Spring Loaded Connectors After Primary Polishing

Published: August 15, 2018

, Last updated: September 17, 2025

Send Fiber Optic Center an email to ask a question

Spring-loaded connectors rely heavily on the projected and calculated spring force of each connector after primary polishing to ensure firm mating inside the split sleeve of the adapters. If a connector was over-polished (in excess of 3 times from the beginning) for example, repeatable reading in both insertion loss and return loss will be difficult to control. Most notable will be the return loss which will exhibit much more variation in readings because of the variation on spring force.

There is no documented number of times a connector can be re-polished published that I am aware of but typically I instruct all new manufacturers to limit the number of re-polishing to 2 times. This is to prevent excess removal of the ceramic ferrule material and subsequent shortening of the ferrule from the tip to the base of the metal flange.

READ THE BLOG: “How can I tell I have over-polished a connector?“ asked more often than you might think…

Additional resources from the FOC team include:

Category Resource:
- FOC Polish Page
- FOC Interconnect Page
View the Glossary, Acronyms, Military Specifications for Connectors
Q&A Resource: email technical questions to AskFOC@focenter.com

Have questions about this FOC Tip?

Contact FOC with questions at (800) 473-4237 / 508-992-6464 or email: FiberOpticCenter@focenter.com and we will respond ASAP.

About the Author

FOC Tips Fiber Optic Center has a team of technical experts and marketing strategists with decades of years in the field. This team contributes to the fiber, cable and specialty industries coverage through news, alerts, reports and general media information.

About Fiber Optic Center, Inc.

Fiber Optic Center, Inc., (FOC), is an international leader in distributing fiber optic components, equipment and supplies and has been helping customers make the best cable assemblies in the world for over two decades. Several areas of specialization and expertise, in which they are the industry leader, make them the preferred choice for many of the world’s fiber professionals. In these key technology areas, FOC is "at least as technical as the manufacturer" about the products they sell. Striving to "make the business part easy," they offer outstanding and personal customer service, low or no minimum purchase order values, and from-stock delivery on industry-leading products and technology. FOC is the industry connection to the most innovative optical products, technologies and technical experts who integrate their manufacturing knowledge and vast experience into customers' worldwide operations. @FiberOpticCntr

For further information contact:

Fiber Optic Center, Inc., 23 Centre Street, New Bedford, MA 02740-6322
Toll Free in US: 800-IS-FIBER or 800-473-4237 . Direct 508-992-6464. Email: sales@focenter.com or fiberopticcenter@focenter.com

For media contact:

Kathleen Skelton, Director of Strategic Marketing, C: 617-803-3014 . E: kskelton@focenter.com

Copyright Notice: Copyrights in all articles published on focenter.com are owned by Fiber Optic Center, Inc. (FOC) or other individuals or entities. No content on focenter.com may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Fiber Optic Center, Inc.