2011
(Posted Sept. 2011)
Contributing to society through technology
The period of support as a NEDO-designated project ended on schedule in March 2011. The team succeeded in reaching the original goals of the project by creating a smoothly rotating small motor that consumes 30% less resources and 5% less energy. Yamashita laughs, "I'm confident that we created something we can be proud of to the world. Frankly, we were working under a lot of pressure, so it feels like a weight has fallen from our shoulders."
Nishimura adds with a serious look, "Of course, we were able to achieve a certain degree of results, but we haven't reached the stage where we can celebrate the 'completion' of something. We developed the magnet, but commercialization of a motor using it lies in the future. The happiest thing for us engineers is when technology we developed makes its appearance as a product and reaches the customer. Only when commercialization takes place can we claim success. As of today, we've only taken a single step forward."
Numerous hurdles still lie in wait on the road to commercialization. Joint research with automotive manufacturers and other enterprises must be promoted to create a product that not only has advanced functioning, but embodies attributes needed for it to sell well. Nishimura and his team will keep working to achieve that goal.
Nevertheless, this project is exerting a significant influence on the company as a whole, points out Kobayashi. "Minebea has always had a strong 'manufacturing company' orientation. One can't say that it was highly aggressive with respect to technological development, but I feel that through this project, the opportunity is starting to arise to develop technology that no other company has. In addition, we learned through this NEDO project that research carried out in collaboration with universities is extremely meaningful. I feel that going forward, we definitely must increase the amount of development where enterprises and universities can demonstrate synergy by pooling their strengths."
This project also had great significance in terms of the cultivation of young engineers, with team members from different generations cooperating to promote development. "Young engineers have a tremendous shortage of experience when it comes to seeing something they have developed go out into the world to contribute to society. In that aspect as well, this project became an extremely good opportunity. I wanted to make this experience an opportunity for the young team members themselves to enhance their skills as engineers, and I believe the result was to motivate the young members."
Reducing the size of the motor and raising its efficiency through magnet development will not only reduce the impact on the environment, as in this case, but should be an important technology for applications in a wide range of fields, including medicine and social welfare. The possibilities for Minebea to contribute to society through technology are likely to grow more and more. Yamashita is spurring his younger-generation staff to "aim to become world-class specialists," and for his part, Nishimura is keen for them to become "engineers who can introduce the new technology first to the world." The seeds planted through this project are slowly but surely starting to send forth shoots for the future.
