2.5.2 Plastic optical fiber cable

Optical fibers made from plastic are relatively soft with a diameter of approximately 1mm. For this reason, they are well suited for field assembly. Many manufacturers offer specially developed connectors for field assembly. When used together with the appropriate assembly tools, such connectors allow untrained people to successfully assemble plastic optical fibers.

The example shows the typical steps for assembling an ST connector.

1. Strip the optical fiber cable insulation
   
   
   
   
2. Separate the optical fiber pair using a sharp knife (do not pull the fibers apart, because of the risk of fiber breakage).
   
   
   
   
3. Strip the optical fiber outer covering (Observe the correct stripping diameter! 1.5 mm for ST connectors.)
   
   
   
   
4. Pass the optical fiber cable through the connector housing and any other parts that are required
   
   
   
   
5. Crimp the connector (use the correct crimping tool).
   
   
   
   
6. Polish the end of the optical connector in two steps (coarse and then fine polish). Use a figure of 8 pattern during polishing.
   
   
   
   
7. Remove any abrasion