The commercial large-format printer market has shown signs of revitalization in recent years. This is due to the expansion of on-demand printing scenarios, such as promotional posters, POP printing, CAD drawings, and color proofing, as printing technology advances. In addition, the trend of "in-house printing," in which government agencies and companies produce their printing work in-house, is also supporting market growth. Due to this situation, the needs for printers are diversifying, and, like consumer products, there is a demand for improved operability and space saving in addition to cost performance.
Company Q manufactures and sells large-format inkjet printers and production printers. In recent years, in addition to faster printing speeds and higher image quality, the demands from customers and the market for large-format printers for commercial use have become increasingly sophisticated, such as smaller equipment and lower costs, and this has become a major issue for manufacturers.
In order to meet these needs, Company Q is currently developing its next-generation model to offer even faster speeds and higher image quality, but the company's development department was facing several challenges.
Mr. T, head of the company's development department, had this to say:
"Our printers use a total of 20 fans of six different types: 12 axial fans for cooling and eight blowers for paper feed. In order to make the next model of printers more compact and faster, the temperature inside the device would rise more than in previous models, so we needed fans with better cooling performance to deal with the heat. Furthermore, it was urgent that we review all of our fans, including the high static pressure blowers for paper transport."
Furthermore, in order to launch new products before the competition, the development time was reduced to just under a year, about half of what it was a few years ago.
"Because development lead times are short, parts selection has to be done quickly, and cooperation from reliable suppliers is essential. However, fans for the current model could not be sourced from a single manufacturer, so we had to purchase from multiple manufacturers. This made ordering management complicated, and there were also issues with delivery dates, which was a real headache.
Sometimes it took one to two months from ordering a sample until the product was delivered. If even one company were to experience this situation, all development would come to a halt during that time. We wanted to produce and evaluate a prototype in a short period of time, but because reordering parts due to revisions to specifications takes time, we were looking for a company with an extensive lineup and the ability to deliver in a short time frame." (Mr. T)
One day, Mr. T consulted a SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. sales representative who visited him on a regular business trip about these issues.
The person in charge replied, "We can deliver fans and blowers with the performance you require within a few days." Mr. T had the impression that SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. products were of high quality, reliability, and performance, and had a wide lineup, but that they also had a long delivery time, so he was surprised by the proposal for short delivery times.
After listening to the person in charge in detail, Mr. T learned that there was an extensive lineup of cooling fans available for "short delivery."
"This way, even if we need to revise the prototype specifications, we can quickly evaluate and verify a different fan. In the past, we would assume that we would need to revise the equipment and select a fan that was larger than necessary, or we would use a fan that didn't have enough cooling capacity. However, with SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's short delivery service, we can now quickly select the optimal fan from the extensive lineup." (Mr. T)
As reducing power consumption has become a global trend, we installed low-power fans that significantly reduce power consumption while maintaining high airflow and high static pressure to save energy in equipment. Fans with PWM control function not only improve cooling performance but also reduce noise. Furthermore, we were able to select the optimal fans for all 20 fans, including a high static pressure blower for paper transport, which has greatly contributed to improving the performance of the equipment.
The rapid procurement of materials enabled the prototyping process to proceed smoothly, and by having a single point of contact for parts procurement, we were able to eliminate unnecessary labor hours.
"Because SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. Denki can supply all the fans needed for new model development, we've been able to resolve issues such as inquiries to multiple manufacturers and delivery date issues. We no longer have to deal with tedious order management and inquiries, which has been extremely helpful. Even if the equipment configuration needs to be revised during prototype evaluation, the reselected fans can be obtained within a few days, so the process doesn't stop and we've been able to shorten the development lead time." (Mr. T)
After thorough verification, Mr. T decided to use SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. products for the cooling fan/blower in his next model.
Mr. T. said:
"We are grateful that we were able to improve the performance of our product despite limited resources and a tight development period. We look forward to continuing to consult with you on various matters."
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