Is the Quality of Chinese Fiber Optic Products Low?
No CommentsWe frequently hear bad things about fiber optic products from China. It has become a trend to abuse Chinese quality. Here I am not going to justify the low-quality fiber optic products coming out of China. Of course, I know there are low-quality Chinese products. Are all the products [ Continue reading…]
What to do (and what NOT to do) in your fiber optic cable assembly polishing process
No CommentsAs you probably know, the polishing process is an extremely important step in the manufacture of fiber optic cable assemblies. Your polishing process ensures your fiber optic connectors meet certain geometric parameters, industry specifications, and/or customer requirements. When I visit fiber optic cable assembly houses, I help our customers [ Continue reading…]
Polishing Tips and Best Practices for Single Fiber Connectors
No CommentsWhen polishing a fiber optic connector, by polishing machine, 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 [ Continue reading…]
What is the Ideal Fiber Height for a Fiber Optic Connector?
No CommentsTurn 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 [ Continue reading…]
Fiber Optic Polishing Fixture Maintenance
No CommentsTo 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 [ Continue reading…]
How to Develop a Fiber Optic Polishing Process that Produces Consistent Results
No CommentsFrequently, 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 [ Continue reading…]
APC Polishing Advice to Improve Apex Offset and Angle Measurements
No CommentsOf 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 [ Continue reading…]
How to polish fiber connectors – Fiber connector polishing Tips and Practices
No CommentsHow 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 [ Continue reading…]
Proper Care of Polishing Fixtures for Optical Fiber Polishing Machines
No CommentsIn 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, [ Continue reading…]
Considerations About Fiber Optic Cable Installation
No CommentsIt’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 [ Continue reading…]