Category Archives: Cable Management

Fiber Optic Enclosures In Cabling Systems

Share

Overview of Fiber Optic Enclosures

Just like copper-based cabling systems, fiber-optic cabling systems have a few specialized components, including fiber optic enclosures and connectors.

Because laser light is dangerous, the ends of every fiber-optic cable must be encased in some kind of fiber optic enclosure. The fiber optic enclosure not only protects humans from laser light but also protects the fiber from damage. Wall plates and patch panels are the two main types of fiber optic enclosures. We’ll discuss patch panels here.

When most people think about a fiber optic enclosure, a fiber patch panel comes to mind. It allows connections between different devices to be made and broken at the will of the network administrator. Basically, a bunch of fiber-optic cables will terminate in a patch panel. Then, short fiber-optic patch or interconnect cables are used to make connections between the various cables. There are dust caps on all the fiber-optic ports, which can prevent dust from getting into the connector and interfering with a proper connection.

Types of Fiber Optic Enclosures

Patch panels come in many shapes and sizes. Some are mounted on a wall and are known as surface-mount patch panels. Others are mounted in a rack and are called rack mount patch panels. Each type has its own benefits. Surface mount panels are cheaper and easier to work with, but they can’t hold as many cables and ports. Surface-mount patch panels make good choices for smaller (fewer than 50 drops) cabling installation. Rack-mount panels are more flexible, but they are more expensive. Rack mount patch panels make better choices for larger installations. Patch panels are the main products used in LAN installations today because they are extremely cost-effective and allow great flexibility when connecting workstations.

In addition to the standard fiber patch panels, a fiber-optic installation may have one or more fiber distribution panels, which are very similar to patch panels in that many cables interconnect them. However, in a distribution panel, the connections are more permanent. Distributions panels usually have a lock and key to prevent end users from making unauthorized changes. Generally speaking, a patch panel is found wherever fiber optic equipment hubs, switches, and routers are found. Distribution panels are found wherever multifiber cables are split out into individual cables. Here is the example of 24 port patch panel.

24 port patch panel

Our wall mounted fiber optic enclosures accommodate up to 8 modular panels and is equipped with routing guides to limit bend radius and enhance strain-relief control. The 16-gauge steel with corrosion-resistant black powder finish coat housing provides excellent protection for the inside fibers. Wall-mount available unloaded, as well as having the capability to become a full-splice enclosure with mechanical terminations. A large variety of connector adapters are offered to meet your specific requirements. Such as SC, FC, ST, LC, etc, we can also pre-install various kinds of fiber optic pigtails inside the patch panel. We offer a series of changeable inside panels to fit for different kinds of the adaptor interface, and fit for both round and ribbon fiber optic cables.

Bare Fiber Adapter Installation Guide

Share

Bare fiber adapter is a typical type of fiber optic adapters that places industry standard connectors on unterminated fiber. It is contained in a durable aluminum-alloy housing which is easy to stabilize any magnetic surface for hands free use. Bare fiber adapter provides a temporary connection that eliminates the time consuming process of splicing jumpers onto individual fibers to testing, allowing users to easily test and detect fiber damages anywhere, anytime.

ST Bare Fiber Adapter

Bare fiber adapters enable quick and easy temporary connections of single mode and multimode fibers. These adaptors are very useful for connecting fibers to optical power meter, optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDRs) and a variety of other instruments, enabling in-situ functional testing without having to attach a permanent connector.

Bare fiber adapters provide a simple and effective way to use un-terminated fibers with commercial receptacles. Here is the installation guide for the bare fiber adapters.

Steps to Install Bare Fiber Adapter

Attaching the patch cord

Clean connectors on fiber jumper or launch reel. Position connector on fiber jumper or launch reel with bare fiber adapter connector port. Insert the connector into the bare fiber adapter connector port until hear a click.

Preparing the fiber

Remove 6 inches of jacket and Kevlar. Remove 1 inch of coating and cladding. Cut the fiber 12mm-15mm long with fiber cleavers.

Inserting the fiber

Clean the bare fiber. Press and hold down the button (There is a button on the adapter) while slowly and carefully inserting the bare fiber into the fiber port. Open the window to visually see the proper alignment of the bare fiber in the V-groove. To prevent accidental breakage of the glass fiber, slowly insert 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch of fiber at a time. Rotate the fiber until the glass aligns with the v-groove to enter the connector port. Push the fiber until it stops in the connector port After that, releaser the button to secure the fiber.

Removing the fiber

Press and hold down the button while slowly and carefully pulling the bare fiber out of the fiber port. Be sure to check for any broken glass fiber pieces after removing the bare fiber from the adapter.

Removing the jumper cable

Slowing pull the fiber jumper connector out the connector port. Broken fibers are easily removed with piano wire, allowing hundreds of insertions.

Conclusion

FS.COM supplies the largest selection of bare fiber adapters connector styles on the market including SC, ST and FC bare fiber optic adaptor with stable qualities. These adapters use high-quality ceramic ferrules and precise fiber connector housing parts, they are used to quickly and easily terminate the fiber to the equipment.

Fiber Optical Faceplate Wiki

Share

A fiber optic face plate is a coherent multi-fiber plate, which acts as a zero-depth window, transferring an image pixel by pixel (fiber to fiber) from one face of the plate to the other. Fiber optic faceplates can be applied in FTTH access network, telecommunication networks, CATV networks, data communication networks, which is used to bring fiber to the desk and can be widely used in multi-floor and high buildings. The fiber optic faceplate can be sometime called fiber wall jacks which are available with LC. SC, ST, FC fiber optic adapters, the port number is usually 2, 3 or 4 ports.

Generally, fiber optic wall plates can be divided into three types which is bevel fiber optic plate, hybrid fiber faceplate, FTTH fiber faceplate:

The bevel fiber wall plate is with 45 adapter plug- in/out angle, Hybrid fiber optic faceplate means the fiber adapter types are different from each other which can be SC-ST, SC-ST-LC, or
SC/ST/FC/LC, each adapter style is for one port.

Common Features of bevel fiber wall plate and hybrid fiber optic faceplate includes:
Size is 86*86mm
ABS plastic material
No additional insertion loss, simple operation, low construction intensity
The snap-in module is easy to install with straight tip style fiber optic connector
All fiber adapters are “universal” to support either multimode or single mode fiber connectors

Application:
FTTH access network
Telecommunication Networks
CATV Networks
Data communications networks

Except these two types, there is also another type which is the FTTH fiber optic faceplate, which is mainly designed for applications of FTTH, FTTB, FTTC, telecommunication networks and CATV4,Local area network. Check out some features of these FTTH fiber optic faceplate.
Indoor or outdoor rated
Available in 1×4, 1×8, 1×16 splitter as well as 2×4, 2×8, 2×16 splitter
Max. Up 16pcs of FTTH drop cable or pigtails
Suitable for wall-mounting or pole mounting application

Fiber wall plate is also used to create a fiber optic network at home. Besides the switches between different floor, fiber wall plate/jack and the pre-terminated fibers are needed. Look at the specs for the optical port on the switch. If the optical port is a pluggable device, you need to get its P/N and look up the spec. Most of the fiber sold on FiberStore that is conecterized, is patch chords. Fiber patch cord has very little strain relief in them. So take care when you pull them in your new installation that you do not damage them.