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Tutorial #1 - How to splice fiber optic cables

Today, with this first post, we are launching a new section of our blog dedicated to tutorials. We are often asked if it is difficult to assemble our products or if it is necessary to hire a professional electrician. The tutorials aim to answer all these questions and provide assistance to those who are using our products without necessarily being experts in lighting or electrical installations! Through simple tutorials and photo illustrations, each of you will be able to learn the operations that will allow you to use Creative-Cables branded items and create the lighting solutions that stem from your imagination: from table lamps to DIY chandeliers!

Are you ready? Let's get started! Let's begin with a seemingly elementary but absolutely necessary task: "stripping" our fabric-insulated electrical cables, which means exposing the copper wires inside the insulating sheaths so they can be connected to the desired lighting accessory. To perform this simple task, all you need is a roll of adhesive tape and a pair of scissors, which we all have at home. In this post, we will focus on our round-section cables. So first, place a strip of adhesive tape around the textile cable about two centimeters from the end to be stripped. The adhesive tape serves to prevent the textile fibers covering the internal wires from fraying during cutting and thus ensures a neater and more polished final result of the operation.

Next, carefully make an incision on the cable with the scissors at the location of the adhesive tape, making sure to only cut through the textile coating and not the electrical wires inside. Use your fingers to spread the incision wide enough to separate the two segments of the textile coating. Remove the segment at the end to expose the electrical wires.

Once the electrical wires are exposed, the next step is to remove their insulation. If you have a wire stripper tool, which can be purchased at any hardware store, simply use it for this task. If you don't have one, don't worry: you can gently press the scissors against the electrical wires to expose the metal filament. Then, carefully pull the plastic insulation to fully reveal the metal wire and proceed with the connection!

Everything good so far? Did the operation go smoothly or did you encounter any issues? Write it down in the comments and let us know what tutorials you would like to read next!