Company E, an air conditioning equipment manufacturer, was considering developing a new model of fan filter unit to be used in a variety of applications, including clean rooms. Director B of the design department at Company E explains:
"When using a fan filter unit, dirt gradually accumulates on the filter. When the filter becomes dirty and clogged, the airflow from the fan filter unit decreases. To maintain the cleanliness of the space, a certain airflow must be maintained, so we wanted to precisely control the fan rotation speed according to the degree of dirt on the filter.
In the current model, we combine a DC motor with our own blades to send air. We can accelerate and decelerate the rotation speed of the blades by adjusting the voltage, but we were unable to achieve fine control. Also, we needed space and wiring for the power supply (converter) that converts AC to DC.
To solve the problem, Mr. B eventually started looking into off-the-shelf fans.
"First, we considered AC Cooling Fan to match the AC power supply of the current model, but we found that it was not possible to control the airflow, and that the airflow was insufficient. We also considered DC Cooling Fan, which has a higher airflow than AC Cooling Fan, but to drive DC Cooling Fan, we needed to install an ACDC converter, and the space and wiring work became an issue," said Mr. B.
Mr. B was stuck in his investigations, and the development of the new model made no progress.
Mr. B continued to gather information, and when he attended an industrial equipment exhibition, he stopped by SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's booth and consulted with the person in charge.
After listening to Mr. B's detailed explanation of the issues, the SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. representative proposed an AC-input Centrifugal Fan with PWM control function.
"A fan with PWM control function can control the fan speed by changing the duty ratio of the pulse signal, so the airflow can be controlled more precisely than with conventional voltage control. It's a high-volume Centrifugal Fan, so the airflow is excellent. Also, because the fan has a built-in ACDC converter, it can be driven directly by an AC power source. I thought this would reduce space and wiring work." (Mr. B)
Mr. B arranged for an evaluation sample and immediately began evaluating the actual equipment. The results of the internal evaluation were very positive, and Company E soon decided to adopt the product.
"Previously, we would attach blades to a motor and assemble it, but by using SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's fans, we were able to reduce the number of parts assembly processes, which also led to lower costs and weight. Thanks to the ability to control the airflow according to the condition of the filter, we have been able to promote the product as being energy efficient. Also, since an ACDC converter is no longer required, the space and wiring are no longer necessary, which is a great help. We hope to continue to ask for SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's support in the future." (Mr. B)
For more information about ACDC Fan, please see "Features of ACDC Fan ".
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