Different Types of Fiber Optic Cleavers

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If
you have ever spliced optical fiber then you know what a fiber optic cleaver
is. If you are new to fiber, then the mention of a cleaver may be a new
concept. In simple terms, a cleaver is used to cut your fiber so you have two
ends that will line up and can be welded together using a fusion splicer or
they can be brought together in a mechanical splice. Fiber optic cleavers are
essential tools when splicing and putting connectors on in the field. There are
different brands of cleavers and they all have different looks but they all
perform the same job. If you are used to a certain manufacturer and you like
them, then you should stay with them. When you buy a splicer kit it usually
will include a precision Fiber
Optic cleaver.  When we talk about
cleavers, there are several features and different types for you to consider.
We will discuss these in the article below.

 

Different
Types of Cleavers

 

The
two main types of cleavers are field cleavers and precision cleavers. Field
cleavers are also known as beaver cleavers. These cleavers are used primarily
for Multimode fiber applications and they are sometimes used with quick term
connectors. When using this kind of cleaver you will press the blade down on
the fiber to score the glass and then bend the “tail” to break the glass fiber.

 

On
the other hand, there are precision cleavers. These cleavers are used for
fusion splicing and when terminating single mode fiber with quick term
connectors. A precision cleaver makes a perfect flat cut, leaving a 90 degree
cleave angle on the end of the fiber. It prepares the fiber so that it is ready
to splice two pieces together. There are several different manufacturers and
with that also some different features and slightly different looks. In the
end, they all have the same goal of getting a fiber ready to splice or put a
quick term connector on.

 

Steps
to Follow When Cleaving

 

When
you are using either style cleaver, field or precision, there are common steps
that will need to be performed before you cleave. The first step is to remove
the outer most jacket of the cable you are working on. To do this you will use
a tool called strippers. Once you have removed the jacket(s) from the fiber,
then you have to get the acrylate coating off of the fiber. This is a coating
layer that is put on the glass which allows the fiber to be handled and put on
a spool without breaking. As the acrylate coating peels off, you will see it
almost curl like when scooping ice cream. This step is critical. Make sure all
of this acrylate fiber coating is removed. If any of this coating is left on
the fiber, when you go to cleave it, it will make it seem like the cleaver is
not working properly. I have had a number of tech calls that start out with “My
cleaver is not working properly; I need a new one.” The first question I ask is
“Did you go back over your fiber with the 250um slot in your strippers?”
Normally you hear silence at the end of the line, then they say thank you and
they will call if something else is wrong. You usually do not hear back from
that person. So make sure that you remove all of the acrylate coating. Once
this is done then you use your alcohol or other fiber optic cleaning solution
and wipes to clean off the fiber. If it is cleaned properly, you will hear it
squeak while you run the wipe with alcohol over the bare fiber. Always clean
the fiber before you cleave. Never clean the fiber after you cleave it because
it is very likely that you will damage the end of the fiber.

 

Types
of Precision Cleavers

 

Precision
cleavers work in a variety of ways. There are three step cleavers that require
technicians to go through three steps in order to cleave the fiber. These steps
usually include closing the lid, pushing the cleaver blade to cut your fiber,
and then opening the lid to remove the cleaved fiber. There are one step
cleavers where all you do is push the lid down and the cleaver will do
everything else, including sliding the cleaver blade and moving the piece of
glass into your scrap bin. These kinds of cleavers have helped to speed up the
process, and make it easier to prep your fiber for splicing.

 

When
using a cleaver there are a couple of things that you need to pay attention to
in order to maintain the cleaver. One of these maintenance tasks is the
rotating of the cleaver blade. A cleaver blade has up to 16 different positions
that are used and each position has a limit on how many cleaves it can perform
well. Each position is good for roughly one thousand cleaves. So every thousand
cleaves the blade should be rotated to a new position.

 

Auto
Rotating Blades

 

Most
recently there have been upgrades to cleaver technology that assist to extend
the life of a blade, as well as making it easier on a tech to maintain. One of
these features is an auto rotating blade. This assists in making sure that the
blade is used evenly and it will help to extend the life of the blade. How it
works is that every time you make a cleave on a piece of fiber the blade
automatically rotates to the next position on the blade. This will help extend
the life of a blade.

 

There
are times when you will cleave on a set position and it will get worn quickly
or produce bad cleaves and force you to rotate the blade before you get the
thousand cleaves in the one position. By auto rotating it helps to eliminate
one position getting worn down too quickly.

 

Another
feature that has been added to some of the newer cleavers is the
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth feature which allows the cleaver to “talk” to the splicer. The
splicer keeps track of the cleave count. This will tell you when a blade should
be changed. If a particular position is throwing bad cleaves, it keeps track to
not use a certain position on the blade itself.

 

In
conclusion, cleavers are a very important tool when working with fiber. Make
sure to maintain them, and to prep your fiber correctly, and you will have a
very successful job and you will save money and time.