Buffer
Buffer turns up in 2 fields: fiber optics, mechanical. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Buffer in fiber optics
The protective plastic layer or tube around coated fiber, either a tight 900 µm jacket or a loose gel-filled tube.
The first layer of mechanical protection added over the coated fiber during cabling. A tight buffer is plastic extruded directly onto the coating to 900 µm, easy to handle and terminate directly. A loose buffer is a tube a few millimeters across holding typically 12 fibers that float freely in gel or dry water-blocking material, isolating them from cable stretch and temperature swings.
"Cut the buffer tube with the tube cutter, not your knife, last guy scored straight through two fibers."
Buffer in mechanical
A resilient component designed to absorb impact forces and prevent metal-to-metal contact.
A mechanical cushion, often made of polyurethane, rubber, or a spring mechanism, installed at the end of a travel path. It dissipates kinetic energy when a moving mass reaches its limit, protecting the primary structure from shock loads. Buffers are critical on cranes, railcars, and heavy sliding doors.
"The gantry crane slammed into the end stops hard enough to shear the mounting bolts on the rubber buffer."