ferrule

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
ferrule
(Click to enlarge)
ferrule

household paintbrush
round paintbrush
cosmetic brush
(Academy Artworks)
(fĕr'əl) pronunciation
n.
  1. A metal ring or cap placed around a pole or shaft for reinforcement or to prevent splitting.
  2. A bushing used to secure a pipe joint.

[Alteration (influenced by Latin ferrum, iron), of Middle English verrele, from Old French virole, from Latin viriola, little bracelet, diminutive of viriae, bracelets.]

ferrule fer'rule v.

A ceramic, plastic or stainless steel part of a fiber-optic plug that holds the end of the fiber and precisely aligns it to the socket. The fiber is inserted into the ferrule and cemented with an epoxy or adhesive, which gives it long-term mechanical strength and prevents contamination from the weather. Connectors may also use crimped ferrules that do not require cement. The ferrule is the most important and costly part of a fiber connector. If its length, hole centering and inside and outside diameters are not exact, a poor connection will result. See fiber optics glossary.

Fiber-Optic Ferrule
With the naked eye, one cannot see the tiny opening for the optical fiber. It is only visible under a magnifying glass. The epoxy or adhesive is squeezed into the ferrule before the fiber is inserted (bottom right).

Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your PC, iPhone or Android.

A metal sleeve, esp. one which is fitted with a screwed plug; serves as an opening on the side of a pipe providing access for inspection or cleaning the interior of the pipe.


Top


a band placed around the end of a stick (as a pool cue) for reinforcement
Word Tutor:

ferrule

Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - A metal cap or band placed on a wooden pole to prevent splitting.

Tutor's tip: Wild, undomesticated animals are called "feral". A "ferrule" is a metal ring put at the end of a cane, and a "ferule" is a flat stick used to punish children.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'ferrule'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to ferrule, see:

RHOL wire rope terminated with thimble and ferrule
Picco pipe with nickel silver ferrule

A ferrule (a corruption of Latin viriola "small bracelet," under the influence of ferrum "iron.") is a name for types of metal objects, generally used for fastening, joining, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings of metal, or less commonly, plastic.

Most ferrules consist of a circular clamp used to hold together and attach fibers, wires or posts, generally by crimping, swaging, or otherwise deforming the ferrule to permanently tighten it onto the parts that it holds.

Examples

  • The plastic sleeve preventing the ends of shoelaces from unraveling (called the aglet)
  • The metal sleeve which is crimped to hold the eraser in place on pencils
  • The metal band that binds the bristles or hair of a brush to its handle
  • The metal ring which holds a chisel blade's tang to the handle
  • In fiber optic terminations, glass or plastic fibers are bonded to precision ferrules and polished for splitting or connecting two fibers together[1]
  • The metal spike at the end of the shaft of an ice axe
  • The margin of a cast crown that stabilizes root-canal treated teeth in restorative dentistry[2]
  • The bottom end of a flag stick on a golf course, which fits snugly into a hole in the cup
  • The plastic sleeve that adorns the bottom of most steel and graphite golf club shafts just above the club head hosel. Originally designed to protect the shaft from damaging vibrations, it is now used mainly for aesthetic purposes
  • The metal band used to prevent the ends of wooden instruments from splitting
  • The semi-circular metal band that holds the fibers in place on the Frogs of bows for violin family instruments
  • Compression fittings for attaching tubing (piping) commonly have ferrules in them.
  • A swaged termination type for wire rope
  • The cap at the end of a cane or umbrella.
  • The portion of a cue in pool, billiards and snooker that tops the shaft and to which the tip is bonded; historically made of ivory, now typically made of fiberglass, phenolic resin or brass
  • The male and female joints that join one section of a two-piece fishing rod
  • A metal cap at the end of cable housing with a hole on bicycle or motorcycle control cables
  • The metal sleeve that connects a hypodermic needle to a plastic luer taper (which then connects to a syringe or intravenous therapy tubing.)
  • A metal tube crimped over stranded wire to secure it within a screw terminal usually with electrical insulation protecting any exposed portion of the wire not completely inside the screw terminal post.

References

  1. ^ US patent 5016970, Mito Ryo Nagase; Machida Juichi Noda & Tachikawa Etsuji Sugita, "Ferrule for optical fiber transmitting linearly polarized light and optical fiber connector using this ferrule", issued 1991-05-21  (download PDF)
  2. ^ NIH search



Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights: