Company R, an air conditioner manufacturer, constructs clean rooms and provides air purification units for semiconductor manufacturing plants and the medical field. In recent years, with the advancement of precision processing technology and the sophistication of medical care, the requirements for clean rooms have become stricter, and users have been calling for further improvements in the fan filter units (FFUs) manufactured by Company R.
FFUs that create clean spaces require high airflow and high static pressure performance to create positive pressure spaces. Maintaining and controlling a high level of cleanliness requires huge energy costs, but at the same time, with growing environmental awareness, there is also a demand for further "energy saving."
To simultaneously satisfy these conflicting requirements of "high airflow" and "energy conservation," Company R had to overcome several technical hurdles.
Many of R's FFUs use "Centrifugal Fan," but there are few domestically produced products, so the company relies on overseas manufacturers for supplies, which makes it difficult to obtain them. Mr. O of the Design Department of the Air Conditioning Systems Division of R's company says the following.
"The fans we were using were made by a US manufacturer, and it took more than three weeks from ordering to delivery. Of course, shipping costs were also incurred, which was holding us back in terms of development lead time and costs. We needed to ensure the necessary airflow and static pressure while also meeting environmental performance requirements - to do that, we needed to reconsider the fans we were currently using."
At the same time, R wanted to miniaturize the equipment. Foreign-made fans were only available in large sizes of φ200 to 220 mm in order to ensure sufficient air volume and static pressure, which was also a factor preventing the miniaturization of the equipment. By using a smaller fan, the company wanted to develop a smaller FFU than before.
What solved Mr. O's problem was Centrifugal Fan from SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. that he saw at an exhibition. This Centrifugal Fan was developed to meet market needs by optimizing the shape of the fan blades using experience and technology cultivated over many years, and by newly designing the motor and circuit to achieve high efficiency. Although it is φ175mm, it ensures the same level of air volume and static pressure as the φ200-220mm fans that R had previously used, and also consumes less power and makes less noise.
If FFU could achieve this performance, all our problems would be solved. Mr. O immediately contacted the sales department and began evaluating samples to consider introducing it. Mr. O recalls his impressions from the product evaluation in-house:
"When we actually operated it, we found that it was able to secure the necessary air volume and static pressure, and also fully satisfied the requirements for power consumption and noise. We didn't have much time to devote to product evaluation, but the quick delivery service allowed us to deliver it quickly, so there was no disruption to our evaluation schedule, and we were able to obtain samples more smoothly than if we had been dealing with an overseas manufacturer." (Mr. O)
After thoroughly verifying the performance, R decided to install the fan and started developing a new FFU. The San Ace Centrifugal Fan Centrifugal Fan as expected, with high airflow and high static pressure, low power consumption and low noise. They also succeeded in making the FFU smaller.
In addition, the benefits of the system exceeded Mr. O's expectations. In recent years, in factory clean rooms, rather than running fans at full speed all the time, it has become necessary to control the rotation speed to an optimal level and reduce power consumption.
San Ace Centrifugal Fan have a "PWM control function" that allows for precise control of the rotation speed, adjusting the rotation speed according to the situation. By optimizing the rotation speed, power consumption is reduced, contributing to further energy savings for the FFU. Furthermore, at SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's suggestion, the change from the conventional AC-powered fan to a DC-powered fan also brought about significant energy savings.
Mr. O had this to say about the effects of the introduction:
"We were able to successfully bring to market an FFU that met the standards required by our users. SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's products, backed by their many years of experience and track record, solved many of the problems we had and brought about many improvements, particularly in terms of environmental performance."
SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's "San Ace Centrifugal Fan," with its excellent environmental performance, will continue to support R Company's product development.
For more information about Centrifugal Fan, please see "Characteristics of Centrifugal Fan ".
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