An Injection-Molded Plastic Connector for Splicing Optical Cables

The feasibility of splicing groups of optical fibers in a laboratory environment has been demonstrated by a number of investigators.1-5 The next phase in the development of optical-fiber splicing is to produce splice connectors, based on the concepts that have shown laboratory feasibility that are adaptable to field use. A field-adaptable splicing technique will require that telephone crafts people be able to splice groups of optical fibers in a routine fashion, with relatively simple tools, in a hostile field environment. In this paper, an injection-molded splice connector fabricated using a mold designed to optimize reproduction of mold dimensions is described and evaluated. Assembly methods for splicing optical cables using this connector and a multiribbon optical-fiber cutting tool capable of cutting 144 fibers simultaneously are also described.