Company T is a manufacturer of various power supplies. The company recently faced several challenges while developing switching power supplies targeting overseas markets. Director Y of the Technology Development Department at Company T looks back on the situation as follows:
"The new model is a strategic product for our company. To gain market share, we needed to not only meet the demand for larger capacity, but also demonstrate advantages such as compact size, low noise, and reduced power consumption, which would reduce running costs."
First, Mr. Y decided to review the fans installed in the equipment.
"We were trying to select a fan that was compact, quiet, and consumed less power, based on the fan installed in the current model, but things didn't go smoothly. Even though the development schedule was fast approaching, it took a long time to evaluate the actual product, and development came to a standstill," said Y.
Mr. Y, who was troubled by the problem, found a clue to the solution by contacting a person at SANYO DENKI CO., LTD..
After hearing about Mr. Y's problems, SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. staff explained that in order to determine the optimal fan, it was first necessary to understand the system impedance(*1) of the device and the fan's operating airflow(*2). They immediately brought in SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's "Airflow Tester" and began measuring the device under development.
"The intersection point between the fan's operating airflow and the system impedance is the fan's operating point. We found that by lowering this operating point as much as possible, we could select the optimal fan." (Mr. Y)
SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. staff used this data to select a new fan and proposed the optimal fan that met requirements such as compactness, which helped accelerate development of the new model.
In this situation, Mr. Y became very interested in an "Airflow Tester" which can "actually measure" system impedance and fan operating airflow.
"This time, they not only proposed fans, but also Airflow Tester in anticipation of future new product development. With this, we expected that we would be able to easily select the optimal fan based on accurate measurements, rather than relying on actual equipment evaluation as in the past. In addition, it was less expensive than a large double-chamber measurement device (*3), so we were able to introduce it at our company, and the fact that it was a portable size and weight was also a major point." (Mr. Y)
*1 System impedance: The difficulty of air flow inside the device. Also known as ventilation resistance.
*2 Operating air volume: The volume of air that actually flows through the device when the installed fan is turned on.
*3 Double chamber measuring device: A double chamber type air flow and static pressure measuring device
As a result, Company T decided to introduce an "Airflow Tester."
SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. also provided ongoing support, such as advice on how to use Airflow Tester to find a fan that meets the requirements, and on selecting a fan based on its performance when installed rather than on the specifications in the catalog.
"We are extremely grateful to SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. for their valuable advice. When we actually measured the operating airflow of the fans installed in our current models, we found that we had selected a fan with an excessive amount of airflow. Now that we can actually measure the system impedance and operating airflow, the selection criteria have become clear. We hope that in the future we will be able to select the optimal fan in a short period of time, which will shorten development times.
In addition, by making good use of the "Airflow Tester," it will be possible to not only select fans, but also to review the design of the housing and improve the layout. We would also like to improve the added value of the equipment by making it smaller, lighter, and quieter."
For more information about Airflow Tester, please also see "Fan Airflow and Static Pressure."
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