William Heath, director of the WTO, explains: "The increasing use of Industrial IoT (IIoT) practices means that more and more information needs to be transmitted in factories between machinery and control centers. Wireless transmission can often be inadequate in demanding, electrically noisy environments—and traditional electrical solutions can also present difficulties when there are considerations such as interference, high voltages, or flammable materials."

Industrial fiber optic data communication links utilize LED sources, solid-state receivers, and glass or plastic fiber to transmit data securely and reliably in industrial systems. The SMA fiber connector remains widely used in the industrial sector due to its excellent track record and "fit & forget" nature. Polymer (plastic) fiber is typically preferred for short transmission lengths due to its inherent robustness and low cost.
OMC manufactures its own transmitter/receiver (Tx/Rx) components, as well as polymer and glass optical fiber assemblies. Therefore, the company can design and supply fully characterized optical fiber data links that meet the specific requirements of a wide range of applications.

Furthermore, OMC's patented Active Component Alignment (ACA™) technology ensures that its fiber optic data links operate reliably, with 100% link consistency. During the data link manufacturing process, each transmitter and receiver device is powered on before measuring the launch power or receiver sensitivity, aligned, and secured in place. The device characteristics are recorded, ensuring they fall within the performance envelope required for the specific application. This enables much tighter performance tolerances, resulting in greater long-term reliability. In particularly demanding applications, this can be combined with OMC's patented KSMA™ connector, featuring identifiable channel numbering, to guarantee that all link performance measured during manufacturing is replicated, by design, in the field.

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