A good fiber cable installation ensures the highly effective and smooth working of the fiber optic cables. And it can spare you a lot of energy in the future maintenance and repairs, preventing endless frustrations. Therefore, it is worthy of a good installation for fiber optic cables. Then, how to make a good installation? Let's look at the main tips and get some details.
There are four main fiber optic cable installation tips or factors listed below we should pay attention to. These factors matter a lot in the whole performance of the fibre optic cabel.
In order to avoid quality problems after installation and eliminate disputes that may be caused by cable damage, it is necessary to test the cable quality before installation. Pre-installation testing doesn't need to be too complicated or time-consuming. If the cable shows no signs of damage, the test can be performed using a continuity tracer. If all fibers transmit light, it is likely to be a good cable. If there is even a hint of possible damage to the cable, it must be tested or outright rejected.
If you find anything abnormal during the installation, a post-installation test is recommended. The abnormal issue may result from excessive pulling of the fiber cable or something other reasons. Any issue may have influence in the quality of the cable, the sooner the problem is detected and remedied, the better it is.
Two aspects, precise measurement and the cable control of pulling or bending, should be taken into consideration with fiber optic cable installation to avoid unnecessary disasters. Before using a fiber optic cable, you should first accurately measure the required length to maintain the minimum loss budget. When installing the fiber optic cable, please be careful of the pulling load/tensile and fiber bending radius.
The glass fiber in the cable is fragile, and the most common form of damage is fiber breakage caused by excessive tension. Therefore, the tension must be kept lower than the specified limit during installation. The following table lists the typical maximum tensile load specified by fiber cable manufacturers.
| Application | Fiber Count | Short Term Maximum Tensile Load (N) | Short Term Maximum Tensile Load (lbs) | Long Term Maximum Tensile Load (N) | Long Term Maximum Tensile Load (lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-building backbone | 2-84 | 2700 | 608 | 600 | 135 |
| 86-216 | 2700 | 608 | 600 | 135 | |
| Intrabuilding backbone | 2-12 | 1800 | 404 | 600 | 135 |
| 14-24 | 2700 | 608 | 1000 | 225 | |
| 26-48 | 5000 | 1124 | 2500 | 562 | |
| 48-72 | 5500 | 1236 | 3000 | 674 | |
| 74-216 | 2700 | 600 | 600 | 135 | |
| Horizontal cabling | 2 | 750 | 169 | 200 | 45 |
| 4 | 1100 | 247 | 440 | 99 |
The most important factor in fiber optic cable installation is to keep the cable's minimum bend radius. If you bend the fiber cable tighter than the minimum bend radius, it may result in increased attenuation and broken fibers. If the elements of the cable are not damaged, when the bend is relaxed, the attenuation should return to normal. The following table shows the minimum bend radius specified by cable manufacturers for fiber optic cables under tension.
| Application | Fiber Count | Loaded Minimum Bend Radius (cm) | Loaded Minimum Bend Radius (inch) | Unloaded Minimum Bend Radius (cm) | Unloaded Minimum Bend Radius (inch) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-building backbone | 2-84 | 22.5 | 8.9 | 15.0 | 5.9 |
| 86-216 | 25.0 | 9.9 | 20.0 | 7.9 | |
| Intrabuilding backbone | 2-12 | 10.5 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 2.8 |
| 14-24 | 15.9 | 6.3 | 10.6 | 4.2 | |
| 26-48 | 26.7 | 10.5 | 17.8 | 7.0 | |
| 48-72 | 30.4 | 12.0 | 20.3 | 8.0 | |
| 74-216 | 29.4 | 11.6 | 19.6 | 7.7 | |
| Horizontal cabling | 2 | 6.6 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 1.7 |
| 4 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 1.9 |
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