Polishing machine for ferrule of optical fiber connector

Abstract

A polishing machine for polishing the end faces of ferrules supporting coaxially aligned optical fibers to be connected in an optical fiber connector. The machine has a polishing disk composed of a rotating disk with a flat face, a rubber plate fixed on the rotating disk, and a thin metal elastic plate mounted on the rubber plate. The surface of the polishing disk is capable of being indented when the end face of a ferrule is pressed against the surface of the polishing disk. So, by passing the end face of the ferrule against the rotating polishing disk, and rotating the ferrule around its axis alternately to the left and right, the end face of the ferrule is polished approximately spherically. A revolving motion may be included for the ferrule. The curvature of the polished end face is determined by the force used to press the ferrule toward the polisher and the elasticity for the polishing disk. The surface of the polishing disk may be provided with a series of grooves arranged in a mesh pattern to catch and retain the abrasives, and when the ferrule approaches to the grooves, the abrasives gush out of the grooves to wet the end face to be polished. So, the polishing is done very smoothly. The chuck for clamping the ferrule is mountable and demountable from the polishing machine, while the ferrule is clamped therein. This makes the handling of the machine very easy, and prevents contamination and stain by abrasives.