Superior Essex has upgraded its optical-fiber ribbon cable in a way that allows cabling installers to have easier access to the individual fibers within it. "Our solution is 'peelability,'" said Tim West, director of engineering services for Superior Essex, in a recent post on the company's blog.
West elaborated, "Since the deployment of a more-effective and labor-saving optical fiber ribbon, installers and end users have become more familiar with the greater cost savings associated with ribbon cable design and mass fusion splicing. With the ability to splice 12 or more fibers simultaneously, optical fiber ribbons are more cost effective. However, these fibers are difficult to separate individually from the ribbon matrix."
He then explained that the company has improved its ribbon cable to accommodate.
Superior Essex has produced a technical guideline on how to "peel" its fiber ribbon. The image at the bottom of this page is taken from that guideline. The document includes step-by-step, photo-illustrated procedures for two different methods of peeling: the pedal method (suitable for ribbon end or midspan) and the break method (suitable for ribbon end).
You can read Tim West's blog post here or go directly to the technical guideline here.
