Company K was working on developing a new model of medical analyzer. The aim of the new model was to make it more compact, but as the development progressed, the balance between cooling capacity and quietness in selecting a fan became an issue. Mr. H from the Product Development Department said the following:
"Safety and reliability are important for medical equipment. For this reason, it is basic to design using existing parts that have a proven track record. However, when we evaluated the actual equipment during the development of a new model, we found that the cooling capacity was insufficient, and we had to reconsider the design. The miniaturization made it difficult for heat to escape, and heat generation became an issue. To increase cooling capacity, we tried using a fan that had a higher airflow and static pressure than the current one, which was used in other equipment, but this resulted in a significant increase in noise."
Mr. H knew that the sound pressure level would be high because it was a high-speed fan, but...
"It's a device used in the medical field, and because it's a new product, we wanted it to be less noisy than current devices if possible. However, we didn't have the budget or development time to revise the casing or structure," said Mr. H.
Mr. H had no choice but to find a fan that had high cooling capacity and low noise levels without changing the fan size.
For more information on air volume and static pressure, see Knowledge Fan Basics: Fan Air Volume and Static Pressure
Mr. H had been gathering information and decided to contact SANYO DENKI CO., LTD., a company he had a relationship with. When Mr. H explained the current state of development, a SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. representative suggested a fan with PWM control function.
"PWM control function can adjust the rotation speed to the optimum airflow. As a result, by performing the minimum amount of cooling control when necessary, it is possible to reduce power consumption and reduce noise levels of the equipment. This method makes it possible to reduce noise levels without changing the size of the fan," said Mr. H.
Company K had no experience with control using PWM control function, but after receiving the proposal, they decided to first evaluate it on an actual device.
"It was my first time making a control board, so I was a little worried, but I was relieved when SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. explained that they also had a lineup of PWM Controller. With PWM Controller as an option, we decided to first try making a prototype in-house."
As a result of evaluating the actual product, we were able to achieve the cooling performance we expected, and we were also able to design the control board in-house.
"By using PWM control function, we were able to reduce the noise level during standby by 18db. After using PWM control function this time, we found it to be a very effective noise control measure." (Mr. H)
In this way, Company K was able to bring the new model to market. They told us that they expect to be able to use their know-how regarding PWM control function in future developments.
For more information about PWM control function, please also see "Features of PWM fan ".
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