NewNew Products
Products

S183PM Fusion Splicer for PM Fibers Achieving High Strength

1.

OUTLINEDue to the expansion of FTTH services, the volume oftraffic over optical fiber is increasing and technologies for
optical fibers and optical devices have been improved.
This creates a need for an advanced fusion splicer, andthe S183PM has been developed to meet this need.

2.

FEATURESThe S183PM has many unique functions designed toachieve the most advanced splices. It is optimally suited
to the new rotation mechanism that allows fibers to rotate
while keeping them straight and stable, minimizing fiber
twist and eliminating fiber damage. The S183PM has
functions superior to those of other splicers, such as
faster splice time, advanced fusion control, ease of use,
and a wide range of preinstall programs.
2.1 Appearance
The S183PM is designed so that it is easy to use indoors,
as in factories or laboratories. The worktable height isonly 106 mm, and the vertical screen display orientation
can be changed to allow operation with the LCD monitor
in the front or rear of the unit. This function provides
flexible layout for factory space.

2.2 Easy Operation and New Rotation Mechanism
The use of fiber holders ensures easy operation frompreparing the fiber to splicing for any user. Fiber set-up
is completed in only two steps: placing the holders on
the splicer and lowering the windshield. Splicing is thenaccomplished automatically by pushing one button.
In splicing PM fibers where fiber rotation is needed,
the holder is rotated to match the faces of the stressmaterials of the PM fiber (see Figure 2). The fiber is
kept straight and stable, and twisting is minimized. Thismechanism helps to avoid fiber damage and guarantees
quality during the manufacturing process. The gears thattransmit rotation from the motor to the holder shaft aredisposed at the rear, and the holder is at the front, so thatthe fiber length from the holder is made 13 mm, the usual
length for most splicing applications.
This rotation mechanism is also very useful for theremoval of PM fiber after splicing. The user can not open
the lid of the fiber holder and removes the fiber if thefibers are rotated to match the faces. In a conventional
splicer it is a complicated operation to open thewindshield, manually release one side holder to avoid
twisting fiber, and push the button to reset the splicer.
The S183PM eliminates these operations because itis equipped with a mechanism known as “automaticfiber holder release”. By pushing the button once, thefiber holders are automatically reset to the state where
the windshield is closed. This makes the operation ofremoving the fiber easy and safe.

Figure 2

Figure 1

Appearance of the S183PM fusion splicer.

Fiber rotation.

2.3 Specifications
Table 1 shows S183PM specifications.
The S183PM comes with a variety of splice programs
installed to handle splicing of different fibers, splicingof PM fibers, splicing with attenuation, etc. The user
can create new programs up to total of 150. In PM fiber

Furukawa Review, No. 26

2004

51

S183PM Fusion Splicer for PM Fibers Achieving High Strength

splicing, splice time is shortened sharply compared to theconventional splicers because of software upgrades.
Table1

Specifications of the S183PM fusion splicer.
Description

Applicable fibers

Fiber cleave length

Specification
SMF, DSF, MMF, NZ-DSF, EDF,PANDA, Tiger, Bow-tie, etc.
Clad diameter: 80 to 200 µm
Coating diameter: 160 to 900 µm
4 mm (coating clamping)
10 mm (clad clamping)

Typical insertion loss

SMF: Avg. 0.02 dB

Typical extinction ratio

PANDA: Avg. 40 dB

Splice time

SMF: Avg. 20 sec
PANDA: Avg. 42 sec

Tension strength

Avg. 20 N (with coating clamping)

Dimensions/weight

350W x 197D x 154H mm / 8.7 kg

Fusion program storage capacity

150

2.4 Automatic Adjustment of Fiber Position
Fibers are fixed by a method in which the fiber is placedin a V-groove and pressed tightly by a fiber clamp. The
V-groove and clamp in the S183PM can handle bothbare glass (clad) and coated fibers without changing anyparts. If necessary for high-strength splicing, the coatedpart of the fiber is placed on the V-groove in order toprevent damage to the clad. In conventional splicers,
the user must change the electrode, V-groove or fiber
clamps because the height of the fiber center changes.
In the S183PM, this change is not necessary. The fiber
clamp is designed to hold a fiber from 80 µm to 900 µm in
diameter and is equipped with two kinds of sub-clamps.
In addition, the left and right V-grooves can move in all
directions to adjust the position for bare or coated fibers..

Figure 3

V-grooves.

discharge process.
These unique arc functions can help the user achieve
minimized insertion loss for any combination of specialty
fibers.

Figure 4

Figure 53.

Arc discharge in the arc curving function.

FUTURE PRODUCT DEPLOYMENTWhile developing the S183PM, a variety of tools havebeen developed for preparing the fibers. These include
the S183-X-A-0009 ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning fibers
for high-strength splices, the S533A curl remover forstraightening out curled fibers, and the S323S cleaver
for cleaving fibers with a clad diameter of 80 µm. These
tools are designed to achieve high splicing performance
combined with easy operation, and are especially for thepreparation of fibers for the S183PM.
In the meantime, further improvements are being
carried out to achieve splicing of special fibers suchas the Holey fiber or other newly developed fibers. The
S183PM will be further improved to become a more
flexible splicer.
For more information, please contact:
Interconnectivity Equipment Dept., Telecommunications
Co.
TEL: +81-3-3286-3445
FAX: +81-3-3286-3708

Fiber clamps.

2.5 Advanced Fusion Control
The S183PM is provided with a range of newly developed
functions, including arc scanning and arc curving. Inarc scanning the spliced fiber is heated at a wide range
by moving the fiber around the arc center during arc
discharge. In arc curving the fiber is heated at a lower
temperature during arc discharge. A ceramic rod is liftedup during the arc discharge process and changes thetemperature distribution across the electrode pair, thereby
achieving a lower temperature in the center of electrodepair. The S183PM also has an arc sequencing function, inwhich the arc power patterns are changed during the arc

Furukawa Review, No. 26

200452