Beyond the Rework: How AI is Revolutionizing Fusion Splicing Success
- michellewynant
- Oct 17
- 3 min read
Every experienced fiber optic technician knows the familiar frustration: you’ve stripped, cleaned, and cleaved the fiber, but the moment you load it into the fusion splicer, the machine flags a poor cleave.
The choice is tough: Do you risk a high-loss splice that could cause network issues down the road, or do you lose valuable time removing the fiber to re-cleave and potentially re-strip the entire end?
This necessary but time-consuming rework is a major bottleneck in field operations. Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, the pioneer in optical fiber manufacturing, has stepped in to virtually eliminate this problem with its revolutionary AI-powered NanoTune™ technology.
The Skill vs. The Machine: A Field Challenge
Achieving a perfect fiber cleave is a learned skill, but even the most seasoned technician will encounter marginal cleaves due to environmental conditions, wear on tools, or simply bad luck.
As your recent email highlighted, forcing a conventional splicer to proceed with a suboptimal cleave often leads to undesirable insertion loss, compromising the network's integrity. Conversely, stopping the process to rework the fiber end slows down your entire job's throughput.
This is where NanoTune steps in, changing the rules of the game by drastically reducing the need for these reworks.
NanoTune™: The World’s First AI Splicing Technology
Sumitomo's NanoTune, embedded in their latest core-alignment fusion splicers like the Q102-CA+, is a sophisticated system that combines decades of optical knowledge with cutting-edge artificial intelligence.
What does it do? It takes fibers that would have traditionally failed or required rework and successfully splices them with low loss. Sumitomo’s internal investigation confirms that NanoTune improves the typical field splice success rate to an impressive 90%, compared to only 75% without the technology. This increase in successful splices directly translates to significantly shorter working time and higher throughput for field technicians.
The Five Pillars of NanoTune’s AI Success
NanoTune achieves this remarkable performance by leveraging five key, interconnected technologies:
Glass Melting Technology: Sumitomo utilizes its long-cultivated expertise in glass melting to ensure the fiber ends are fused perfectly, even under challenging conditions.
Prediction of Core Position: The system actively watches the fibers up until the moment of splicing, using sophisticated technology to predict the exact core position for flawless alignment.
Cutting-Edge AI Technology: This is the brain of the system. It employs AI-based real-time 3D pattern recognition to meticulously analyze the fiber end-face and identify every nuance of the cleave quality.
Optimized Algorithm: Based on the AI analysis, the optimized splicing algorithm instantly calculates the best possible fusion, adjusting ten essential splice parameters to compensate for any imperfections.
Accumulated Knowledge: Field data collected via SumiCloud™ forms a vast pool of big data, which is continuously used to simulate, analyze, and inform the algorithm, allowing the AI to get smarter with every splice.
Beyond Bad Cleaves: Higher Quality, Period
The benefits of NanoTune aren't limited to recovering from bad cleaves. By accurately adjusting parameters on all splices, the technology also reduces the overall insertion loss on good cleaves.
In fact, the splice quality is so high that the resulting connection may be virtually invisible—not even registering as a splice event when later tested by an OTDR. This exceptional quality ensures maximum network reliability and longevity.
Get Hands-On with Industry-Leading Tech
At Light Brigade, we are proud to partner with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, serving as an authorized distributor for their fusion splicers, fuse-on connectors, and essential tools.
We also believe in building technician expertise that matches the technology. That's why we deliver industry-leading hands-on skills training in fusion splicing, ensuring your team can properly prepare the fiber to give NanoTune the best chance to deliver flawless results.
If your team is experiencing slow throughput or needs to elevate its network reliability, it’s time to move beyond the rework cycle. Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation to discover the right NanoTune-enabled fusion splicer model for your needs.
Light Brigade, an Authorized Sumitomo Distributor & Training Partner
Stop Reworking, Start Splicing: Request a Consultation on NanoTune (TM)
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