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Even though fiber optic products are made using tiny glass fibers, the general product is very rugged. Under normal conditions, fiber optic products can last for decades. Do you know the leading cause of fiber system failure? Overheating of the end tip, due to loosely packed fiber bundles. Why? When bundles are not tightly packed, […]

In our previous blog, we talked about process risk analysis as part of a quality management system. Today, we’ll explore the importance of it when sourcing, and when manufacturing… We know that quality is one of your primary concerns, and we also know that — in pursuing higher quality and consistency, maintaining certification compliance, and

If you’ve been in manufacturing for a while, you might remember a time when quality was somewhat of an afterthought, secondary to considerations like price, expediency, and availability. Gradually — and understandably — product quality has become a major concern and with it rose the popularity of quality management systems. More recently, evolutions in process-related

When it comes to fiber optic technology, standard products can only go so far to meet the needs of engineers and designers who typically require specific lengths or configurations not offered by off-the-shelf fiber optics. Standard fiber optic products can be formed into a ring, a line, a bundle or even a multi-legged bundle. These

Navigating an increasing best practice for quality management service. About 25 years ago, customers’ requirements for parts included wanting a good part, on time and at fair price. But in today’s world, that just isn’t good enough anymore. Increasingly, more companies are taking a risk-based approach to running their business — wanting to ensure a

The benign nature and unique advantages of light transmission through optical fiber have led to some unusual applications, from sensing methane gas to flow cytometry. Because fiber doesn’t use or conduct electricity, optical fiber is already widely used “as a conduit for temperature sensors based on infrared (IR) light.”1 These pyrometers, typically utilized in high-temperature

The question concerning glass versus plastic optical fiber is fundamental, but it comes up more often than you’d think, so it’s worth a few words here, just for the record. We’ll not get into the structure of the actual fiber itself, as it follows the same basic principles of differing refractive indexes between the core

When I started working the fiber optics field I was meeting with Microscope dealers to learn the market and get first-hand feedback. Several dealers really wanted us to develop a multiport light source…they thought it could help them more-than-double their sale of units. Their argument made sense to me, so I brought the idea back

Sorry, I know this isn’t a question, but it’s great information and a very cool new piece of technology! In March 2014, we added high-definition additive machining to our capability. The machine (3D Systems Pro Jet 3000HD Plus) is capable of holding tolerance to +/-.001, more than good enough to create high quality housing and

We get more calls and e-mails on this topic, more often than one would think… In general, the principle of using fiber optic components (with or without halogen light sources) as an illumination source to grow plants (or funnel sunlight into dark spaces for the same purpose) has some technical merit, but offers zero potential