The MPO guide pin is different from MTP guide pin from the appearance, guide pin bracket, procurement method, plug and unplug reliability, spring and mechanical properties.
Guide pin appearance are different
The needles of the MPO guide pin and the MTP guide pin are both made of metal. However, the main difference in appearance is that the top of the MTP guide pin is oval, while the top of the MPO guide pin is directly chamfered. This can be seen directly with the naked eye.
According to the characteristics of plugging and unplugging, the oval design will facilitate insertion, reduce damage to the pin hole of the ferrule and scratches on the end face of the ferrule.
The design and size of the bracket are also different.
The thickness of the bracket of the MPO guide pin is slightly thicker, and the bracket of the MTP guide pin is slightly thinner. The most obvious thing is that the bracket of the MTP guide needle is also designed with an elliptical groove that matches the size of the spring, so that the spring will fall well into the elliptical groove of the bracket during assembly.
Purchasing method
MTP guide pins are superior to MPO guide pins in design. However, MTP guide pins are generally only purchased together with MTP connector parts and ferrules, and are not sold separately, now only USCONEC have this original parts, China dont have. Even the female plastic bracket is unlikely to be purchased separately. MPO guide pins can be purchased separately, which will provide great convenience for optical module manufacturers from China or other suppliers. Contact us if you need.
Plug and unplug repliability
After 600 plug-in and pull-out cycles, the end face near the guide hole of the MTP connector was basically intact; while after 500 plug-in and pull-out cycles, the end face near the guide hole of the MPO connector was obviously damaged.
Spring design of MTP connector
Compared with fiber MPO connector, the spring design of MTP fiber connector can maximize the space for ribbon fiber, thereby reducing the damage to the fiber caused by spring activity during plugging.
The guide pin fixing clip designed in MTP fiber optic connector can prevent the guide pin from being lost. In addition, MTP optical connector allows MT ferrule to float in the outer shell frame, which improves the mechanical performance. In this way, when two MTs are plugged in, applying a certain external force will not change the physical contact between the two end faces, and the optical performance will be kept as unchanged as possible.
