A portable machine with fiber holders, V-grooves, cameras, electrodes and a built-in heat-shrink oven. Core alignment models image the cores and move the fibers in three axes for the lowest loss; cladding alignment models rely on fixed V-grooves and are common for ribbon splicing. The loss estimate is based on images, not a measurement, so the OTDR has the final word.
Splicer's arc is drifting, run an arc check and clean the electrodes before the next tray.
The splicer's loss estimate is a guess from pictures, and a 0.01 estimate on a splice that reads 0.3 on the OTDR is not unusual on dissimilar fibers.
Also heard as
- splicer
Related terms
Fusion splice
A permanent joint made by melting two cleaved fiber ends together with an electric arc.
Cleave angle
How far a cleaved fiber end deviates from a perfect right angle to the fiber axis, in degrees.
Splice protector
A heat-shrink sleeve with a steel rod that is shrunk over a fusion splice to protect the bare glass.
Burn
Splicer slang for making fusion splices, from the electric arc that welds the glass.