Product-related Initiatives for the Environment  Back Number (2018)

Bearings enable things to move freely and rotate smoothly, enhance performance, save power, contribute to making products with bearings smaller and extend their lives, and offer various other benefits. Bearings are fundamental products that have become essential for humankind.

The MinebeaMitsumi Group boasts world-leading market shares across the entire market from miniature and small diameter ball bearings with diameters of 22 mm and less to rod end and spherical bearings and roller bearings used in aircraft.

These high-precision and high-quality bearings are used in many common products essential for our lives such as consumer electronics, information and communications equipment, automobiles, and aircraft. They contribute to all environmental aspects of these products including high precision, energy savings, reduced resource use, and longer lives.

Power brushless motors are used in the drive mechanisms of office equipment such as multi-function copiers and printers as well as consumer electronics and other products. In office equipment, higher efficiency and reduced power consumption are achieved through a high degree of control by using custom integrated circuits. For consumer electronic applications, we are developing models with microcomputers and contributing to the enhanced performance of consumer electrics by improving functionality and reducing noise through the use of low-noise algorithms. By replacing the AC motors previously used in fans and other products with our DC motors, energy consumption is reduced by 50% when operating at high speed and by 90% at low speed.

By using motors to control the distance between the LED and the lens, SALIOT made it possible to adjust the light radiation area and distribution angle from 10 to 30 degrees. In addition, through the application of wireless technology in the development of our original software, this product allows users to easily control the vertical and horizontal orientation of lighting, the light distribution angle, and brightness with a smartphone or tablet.

The external appearance of SALIOT CUBE has been brought together in a minimal cubic style, simple and robust, and able to harmonize with the installation space.

The MinebeaMitsumi Group develops, manufacturers, and sells LED (light-emitting diode) backlight units which illuminate smartphone and tablet computer LCD displays from the rear.

The optical guide plate is critical to spreading LED light evenly over the display, as the LED backlight units are positioned on the edge of the device. We leveraged our superior plastic injection molding processes using our proprietary design development and our precision molds to successfully develop optical guide plates measuring 0.3 mm thick or less. The thinner optical guide plates not only help to make the end products thinner, but help to reduce power consumption, weight, and size compared with previous models.

The MinebeaMitsumi Group has developed a high-performance VR resolver (rotation angle sensor), a critical component of drive motors used in next-generation eco cars, including electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The Group is producing and delivering the component to automakers in and outside Japan.

The VR resolver is a vital angle sensor for accurately controlling the rotation of the drive motor. It is a key component that significantly affects power consumption and driving performance of eco cars.