Page 24 - EngineerIT February 2022 UPDATED

FIBRE TECHNOLOGY

FUJIKURA a story of innovation

ujikura was founded in February 1885 by Zenpachi Fujikura. The company started by
manufacturing silk and cotton insulated winding electrical wires. Since then, Fujikura
Fhas grown to an industrial giant with over 50 000 employees, clocking over $7 billion
per annum and has become one of the largest cable manufacturers in the world.
Fujikura developed the first arc fusion splice machine in 1978, the FR-1. The unit
comprised of an electro-mechanical component and a microscope. The alignment was done
manually by the fibre technician, using the microscope to visually see the fibres in order to
manually align them using X- and Y-axis adjustment screws. If the technician did everything
correctly, the splice would be successful. If not, he would have to start again. Each splice
could take up to approximately 30 minutes (depending on the technician). It was very
challenging to produce an acceptable splice.
By 1980, single mode (SM) fibres were developed and by 1985, Fujikura had launched
the world’s first fully automated arc fusion splicing machine, the F-20 Series. This was the
first splicer to use the Fujikura profile alignment system (PAS), now commonly used in all
modern splicing machines. The “FSM-20CS” was recognised worldwide as being excellent
and was put into mass production, which moved Fujikura into the number one world market
position. Today, four decades later, Fujikura remains the world leader in splice equipment.

FUJIKURA are fully represented by IC logistics. The company has a fully equipped workshop with Fujikura trained technicians carrying out maintenance and
repairs where needed. But as with all fast-growing markets, grey equipment has made an appearance, often catching people with so-called bargains.
The company will only maintain and service genuine Fujikura equipment.

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