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new products
Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. Partners with
TactoTek to Deliver Injection Molded Structural
Electronics (IMSE) Solutions for Automotive
and Home Appliances
Nissha Printing Co., Ltd.(TYO 7915), a leading
manufacturer of In-Mold Decoration (IMD) parts
for automotive and home appliance OEMs, today
announced that they are partnering with TactoTek, a
leading producer of 3D Injection Molded Structural
Electronics (IMSE), to collaboratively design and mass
produce automotive and home appliance control panels.
The first control panel includes a number of electronic
functions including printed circuitry, high performance
capacitive touch and LEDs encapsulated within injection
molded plastic and is scheduled for high volume mass
production in 2017.
According to Kaz Oki, VP of New Product Planning at
Nissha USA, Inc, “We have invested considerable time
and resources evaluating IMSE technology; TactoTek’s
fluency in adapting traditional electronics designs into
IMSE solutions, combined with their ability to quickly
produce prototypes that are ready for mass production
in their vertically-integrated factory sets them apart from
all other companies.”
“Replacing the separate full-sized printed circuit board
and light guide structure in the current product with
a single IMSE component will yield many benefits,”
continued Kaz Oki, “Using an IMSE component
will streamline the supply chain, accelerate design
innovation, and reduce total costs by simplifying
electrical and mechanical assembly. In addition,
because IMSE electronics are encapsulated in plastic,
they are protected from the moist, vibrating operating
environment of this equipment.All of this is accomplished
while also reducing the amount of plastic used in the
final assembly which reduces the carbon footprint.”
“Nissha has proven itself as a leading Tier 1
manufacturer of high quality solutions over many years,”
said Jussi Harvela, CEO of TactoTek, “we are very
pleased that Nissha has confirmed our IMSE leadership
by selecting TactoTek as their partner, and we look
forward to combining the expertise of both companies to
deliver superior solutions to OEMs and improving user
experiences for consumers.”
ROHM Semiconductor at SPS 2016:
Arduino Shield for Easier and Faster Stepper
Motor Driver Designs
At SPS in Nuremberg from November 22-24, 2016, ROHM
Semiconductor presents its new Arduino-based evaluation
kit (EVK) to support the evaluation of its motor driver
devices as well as to enable, facilitate and accelerate
customers’ developments (Hall 1 – Booth 320). Designed
as a ‘shield’ to plug directly into the Arduino main board,
this EVK integrates a ROHM’s HTSSOP-B28 packaged
stepper motor drive IC and complements ROHM’s support
ecosystem, allowing engineers to rapidly prototype their
stepper motor systems.
The global stepper motor market is expected to grow
dramatically over the next few years. Known for their
accuracy, excellent response and reliability motor driver
ICs are easy to control and open up many design options.
However, engineers have to consider various aspects
such as speed, vibration, performance optimization and
the choice of the devices and support tools is critical to
both, application success and speed of development.
Arduino is a widely used open-source platform. The new
EVK comes in 15 different variants for ROHM’s stepper
motor driver ICs– from standard, micro step, low voltage to
high voltage. This comprehensive solution covers supply
voltages from 8V to 42V, enables up to 2.5A per phase, as
well as micro-stepping and single- or multi-phase control
of one or two stepper motors. It is ideally suited to drive
bipolar stepper motors available in a wide range of supply
voltages and current capabilities. It drives with CLK-IN
or PARA-IN variants and provides high efficiency, easier
power control and comprehensive protection functionalities
in a robust and compact design, enabling accurate fine-
tuning of the motor performances. Moreover, the EVK is
designed to be stackable so that a second shield can be
added on top to drive two motors.
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