On February 13, TiniFiber was awarded first place in the “Copper and Fiber” category for displayed products during the BICSI 2020 Winter Exhibition in Tampa, FL. Honored was TiniFiber's Micro Armored 144 Strand Fiber Optic Cable, what the company says is industry’s smallest 144 strand OS2 fiber-optic cabling innovation, incorporating the company's U.S. patented micro armored stainless-steel coil innovation around its inner jacket.
The cable's micro armor protects the inner components, comprised of 6 binder jackets containing 24 separate OS2 fiber strands in each binder. According to TiniFiber, "The advantage is clear -- the Micro Armored 144 Strand Fiber Optic Cable will save time on the installation, can be used as a conduit, and drastically reduces [labor] hours on the job."
As noted by TiniFiber, "Conventional fiber-optic cables are vulnerable to crimping, cracking and kinking caused by poor installation, heavy usage, harsh environments, vermin attacks and compromising the bend radius. Cracks in the glass will affect the fiber performance and increase signal loss or totally fail. [In response,] the industry has adopted the Aluminum Interlock Armor (AIA) as the standard for the past 40 years."
However, the company notes that AIA has many drawbacks when dealing with bulk reels, including being very heavy in weight. The outer diameter of AIA armor is also extremely large and clogs up conduits, as well as the outer armor being very rigid -- when stressed, the armor will break the inner glass fiber.
In 2015, TiniFiber, a New York-based micro armor fiber optics company, received a U.S. Patent for an innovation that incorporated a stainless-steel coil around the cables “inner jacket” that provided a tremendous value to the fiber optics industry. According to Barry Skolnick, VP and partner at TiniFiber, “By armoring the inner jacket, TiniFiber was able to reduce the size by 65% and the weight by 75% versus Aluminum Interlock Armor. The stainless-steel coil actually protects the bend radius, as well as virtually making it crush proof, impervious to harsh environments, and vermin-resistant.”
Since the micro armor is the approximate outer diameter of conventional fiber, TiniFiber is ideal for use in areas with space constraints, for reclamation of conduits, and for pulling through pathways and bends with no issues. Christian A. Peterson III, CEO for TiniFiber states, “By using TiniFiber, you save on additional conduits, as well as it being easier to install and drastically reducing manpower hours on the job. So, the costs savings are huge.”
In 2019, TiniFiber designed what it says is the industry’s smallest U.S. Patented UL Approved 144 Strand OS2 Micro Armored Fiber Optic cable. With this new micro armored innovation, TiniFiber entered and won first place in the “Best in Fiber/Copper Cable Category” at this month's BICSI 2020 Winter Exhibition in Tampa.
For its entry, TiniFiber demonstrated the multitude of applications for its TF144-OS2-PLO/Y 144 strand micro armored fiber optic cable. Firstly, the company's entry started with the outer jacket components which includes its Indoor/Outdoor Plenum Yellow Jacket. The stainless-steel micro armor is coiled around the Kevlar and water block materials to provides the ultimate protection for the cable.
At BICSI, TiniFiber (see Exhibit A) demonstrated how an installer could use the 144-strand cable. The first Binder demonstrates 24 OS2 strands with an MPO kit. The second Binder utilizes the 24 OS2 strands with LC connectors. The third OS2 Binder adds SC connectors. The fourth OS2 Binder splices on TiniFiber 24 strand and shown with the fiber spliced cassette. The fifth OS2 Binder adds SC/APC connectors to the 24 strands. The sixth OS2 Binder adds Power Over Fiber to demonstrate the uses when electricity is needed along with fiber optics.
For more information on the 144-strand solution from TiniFiber, visit: http://tinifiber.com/zebra-tail/uploads/2017/07/0721-TF144-OS2-PLO.pdf.