プロセスD&Tラボ List of Products and Services

Hair dryers and hair irons have a high power consumption ranging from 1400W to 700W, which poses a risk of fire or smoke in case of malfunction, and there is also a high risk of injury to users. The National Consumer Affairs Center has reported on these dangers. (https://www.kokusen.go.jp/douga/20161208_1_news/n-20161208_1_low.html) The failure modes that can lead to serious accidents include: 1) Fracture of the power cord 2) Fracture of the internal wiring in bendable hair dryers 3) Fracture of the heater or the connection between the heater and the terminal. We will support the clarification of these failure causes and countermeasures. Additionally, we believe we can assist with issues such as the reproducibility of paint colors and cracks in resin.

• Manufacturing Equipment
• Manufacturing Technology

I was part of the Corporate Production Technology Department at Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. for 26 years, serving as the head of the Production Technology Development Center for 5 years. My main responsibilities included the development of optical fibers and the introduction of equipment into mass production lines, and the equipment I introduced is still actively in use today. From the late 1980s, when I was in charge, until the collapse of the telecommunications bubble, the drawing speed increased every year, and the diameter of the preforms also became larger. At that time, the purchased drawing furnace frequently experienced water leaks, which led us to develop our own drawing furnace. Since there was no design technology for furnaces within the company, I requested a furnace manufacturer we were associated with to design and manufacture the heating furnace. However, water leaks occurred again within a few months. Even when the power to the heating furnace was turned off, the interior was still glowing brightly, and I, being on-site, felt very uneasy. Therefore, I decided to design the heating furnace myself. I incorporated knowledge gained from developing vacuum deposition equipment into the specifications for pressure resistance, airtightness, and leak testing, and I reviewed the welding structure in consultation with the manufacturer. Additionally, I revised the system and included it in the specifications. At that time, I was too busy to compile everything into systematic documentation. Thus, after becoming independent, I summarized my design technology for the carbon heater heating system.

• others

Heat pipes (HP) and vapor chambers (VC) are used as heat dissipation methods, particularly for electronic components and devices such as CPUs, GPUs, and power devices. In such fields, there is a tendency for increased integration density, and the heat generation density has greatly exceeded 100 W/cm². Therefore, the enhancement of heat dissipation devices is becoming increasingly necessary. Furthermore, it is believed that applications will advance not only in electronic and electrical devices but also in heat dissipation measures for lithium-ion batteries and methods for temperature uniformity in residential and agricultural sectors.

• Heat and Drying Treatment Systems
• Heating and cooling equipment and facilities

In new business development, if a business cannot clear the issues of quality, cost, and investment during mass production, it cannot be commercialized (as a management decision), or we have seen cases where it does get commercialized but does not last long (crossing Darwin's sea). Therefore, we realized that the idea of backcasting the commercialization process is effective. (Ideal state during mass production ⇒ product development ⇒ necessary product development ⇒ necessary technology development ⇒ necessary research and development) To realize that idea, information on mass production technology and equipment technology is needed, and our company possesses processing technologies for plastics, semiconductors, glass, and copper/aluminum materials. As open innovation progresses in the future, selecting technologies that our company does not have and the companies that possess them will become important. We would like to support that.

• others

The process of applying varnish or adhesive to tapes and substrates and then drying them is used in various industries. When the applied material is diluted with a solvent, the drying process that evaporates the solvent is crucial for quality control. If we try to increase productivity, the drying oven becomes larger, leading to higher equipment costs. Depending on the product, this also affects the subsequent curing process. To achieve efficient drying, the thermal performance of the heating furnace is necessary. It is very important for tape substrates that the thermal performance of the heating furnace remains stable within the range of use. The thermal performance of the heating furnace referred to here means the heat transfer rate. If the heat transfer rate and the temperature distribution of the heating furnace are known, the temperature of the substrate in the furnace can be predicted. Drying depends on the temperature of the substrate. Knowing the substrate temperature allows us to predict the evaporation rate or residual solvent. I serve as a technical advisor and possess the technology for measuring the thermal performance of furnaces. Additionally, I have the technology for thermal calculation methods that predict the substrate temperature based on thermal characteristics and temperature distribution within the furnace. By modeling the drying phenomenon of the applied material, we can predict the residual solvent.

• others

Dyes are used to apply liquid materials to tapes and wire materials. The coating thickness is one of the important management items. We can provide a calculation method for designing the main parameters of the dye. Additionally, for those who wish to acquire the technology for flow analysis for dye design in-house, we can also provide explanations of the theory of flow analysis and technical documentation. This service is not suitable for those who want to use expensive packaged software for rigorous calculations. However, we believe it is a suitable service for those who want to design dyes based on fluid theory in order to respond quickly to customer demands.

• others