non-contact approach
Alternative to stripping with mechanical blades is the use of 3SAE patented Burst Technology™, this is a unique process by which Air or Nitrogen is super-heated and precisely blown over a segment(s) of a fiber, The Acrylate polymer coating is then heated beyond its elasticity and is cleanly and instantly burst away from the cladding. The process is very useful for the high strength applications such as manufacturing fiber bragg gratings or mode field adaptors.
Strippers
Stripping fibers is a critical process and it is always important to utilize the right tool for the coating material on your fiber.. In the case of acrylate coated fibers, the removal of the coating is relatively easy and with precisely positioned stripping blades and a controlled linear pull mechanical fiber strippers yield high strength fusion splices consistently. In the case of metallic based coating such as Polyimide, Carbon or Gold we suggest our patented Ring of Fire™ Wide Area Plasma Technology to etch away the metallic coating materials while leaving the cladding and strength intact.
Polyimide Coating Stripping
Optical fiber coatings play an important role in fiber strength, fatigue, and attenuation. Polyimide coatings on optical fiber are in growing demand because of their excellent high-temperature properties. Mechanical and optical characterizations of polyimide-coated optical fibers make them ideal for use in harsh environments. 3SAE utilizes our patented Ring of Fire heat source in both field and laboratory embodiments to give our customers the maximum ability to successfully strip and splice these types of important fibers.