A grommet probably isn’t the first thing you think about when selecting a fiber NID.
But once that enclosure is installed on the side of a home, the way fiber, drops or conduit enter the NID can have a real impact on the installation.
Is the opening properly sealed? Does the installer need to cut the grommet? Is silicone required? What happens to that seal after years of exposure to heat and weather? And what might find its way inside if a gap develops?
These are small details. But they’re exactly the kinds of details Precision Group pays attention to when developing products for broadband installers.
That’s one reason we’ve continued to expand our Fiber NID Grommet options across our Flex and Express NID families.
The Traditional Grommet Approach: Cut, Push and Seal
Push-through grommets have been used in the broadband industry for years, and technicians are very familiar with the process.
The installer cuts the appropriate opening in the grommet, pushes the fiber or conduit through and may use silicone around the entry point to create a tighter seal.
It works. It’s familiar. And for providers with established installation standards across large field organizations, familiarity has value.
But it can also introduce another variable into the installation: how well that opening is sealed. The concern isn’t necessarily what that installation looks like on day one. It’s what can happen over time.
Heat, weather and age can affect the material used to seal the opening. If the seal eventually cracks or separates, even a small opening can provide a path into the NID for water, ants, wasps and other unwanted intruders.
And anyone who has spent enough time opening outdoor enclosures knows that critters have a way of finding the smallest available opening.
PF-NID-PTGR – Precision Fiber Push Thru Grommet Design
A Split Grommet Takes a Different Approach
Instead of cutting an opening and pushing fiber through it, Precision Group’s split grommets are designed to open and fit around the fiber. Close the grommet, and it seals around the fiber.
As Precision Group VP of Sales Bryan Hughes puts it:
“The split grommets seal completely around the fiber. So they don’t need silicone.”
It’s a simple difference in design, but one intended to make the install cleaner while helping limit potential entry points into the enclosure.
There is also a practical installer advantage: the technician doesn’t have to remember to feed the fiber through a closed grommet at the right point in the installation.
That becomes particularly useful in applications such as the Precision Group ONT NID Transition Plate with Spool. Precision developed a dedicated split grommet for that application because a standard closed grommet would require the installer to push the fiber through the grommet before beginning the pull.
Instead, the split configuration can be installed around the fiber when needed. It’s a small change designed around the actual sequence of the installation.
PF-FLEXNID-GR-RDSP – Precision Fiber Lay-in Split Grommet for Single Round Drop Design
A competitor’s enclosure was recently opened to find ants cruising in and out through a poorly cut grommet hole. The pipe didn’t seal. The network wasn’t protected.
Keeping Bugs Out Isn’t a Small Problem
The opening around a fiber or conduit may not look significant to us. To an ant or wasp, it’s an entrance.
Bryan has seen plenty of examples from the field of insects making themselves at home inside NIDs. And silicone isn’t necessarily a permanent solution.
“The heat starts to dry up the silicone, it cracks, and then the bugs are resilient. They’re eventually like, ‘Hey, there’s a hole.'”
For a technician returning to service an enclosure, finding ants inside is frustrating. Finding a wasp nest is another matter entirely.
That’s why Precision’s approach isn’t simply about making a grommet that holds fiber. It’s about looking at what happens to that installation after the technician leaves.
How can we create a tighter fit?
How can we reduce reliance on another material to complete the seal?
How can we make the installation easier to service later?
Those are installer questions, and they’re the kinds of questions that drive Precision Group product development.
Does That Mean Every Installation Should Use a Split Grommet?
Not necessarily. Precision Group also offers push-through grommet configurations because we understand that broadband providers don’t all install fiber the same way.
For some organizations, changing a grommet can mean changing an established installation procedure across a large number of technicians, locations or operating companies. Bryan sees that firsthand when working with customers.
Some field teams have installed conduit and fiber the same way for years. Their technicians know the process, their training is built around it and their standards specify it.
Changing that process isn’t always as simple as handing someone a different grommet. That’s why our goal isn’t to force every provider into one installation method. It’s to give them better options.
For providers that want the advantages of a split configuration, we offer grommets designed to fit securely around the fiber. For providers that prefer their existing push-through installation method, we continue to support that approach as well.
And when a standard solution doesn’t quite fit the application, we’re willing to look at that too. That’s the Precision Group difference: start with how the customer actually installs the network and work backward to the product.
One NID Doesn’t Mean One Grommet
The grommet also has to fit the enclosure.
That’s why Precision Group doesn’t treat Fiber NID Grommets as universal components.
Our grommets are designed around specific NID families and their physical configurations.
Flex Line Grommets are designed for Precision Group Flex Line NIDs and include options for flat drops, round drops, multiple drops, microduct and popular underground conduit sizes.
Express Line Grommets are designed specifically for the Precision Group Express TL and Express 1000 NIDs, with configurations developed around the size, shape and entry points of those enclosures.
ONT NID Grommets are designed around the unique entry points of the ONT NID, including the dedicated split-grommet option developed for use with the ONT NID Transition Plate with Spool.
The objective isn’t to create more parts for installers to figure out.
It’s to make sure they have the right part for the NID and the installation they’re working on.
Made by Installers Means Paying Attention to the Details
Big product innovations get attention. But in the field, sometimes it’s the small improvements that make an installation easier.
A grommet that fits the application.
A split design that goes around the fiber instead of requiring the installer to feed fiber through it.
A tighter seal that doesn’t depend on a pile of silicone.
An option that works with the installation standards a provider already has in place.
None of those changes completely reinvent a fiber network. They don’t need to. They solve real problems installers encounter every day.
That’s what Made by Installers, For Installers means to us.
Find the Right Fiber NID Grommet for Your Installation
Explore Precision Group’s Flex Line, Express Line and ONT NID Grommets to compare available configurations and find the right fit for your NID and installation method.
