Internal Grinding for Center Hole of Zirconia Ferrules Utilizing An Electroplated Diamond Taper Wire

摘要

A Zirconia ferrule is a key component of an optical fiber connector. Center holes of Zirconia ferrules have been conventionally finished in loose abrasive process using a long taper wire. In this process both the productivity and the defect rate were very low. In order to overcome the problems, internal grinding was attempted utilizing an electroplated diamond taper wire. In the condition that grain depth of cut was large, the diamond grains were stuck to the workpiece and the diamond wire was easily twisted off. Then low-frequency vibration was added to the workpiece and continuous grinding was stably enabled when the amplitude of the vibration exceeded 2 mm. At the same time the length of a taper section was clarified to be important and a taper section longer than 40 mm was desirable. Continuous grinding process over 60 pieces was accomplished with high throughput within 30 seconds.