Optical Cable Corporation (OCC - Roanoke, VA) announced the immediate availability of its 10 Gigabit multimode fiber optic distribution riser cables, which the company says are ideally suited for large warehousing applications. Unlike standard fiber optic cables, OCC says the new tight-buffered cables are engineered to withstand harsh environments such as warehouses. Fork lifts, heavy freight handling, temperature changes and electromagnetic interference are just a few of the hazards these cables are built to withstand.
According to OCC, the high-speed rugged cabling provides warehouse managers with high-bandwidth voice and data capabilities previously reserved for normal environments such as office settings. High-speed voice and data capabilities provide distribution centers with the competitive advantage of handling greater data requirements.
For any distribution center, faster communication increases productivity through increased use of automated material handling, as well as the integration of ERP functions. At the same time, high-bandwidth networking enables manufacturing businesses to consolidate operations through expeditious implementation of private labeling and direct-ship processes at the distribution center level, saving money by avoiding extra processing higher upstream on the logistics chain.
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With a high strength-to-weight ratio and a helically stranded core for greater mechanical protection, OCC says its multimode, fiber optic distribution riser cables are UL Listed in accordance with NEC section 770.179(b) for use in vertical runs in building riser shafts or from floor to floor. Greater throughput can be handled in less space by allowing increased plant capacity vertically, while still maintaining optimum communications.
As bandwidth continues to gain importance in the warehouse-distribution industry, OCC notes that 10-gigabit riser cables may enable cost savings in the present as well as the future by enabling plant managers to more easily update and integrate future generations of sophisticated equipment and technologies such as video and still imaging for functions such as order and shipment verification.
As OCC’s multimode, fiber optic distribution riser cables can withstand operating temperatures as low as -40°C (for refrigerated warehouses) and as high as +85°C, along with a crush resistance up to 1,800 N/cm, the company contends that plant managers can concentrate on business-line applications and equipment vital to picking, verifying, conveying, labeling and sorting orders for shipment, instead of worrying about maintenance and repair of communication links.
