Sumitomo Electric Lightwave recently announced that the Type-39 FastCat, a core-alignment fusion splicer with a dual heating system, will be available late in the second quarter of this year. The splicer's electronic design accommodates a built-in dual heating system and simultaneous operation, thereby reducing heater wait time by 88%, the company says. With an individual heater cycle time of 30 seconds and a splice cycle of 9 seconds, the FastCat improves splicing efficiency and productivity by 70%, Sumitomo says, reducing labor time and costs.
The Type-39 FastCat is designed for splicing applications in a central office or headend, the feeder portion of the fiber-to-the-premises network where speed in high-fiber applications is crucial, and at terminals leading to the final drop to the premises. The splicer's design includes a multi-position monitor to accommodate front-to-back and back-to-front viewing for an array of splicing applications. The splicer is RoHS-compliant.
Additionally, image-processing software, called High-resolution Direct Core Monitoring (HDCM), is used to perform core alignment and estimates splice loss. Sumitomo says the software's capabilities allow low-loss optical fiber splices with typical splice loss of less than 0.02 dB for singlemode fiber and less than 0.1 dB for multimode.
"The introduction of the FastCat and its advanced electronic design allowing simultaneous heater operation represents a giant leap in fusion splicing technology," comments Joshua Seawell, Sumitomo's fusion splicing product manager. "We're pleased to have developed another innovation that contributes to the Sumitomo mission of providing our customers with more efficient and cost-effective solutions enabling them to achieve their FTTP/FTTH vision."
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