Fiber-Mart, worldwide leading supplier in fiber optic network, fttx, fiber cabling, fiber testing.

Turn the calendar way back to 1981 – the early days of fiber optics. I was working for a connector manufacturer, and one of my customers asked, “What is the Return Loss of your connector?” I didn’t know the answer! I was stumped and, frankly, I was embarrassed.   Since that day, I’ve made it a lifelong career objective to thoroughly understand all the geometry parameters that impact Return Loss and Insertion Loss. Critical geometry parameters that impact the optical performance of connectors include Radius, Angle/Apex, Key Error, and fiber height.   Now, 35 years later, I supply products and test equipment to fiber optic cable assembly facilities all over the world. These days, a lot of my customers are stumped by a different question: What is the ideal fiber height for a fiber optic connector ?   Why is this such a common (and perplexing) question? Partly, it’s driven by our industry’s various specifications for fiber height.   The specification dict...

To help ensure consistent polishing results, maintenance of all fiber optic polishing equipment is essential.     The Preventive Maintenance program for polishing fixtures should include periodic ultrasonic cleaning.   This is true for any fiber optic polishing fixtures, regardless of connector or ferrule type:   connector fixtures with latching mechanisms (LC, SC), ferrule-only fixtures with screw caps or cam-locks, MT ferrule fixtures, etc.   All fixtures come from the factory with very precisely milled ferrule “bores”, tailored specifically to the particular ferrule which will be polished.   These bores position the ferrule to precise angles to the polishing surface—–90-degrees for PC polishing, other angles (typically 82-degrees, to create an 8-degree finish) for various APC polishing.   (Note:   I use the term “bore” for the circular holes milled into the fiber optic polishing fixture which hold the round ferrule, but the same conce...

  Frequently, my customers ask for guidance to develop a fiber optic polishing process.   While there are many details to consider, the process comes down to 5 basic steps.   Note that this article focuses on single-fiber (and not MT) PC ferrules. While much of my advice applies to APC polishing, those connectors require additional considerations.       Step 1. Define your objectives, especially measurement criteria and process yields.   When developing a polishing process, it’s important to clarify your acceptance criteria and targeted yields – and have the ability to accurately measure and quantify pass/fail results. For example, do your polished ferrules need to meet an end-face geometry specification such as those specified in Telcordia GR-326? Also, virtually all polished fiber optic ferrule end-faces must meet SOME visual appearance specifications. What criteria will you use to determine if your polishing results are acceptabl...

  Of the two common ferrule shapes involved in APC polishing – conical and step – the step ferrule is by far the easiest in terms of controlling geometries. Step ferrules are more expensive than conical ferrules. However, from a purely process-control point of view, step ferrules are absolutely the easiest and best choice. If you are new to APC polishing , it is highly recommended to use step ferrules over conical. Step ferrules are less sensitive to minor process and material variations, and they are much easier to work with when it comes to developing and modifying polishing processes. Thus, using step ferrules results in significantly improved first-pass yields.   To ensure optimum performance between mated pairs of APC connectors, it is important that the ferrule endface geometries meet or exceed industry-accepted endface geometry standards1. The most common issues that polishing process engineers face regarding APC polishing geometry usually involve the Apex Offset an...

  How to make your fiber optic polishing work to be correct and how to revise your fiber connector polishing   When you polishing a fiber connector or several connectors in polishing holder, by fiber polishing machine or fiber polisher, there are procedures and setting parameters designed to leverage the machines best practices as well as previous developments and experience.   Additionally, there are tips to consider applying during daily production to improve first pass yield, efficiency and results to avoid scrapping costs.   The standard polishing process includes three steps:   Epoxy Removal Geometry checking Final Step: finishing the fiber connector end-face, check optical surface   Below we share tips for each step of the fiber polishing process:   Epoxy removal   Pre- Polish   When connectors are loaded on the polishing fixture or fiber polishing holder jig after cleaving, there are large, sharp edge ...

In fiber optic cable assembly, the polishing process is perhaps the most critical step to assure high-quality assemblies that meet specifications. That’s why it’s important to select the right optical fiber polishing machine – and polishing fixtures – that meet your needs. Depending on your cable assembly house product offerings, it’s likely that you have several polishing fixtures to produce different connector styles.   The quality of the polishing fixtures (also called polishing plates or jigs) is extremely important to your company. Considering the high cost of production equipment and components, your company will want to maintain these tools to produce a high volume of products with minimal quality issues over the long run.   Proper maintenance of polishing fixtures is absolutely essential   Polishing fixtures for optical fiber polishing machines are built with high-precision machining equipment. Fixtures made of steel and aluminum can flex and warp ov...

  It’s true that fiber optic cable, based on optical technology to carry information between two points, have become increasingly important in fiber optic systems. This cable is often attached with the same or different connectors on the ends to connect devices, for example, LC LC multimode patch cord (LCs on both ends). When used in premises, fiber optic cables can be used as backbone cabling in a standard structured cabling network, connecting network hardware in the computer room. And when applied in optimized fiber optic networks, they go directly to the work area with only passive connections in the links. They can be installed indoors or outdoors using several different installation processes. One of my recent blogs has talked about safety issues about fiber optic cable installation. Today, this article still focuses on its installation, but from other aspects, including the general guidelines, its pulling tension, bend radius, and so on.   When deployed outside, fi...