NIKKEI Monozukuri January 2006

Feature
How to turn the“Year 2007 Issue”to your advantage

Part 1 : Overview-Opportunity or Crisis?
Part 2 : An opportunity to advance the IT revolution-Unified awareness at
workplaces enhances their underlying strength beyond expectations
Iguchi Issei, Milestone, Saijoinx, Wing, OET, Topia, Fourteen, Autech Mechanical, Akaishi R&D
Part 3 : The path to becoming a contemporary master craftsman-Opportunities a re expanding for young engineers to play an active role, and they should train themselves flexibly

Hiromi Kataoka (Alpha): Cold forging,Shigeo Ozawa (Mitsuya): Metal plating processing, Toshio Watabe (Matsushita Electric Industrial): Custom-made hearing aids, Shunichi Tanouke (Denso): Skill Olympics

Frank Opinion

The U.S. machine-tool industry has fallen prey to M&A activities

Kaleidoscope

“Hybrid”steam engines developed

Detailed Reports

TOTO improves the absorption power of its electrostatic zippers by 20 times
Yaskawa Electric Corporation develops industrial robots that mimic the motion of human arms
Sankyo Seisakusho offers orthogonal axis reducers that do not allow a rolling contact to cause backlashes
PTC of the U.S. launches a new version of Wildfire, 3D CAD software designed to reduce operator time

Introductory Course on Analysis for Designers

(Part 1) Three hurdles that beginners often encounter

New Ideas

Conveyors that prevent collisions at work

Search for Manufacturing

Dealing with environment issues in product development

Special Report

The third generation of continuously variable transmission (CVT)
Five-axis processing spotlighted in the metal molding industry
European manufacturers accelerate introduction of Japanese ways of making things

The Method

Taguchi Method (Part 2) Parameter design for dynamic characteristics

Toyota Production System and Its New Developments

(Part 1) Reasons for reducing inventory

Documentary

Comeback of mechanical watches (Part 5) Young and energetic talent ; experts’wisdom

Studying Hot Products

Home Bakery: As superior taste and user-friendly design are taken for granted, more emphasis is put on multifunctionality, health, new materials, and new eating-texture

Material Dynamics Mandala

(Part 13) How to prevent sympathetic vibrations

How to Select and Buy Low-Priced Parts in China

(Part 1) Parts unavailable in Japan can be bought in small lots in China

Outstanding SMEs

Nihon Dento Kougyo Co., Ltd.
Chuo Kakohki Co., Ltd.

The Master

(Part 20) Making screws by screwing a plate

Accident Investigation

An emergency order was issued to Matsushita Electric Industrial due to carbon monoxide poisoning accidents caused by its defective kerosene heaters

Interview

Masayuki Morozumi: Chief Production Officer and Senior Managing Director, Seiko Epson Corporation

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NE Asia fulfills your needs by offering articles covering a wide spectrum of topics. In addition to the English edition, the local editions for Taiwan and Korea now offer editorial sections written by local editors. Magazine Subscription Information	You can subscribe to the magazines of NikkeiBP from outside Japan at the same price as in Japan! Magazine Subscription Information The NE ASIA News Update e-newsletter
Nikkei Electronics Asia (monthly) We are offering a magazine monthly to qualified engineers and managers free of charge. In-depth Articles from Nikkei Electronics Asia Cover Story SSDs Challenge HDDs, but Quality a Problem Solid-state drives (SSD) using NAND Flash memory are beginning to show up in a variety of equipment as storage devices. Prices are dropping as semiconductor technology continues to evolve, accelerating adoption of the drives, but manufacturers must also deal with eroding quality. Analysis Expanded Use of Silicon Tuners Transforms Tvs With analog television broadcasting slated for the axe in about two years in Japan, TV broadcast tuners are evolving rapidly, replacing old radio frequency (RF) analog circuits with new integrated circuits (IC) called silicon tuners. Signal demodulators are evolving with them, and by tracing the direction of their evolution it is possible to delineate the shape of tomorrow's TV. Convenience Stores Lead in Energy Conservation Convenience store franchises are moving to slash energy consumption following the revision of the Japanese Act on the Rational Use of Energy, and are rapidly becoming showcases for cutting-edge energy-conservation technology. The technologies honed here will spread to other firms in the distribution industry, office buildings and more, eventually worldwide.	Nikkei Electronics (biweekly) The magazine for electronics designers and managers. Cover Story Electronic Books: Opening the Door to Major Participants Nikkei Monozukuri (monthly) Design You Won't Regret - How to Reduce the Risk of Accidents Cover Story Time to Focus on Human-Resources Development Nikkei Microdevices (monthly) The most comprehensive technical journal for makers and users of LSIs and LCDs. Cover Story Optical interconnection on electronic equipment Nikkei Automotive Technology (bimonthly) The comprehensive automotive technology magazine. Cover Story Impact of Honda Insight

MAGAZINES IN ENGLISH

MAGAZINES IN JAPANESE

NE Asia fulfills your needs by offering articles covering a wide spectrum of topics. In addition to the English edition, the local editions for Taiwan and Korea now offer editorial sections written by local editors.
Magazine Subscription Information

You can subscribe to the magazines of NikkeiBP from outside Japan at the same price as in Japan!
Magazine Subscription Information
The NE ASIA News Update e-newsletter

Nikkei Electronics Asia (monthly)

We are offering a magazine monthly to qualified engineers and managers free of charge.

In-depth Articles from Nikkei Electronics Asia

Cover Story SSDs Challenge HDDs, but Quality a Problem

Solid-state drives (SSD) using NAND Flash memory are beginning to show up in a variety of equipment as storage devices. Prices are dropping as semiconductor technology continues to evolve, accelerating adoption of the drives, but manufacturers must also deal with eroding quality.

Analysis Expanded Use of Silicon Tuners Transforms Tvs

With analog television broadcasting slated for the axe in about two years in Japan, TV broadcast tuners are evolving rapidly, replacing old radio frequency (RF) analog circuits with new integrated circuits (IC) called silicon tuners. Signal demodulators are evolving with them, and by tracing the direction of their evolution it is possible to delineate the shape of tomorrow's TV.

Convenience Stores Lead in Energy Conservation

Convenience store franchises are moving to slash energy consumption following the revision of the Japanese Act on the Rational Use of Energy, and are rapidly becoming showcases for cutting-edge energy-conservation technology. The technologies honed here will spread to other firms in the distribution industry, office buildings and more, eventually worldwide.