Choosing the Right Field-Terminated Connectivity for Your OptiTuff Fiber Projects
With our new fiber connectivity options, you’ll be able to use space-saving OptiTuff solutions in more fiber applications while supporting fast, easy installation.
While fiber was once reserved for large projects, long-distance connections and mobile network providers, it’s now a vital part of a globally connected world.
As a result, fiber optic cabling is a fundamental part of almost every business or organization’s technology infrastructure, from multi-family housing complexes and schools to healthcare facilities, gaming venues and office buildings.
And as fiber becomes increasingly popular to support a wide variety of applications—which range from data centers to FTTx and POL/PON—new fiber systems are also needed to support them.
Before the creation of Belden’s OptiTuff® Mini Fiber Cables, for example, fiber applications were often constrained by existing cable configurations and pathways. In some cases, performance had to be sacrificed in order to get fiber cables into place.
Network designers, integrators, installers, technicians and data center managers were looking for a lighter-weight, smaller-diameter fiber cable that was cost-effective and fast and easy to install—but one that also featured superior mechanical properties similar to metal armored products.
We answered the call with our OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cables, which address the frustrations associated with traditional metal armored and non-armored fiber products.
As these professionals deployed OptiTuff in the field, they came back with another message: They wanted an end-to-end systems to support more fiber connectivity options and improve OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cable management in field-terminated applications.
So, we created new systems and made improvements to the transition points, connectors and patch panels in our existing FiberExpress (FX) line to give installers what they needed: field-termination fiber connectivity options for OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cables.
These innovations continue the revolutionary breakthrough that OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cables provide for fiber installations and enable installers to utilize OptiTuff across a wider range of applications, ensuring fast, easy installation of OptiTuff and its compatibility with our popular FX Fusion Splice-On Connectors and FX ECX Patch Panel systems.
For OptiTuff field-termination fiber connectivity, we now offer:
- The addition of a transition or breakout kit for better fiber management and routing.
- A new FX Fusion Holder that enables the use of a breakout kit and allows for fast, high-precision splicing.
- An FX ECX Field-Terminated Cassette that supports compatibility with the FX Fusion Connector, better fiber management and cable entry on the right or left.
- Additional reinforcement that’s integrated into our FX ECX Frame for more rigidity during installation.
What you require for your OptiTuff installation depends on your environment and project. Our OptiTuff Connectivity System Guide makes it easy to pinpoint connectivity needs for your next project.
To get started, you need to know:
- The fiber count of your OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cable: Will you use a two-, six-, 12- or 24-fiber construction?
- The termination method: Will you use pigtail splicing or FX Fusion Splice-On splicing?
Once you know these two details, we’ll help you get the fiber connectivity and cable management accessories you need, which could include:
- An FX ECX Splice Cassette: This option supports the use of OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cable with FX Fusion Splice-On Connectors and the FX ECX Cassette.
- An FX ECX Field-Terminated Cassette: This option supports the use of OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cable with the FX ECX Fiber Frame, FX Fusion Splice-On Connectors and FX Breakout Kit.
- The FX ECX Frame and Breakout Kit: This option supports the use of OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cable with the FX ECX Splice Cassette preloaded with pigtails.
With new connectivity to choose from, you’ll be able to use space-saving OptiTuff solutions in more fiber applications with fast, easy installation—all while improving cable management for protection and accessibility.
Are you ready to enable more combinations between cable and connectivity in your fiber projects? Start here.
Related resources:
What OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cables Can Do for Hospitality Tech
Hotel Fiber Upgrades Don’t Have to Disrupt Operations
Why You Should Consider This Alternative to Traditional Metal Armored Fiber
About the Author
Kikie Kunplin has more than a decade of fiber cable design experience, along with an MS in Materials Science and Engineering from UCLA. As Belden’s former product line manager for fiber products, Kikie oversaw fiber cable design and product launches, responsible for the design, development and launch of new fiber offerings at Belden. As a member of TIA’s TR-42 Fiber Optics Sub-Committees, as well as an ICEA standards committee, she also provided technological and design leadership to the ICT industry.