The Fibre Optics Technology Centre allows our engineers to develop fibre optic solutions to meet changing demands in a high-speed world. With over 25 years of experience in fibre optics and application engineering for hardware and components, we help to analyse and qualify to improve the stability and functionality of your transceivers. Supporting our engineers with expertise and state of the art technology, the Fibre Optics Technology Centre houses a number of our specialist capabilities.

Acal BFi – Fibre Optics Technology Centre

Design-led fibre optic solutions for high-performance and harsh-environment applications

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre is Acal BFi’s dedicated hub for the specification, integration, testing, and support of advanced fibre optic technologies across industrial, defence, aerospace, medical, transport, and high-reliability applications.

Building on decades of fibre optics expertise and close partnerships with leading optical component and subsystem manufacturers, we support engineers from early design and component selection through to prototyping, validation, and long-term lifecycle management.

By combining application-level knowledge, access to a broad fibre optics portfolio, and hands-on engineering support, the Fibre Optics Technology Centre helps reduce design risk, accelerate development, and ensure reliable optical performance in demanding environments.

Part of the Technology Network

Each Technology Centre is part of Acal BFI’s wider Technology Network, giving you access to a collaborative team of specialist engineers across multiple disciplines. This connected approach allows us to support larger, more complex projects that span multiple technologies – from embedded computing and wireless to power, sensing, photonics, and imaging. By bringing expertise together across our centres, we help reduce design risk, simplify integration, and deliver complete, production-ready solutions through a single, trusted engineering partner.

Discover more about the Technology Network

What we do at the Fibre Optics Technology Centre

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre focuses on helping engineers design, specify, and deploy fibre optic systems that meet stringent performance, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Working as an extension of your engineering team, we provide practical, design-led support throughout the development lifecycle – from feasibility and definition to product selection, testing, and deployment.

In practice, we help you to:

  • Select the most appropriate fibre types, connectors, and optical components for your application
  • Design fibre optic systems for harsh, space-constrained, or high-bandwidth environments
  • Balance optical performance with mechanical robustness, environmental protection, and cost
  • Reduce approval and integration risk through testing and proven architectures
  • Ensure long-term availability and lifecycle support through trusted manufacturer partnerships

Discuss your fibre optics requirements with our specialists

Our technical capabilities

The capabilities and expertise housed within the Fibre Optic Technology Centre ensure that our team can support you every step of the way.

Fibre optics expertise

Our team specialises in fibre optic technologies for data transmission, sensing, imaging, and illumination applications. With experience spanning industrial automation, defence and aerospace, medical systems, transport, energy, and scientific instrumentation, we understand both the optical theory and the practical challenges of real-world deployment.

We work closely with leading fibre optics manufacturers to provide access to proven technologies, emerging innovations, and long-term product roadmaps.

Fibre types and cable solutions

We support a wide range of fibre and cable technologies, including:

  • Single-mode and multi-mode fibres
  • Specialty fibres for high-power, radiation-resistant, and harsh-environment applications
  • Ruggedised fibre optic cables for industrial and outdoor use
  • Bend-insensitive and space-optimised fibre solutions

Our team helps ensure the correct balance between bandwidth, distance, environmental resilience, and installation constraints.

Connectors, terminations, and interconnects

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre supports a broad selection of fibre optic connector technologies, including:

  • Standard and ruggedised connector systems
  • Butt-joint and expanded beam technologies for harsh environments
  • High-density and multi-way connector configurations
  • Hybrid connectors combining fibre, power, signal, and RF

We assist with connector selection, termination methods, and integration into wider interconnect systems.

Optical components and subsystems

We provide support across a wide range of optical components and subsystems, including:

  • Transceivers and active optical modules
  • Optical switches, splitters, and couplers
  • Fibre optic sensors and sensing systems
  • Imaging, illumination, and laser delivery components

This enables system-level optimisation rather than isolated component selection.

Testing, validation, and risk reduction

Reliable optical performance depends on more than theoretical specifications. The Fibre Optics Technology Centre supports engineers with practical validation and risk-reduction activities, including:

  • Optical performance assessment and margin analysis
  • Environmental and mechanical suitability guidance
  • Support for compliance and industry standards
  • Application-specific testing strategies

This helps ensure fibre optic systems perform consistently throughout their operational life.

From standard components to fully engineered fibre optic solutions

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre offers flexible engagement models depending on your project complexity and requirements.

Standard and configured solutions

Designed for projects with clearly defined technical and performance requirements, our standard and configured fibre optic solutions offer a fast, low-risk route to deployment. By leveraging proven component combinations and validated supplier portfolios, we help reduce engineering time and accelerate approval processes.

  • Proven fibre, connector, and component combinations with known optical and mechanical performance
  • Suitable for applications with defined bandwidth, attenuation, and environmental requirements
  • Rapid access through established, trusted supplier portfolios
  • Pre-qualified solutions that simplify validation and reduce integration risk

Ideal for production-focused programmes where reliability, availability, and time-to-market are critical.

Discuss a standard or configurable fibre optic design

Semi-custom fibre optic solutions

When standard products require adaptation, our semi-custom service bridges the gap between off-the-shelf and fully bespoke designs. We tailor existing components and assemblies to align precisely with your mechanical, environmental, and system-level constraints.

  • Modified standard components and assemblies to meet specific application needs
  • Custom cable constructions, lengths, routing formats, and connector configurations
  • Optimisation for defined bend radius, temperature range, vibration, or ingress protection requirements
  • Support with material selection and performance trade-offs

This approach enables greater design flexibility while maintaining cost-efficiency and manageable lead times.

Discuss a semi-custom fibre optic design

Fully custom and application-specific designs

For highly specialised, performance-critical, or harsh-environment applications, we provide complete design collaboration and engineering support. Our team works as an extension of yours to develop fibre optic assemblies and subsystems built around your exact system architecture.

  • Collaborative system specification and optical design support from concept stage
  • Bespoke fibre optic assemblies, harnesses, and integrated subsystems
  • Support for testing, qualification, compliance, and technical documentation
  • Ongoing lifecycle management and long-term supply continuity for extended programmes

From defence and transportation to industrial and medical applications, we help ensure your solution is engineered for durability, precision, and long-term reliability.

Discuss a custom fibre optic design

Collaborative expertise across Acal BFi Technology Centres

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre works closely with other Acal BFi Technology Centres — including Interconnect & Cable Assembly, Imaging, Embedded Computing, Power Supply, Sensors, IoT & Wireless, and Magnetics, to deliver fully integrated, multi-technology solutions.

Our Technology Centres

BioPhotonics

With more than 15 years of experience in sales, installation, and service of BioPhotonics systems, we can offer products and solutions tailored to your specific requirements.

The wide range of BioPhotonics cameras, lasers, LED light sources, spectrometers, optical components, microscope systems, microscope accessories, and associated software enables us to assemble almost any photonics or imaging solution.

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Embedded Computing

The Embedded Computing Technology Centre drives advanced solutions, so you can deliver the technologies of tomorrow – today.

Design customer driven systems, build prototypes and manufacture products to meet your distinct needs. Many of the platform-based technologies that we offer were designed with customisation in mind.

Our capabilities help us to offer solutions across all stages of your project. Whether your requirements are standard, modified or highly customised, our experts support and identify your aims and work to ensure that we provide a solution that fits.

Explore our Technology Centre

Fibre Optics

The Fibre Optics Technology Centre allows our engineers to develop fibre optic solutions to meet changing demands in a high-speed world.

With over 25 years of experience in fibre optics and application engineering for hardware and components, we help to analyse and qualify to improve the stability and functionality of your transceivers. Supporting our engineers with expertise and state of the art technology, the Fibre Optics Technology Centre houses a number of our specialist capabilities.

Explore our Technology Centre

Imaging Technology Centre

The Imaging Technology Centre is our dedicated hub for infrared and thermal imaging expertise, supporting the design, integration, testing, and deployment of customised imaging solutions across industrial, energy, transportation, aerospace, security, and specialist applications.

The Imaging Technology Centre is our dedicated hub for infrared and thermal imaging expertise, supporting the design, integration, testing, and deployment of customised imaging solutions across industrial, energy, transportation, aerospace, security, and specialist applications.

By combining deep technical knowledge with specialist facilities and equipment, our team supports customers developing everything from standard infrared camera integrations to fully bespoke imaging systems.

Explore our Technology Centre

Interconnect and Cable Assembly

The capabilities and expertise housed within the Interconnect and Cable Assembly Technology Centre ensure that our team can support you every step of the way.

Providing and customising bespoke specialist fibre and cables including hybrids with custom connectors, the Technology Centre is on hand to support with design, assembly, testing and approvals for your customised solutions.

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IoT and wireless

The IoT and Wireless Technology Centre has the ability to support complex discrete component design-in from a bespoke System on Chip (SoC), right through to fully integrated modules that are certified and application ready.

Creating custom solutions that add connectivity to an application requires specialist expertise and capabilities. Our team of wireless technology hardware design and software application engineers cover RF, wireless, cellular and many more state-of-the-art technologies. Together they have extensive individual and collective experience of developing customised solutions, ensuring we can bring your concept to life.

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Magnetic Products

The Magnetic Products Technology Centre is at the forefront of our solution led approach for applications that require customised cores and components, driving our commitment to developing an enhanced technological future together.

Over the last 25 years, we have grown our expertise in the design-led customisation of magnetic components. With the largest team of technical support specialists, the Magnetic Products Technology Centre is at the forefront of magnetic based technological advancements. Our team design and manufacture magnetic components including transformers, inductors, and even cores to meet the technical and commercial aspects of your project, whether you are in design or production.

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Power Supply

The extensive breadth of experience held by our in-house design industrial power engineers ensures that we have the expertise to develop customised industrial power supply solutions, ranging from 1W to 25kW for a wide range of applications.

Whether you’re looking to modify or configure a standard power product, integrate it into a custom design, design and modify a rack, chassis, PCB, or require a full custom-designed power solution, our Power Supply Technology Centre can support you with the design, assembly, testing and integration of a tailored industrial power solution to meet your specific application’s requirements.

Explore our Technology Centre

Why work with the Fibre Optics Technology Centre?

We support engineers and technical decision-makers by combining deep technical expertise with real-world application insight, helping you move from concept to deployment with confidence and clarity.

• Deep, application-led fibre optics expertise • Design-focused, vendor-neutral technical support • Access to a broad and trusted supplier ecosystem • Reduced design, approval, and integration risk • Long-term lifecycle and supply chain continuity

From early-stage feasibility through to optimisation and volume production, our team works as an extension of yours to accelerate development, de-risk complex optical designs, and ensure robust, future-ready solutions.

Ready to optimise your fibre optic design? Speak to our Fibre Optics Technology Centre to discuss your application requirements and discover how we can accelerate your next project.

Why Acal BFi? Your partner for fibre optic solutions

Acal BFi combines specialist engineering expertise with a strong pan-European supplier network to support complex, performance-critical fibre optic applications. We work alongside design engineers and technical decision-makers to transform requirements into robust, scalable optical solutions — from initial concept through to long-term deployment.

We provide: • Technical consultation and end-to-end optical system support • Standard, semi-custom, and fully custom fibre optic solutions • Expertise in harsh-environment and high-reliability applications • Long-term product lifecycle and proactive supply chain management

Backed by centralised logistics, quality-driven processes, and local engineering teams across Europe, we help ensure your fibre optic systems deliver consistent performance, reliability, and longevity — even in the most demanding environments.

Fibre selection depends on wavelength, power level, transmission distance, bend radius, environmental exposure, and mechanical constraints. We help evaluate singlemode, multimode, polarisation-maintaining, and specialty fibres against your system requirements to ensure optimal optical and mechanical performance.

Key considerations include routing constraints, connector strategy, strain relief, thermal expansion, ingress protection, and long-term mechanical stability. We support engineers with practical integration guidance to reduce signal loss, minimise stress points, and improve overall system robustness.

Yes. Connector choice affects insertion loss, repeatability, durability, and environmental sealing. We advise on appropriate connector types, polishing standards, mating cycles, and ruggedisation options based on your application and operating conditions.

If standard assemblies do not meet your length, routing, environmental, or performance requirements, a semi-custom or fully bespoke solution may reduce integration risk and improve reliability. We help determine the most cost-effective level of customisation for your project.

We assist with material selection, protective jacketing, armouring, strain relief, and sealing solutions suitable for vibration, temperature extremes, chemicals, or moisture exposure. Our goal is to ensure long-term stability in demanding applications.

We support specification refinement, prototype builds, and guidance on optical and environmental testing considerations. Working with trusted suppliers, we help ensure your solution meets required standards before full production.

Ideally at concept or feasibility stage. Early collaboration allows us to influence fibre choice, cable construction, connector strategy, and protection methods — helping you avoid integration challenges, approval delays, and lifecycle risk later on.