Manufacturing equipment manufacturers in the semiconductor and LCD industries are required to comply with SEMI standards, which have been continuously revised as international guidelines for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturers in Japan receive many orders from overseas, especially from China. The orders from Chinese market require not only the compliance with SEMI standards, but also CE Marking compliance too. Mr. D of the development department of Company D, a semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturer, shared his story:
"When we sold our products to Chinese market before, we had to procure a voltage dip compensation device to provide the 1-second voltage dip protection required by the SEMI. However, there was no Japan-made voltage dip compensation device with CE Marking compliance, so we imported ones from Europe. Furthermore, since a harmonic solution was also required, we also had to procure separately and provide a CE-compliant active filter together with semiconductor manufacturing equipment. In addition to our semiconductor manufacturing equipment, we also had to procure a CE-compliant voltage dip solution device and active filter from overseas, and transport these devices in combination and do the wiring between them, which was such a big burden to bear."
To reduce these burdens, he was in the need of a Japan-made CE-compliant voltage dip solution and active filter.
Mr. A was recommended that he consult SANYO DENKI's products by an engineer he knew, and inquired about their voltage dip solutions.
"I had heard that SANYO DENKI had a proven track record of voltage dip solutions," he explained. "So I asked if they had a CE-compliant one, which was what we needed."
A sales representative of SANYO DENKI heard the problems Mr. A had, and proposed the SANUPS C23A voltage dip compensator. This product caught his attention because this device would provide voltage dip protection and the functionality of an active filter in one unit, and eliminate the need to combine two separate devices. But unfortunately, they didn't offer a CE-compliant one available.
Upon Company D's request, SANY DENKI decided to develop a CE-compliant voltage dip compensator for the first time in Japan,* and added it to their product lineup. Mr. A was satisfied with the performance of the developed SANUPS C23A, and highly evaluated the technical expertise of SANYO DENKI that enabled the flexible development possible.
"This product had eliminated the need to procure a voltage dip solution and an active filter separately from Europe, enabling us to save the importing cost and time," he recalled. "Plus, it even eliminated the cost and time for the wiring of two devices, contributing to space savings."
Since then, Company D has been using SANYO DENKI's voltage drop compensator for its export products that require CE compliance.
"Another advantage is that we can communicate with them more easily than before because they are a domestic manufacturer," he added. "Currently, we are consulting them on capacity selection and other issues for the development of a new model."
* Based on our own market research as of February 12, 2020
Date of publication: March 18, 2021
