Understanding Industrial Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber optic cabling usually utilizes ruggedized jackets to ensure optimal performance in the face of extreme temperatures; exposure to UV/sunlight, oil, and solvents; and crushing impact, which makes it the ideal solution in any industrial environment where high-speed, high-bandwidth data solutions are needed. It can be used for campus and in-building data backbones to anchor an operation’s Ethernet, and also for point-to-point digital signal transmission. Today’s article will make a brief introduction to the basics of industrial fiber optic cable.

The Advantages of Fiber Optic Cable

Compared to the conventional copper wires, fiber optic cables are smaller and lighter than copper cables, extremely durable and intrinsically safe, with no risk of spark hazards. In addition, the following part lists several detailed information about the benefits of fiber optics.

• Higher carrying capacity—as the fiber optic cables are thinner than copper cables, more fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable. This allows more data information will be be carried across the network without interruption.
• Less signal degradation—it is known that the loss of signal in optical fiber is less than in copper wire.
• Lightweight—An optical cable weighs less than a comparable copper wire cable. Fiber-optic cables take up less space in the ground.
• Flexible—Because fiber optics are so flexible and can transmit and receive light, they are used in many flexible digital applications.

Types of Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber optic cabling can be segmented based on design criteria and installation environment:

Loose tube cables lay thinly coated fiber strands into unitized thermoplastic tubes, giving the fiber strands flexibility to move within the tubes and the cable, which makes it possess the ability to stand up to outdoor temperatures and harsh environments. Although loose-tube gel-filled fiber optic cables are used for high-fiber-count, long-distance telco applications, they are an inferior design for the Local Area Network applications where reliability, attenuation stability over a wide temperature range and low installed cost are the priorities.

Tight buffered cables contain an individual buffer on each fiber stand, allowing for easy handling and quick termination. For common small fiber counts, this design delivers a smaller cable diameter than loose tube cables and is best suited for indoor environments. The most common designs for tight buffered cabling are distribution and breakout. For applications like moderate distance transmission for telecom local loop, LAN, SAN, and point-to-point links in cities, buildings, factories, office parks and on campuses. Tight-buffered cables offer the flexibility, direct connectability and design versatility necessary to satisfy the diverse requirements existing in high performance fiber optic applications.

Singlemode and multi-mode cables are another common types of fiber optic cables. Single-mode fiber strands are designed to interface with laser optic light sources for distances beyond 300 meters, while multi-mode strands or MM fiber patch cords are designed to interface with LED and vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) light sources for short-distance cabling runs.

Considerations When Installing Fiber Optic Cables

If you are considering using fiber optic cables in your installation, take a moment to review the installation guides. Firstly, for industrial installations, it is critical to consider and evaluate the environment. Additionally, as the fiber optic cables are more susceptible to damage during the stress of installation, therefore there are two specifications for bend radii—Bend Radii before installation and Bend Radii after installation. All hardware and support structures should follow the recommendations of TIA-569 and NECA/BICSI 568 Standards documents. Last but not the least, use cable management straps or cable ties to support cable bundles. Make sure these implements are fastened snugly, but not tightly around cable bundles.

Conclusion

There is without saying that the advent of fiber optic cable solutions has been one of the best things to happen to technology in recent years. With the demand on technology ever-increasing, fiber optic cables are becoming the preferred method of transmission over traditional coaxial solutions. FS.COM offers a full range of optical devices, such as fiber optic cable, optical transceivers, DAC/AOC cables and so on. Fiber patch cables LC to LC and LC LC single mode patch cord are provided with high quality and low price. If you have any requirement, please send your request to us.