Printed Circuit Boards and CO2 Sensors

Printed Circuit Boards and Mounting Components

Miyama Giken Co., Ltd.  View Company Info

Miyama Giken, a company manufacturing printed circuit boards in Tokyo, has been able to realize detailed consulting for clients and a shortened delivery time by doing everything from the start, all the way to the mounting process, all in-house. They have also taken on the new project of developing CO2 sensors within the company, a move that stems from the characteristically Japanese business philosophy of prioritizing the customer’s needs, as well as the growth and expansion that comes from creativity not bound to existing values.

Printed Circuit Boards and CO2 Sensors: Convenience and Speed through Integrated Manufacturing

IMG_1416Miyama Giken, a company manufacturing printed circuit boards in Tokyo, has been able to realize detailed consulting for clients and a shortened delivery time by doing everything from the start, all the way to the mounting process, all in-house. They have also taken on the new project of developing CO2 sensors within the company, a move that stems from the characteristically Japanese business philosophy of prioritizing the customer’s needs, as well as the growth and expansion that comes from creativity not bound to existing values.

 

Pushing the Envelop: From Circuit Board Manufacturing to Mounting

Printed circuit boards are the essential parts that are used in a wide variety of machines and precision equipment requiring electrical circuitry, from day-to-day items like cell phones and computers, to power plant systems, all the way to space rockets. With a construction consisting of electrical circuits being laid out over materials such as resin, it is the basis for the transmission of electrical signals. Printed Circuit Board manufacturing of small amounts with a large variety is the main business of Miyama Giken. The company mostly provides manufacturing services geared towards prototyping for clients.

The factor that distinguishes this company in such a wide field as circuit board manufacturing is their ability to complete all processes after manufacturing, including mounting, within the company. Circuit boards only 2013become functional within a machine after the mounting of electrical components are complete. Usually, the manufacturing and mounting are done by two different parties, and the client brings in the boards purchased from the manufacturer to the next company to request the mounting process.

After rising to President of the company in 2009, Norio Okubo made the bold decision of incorporating the mounting process into the company’s business. This proposal was born of a vision for this company of over thirty years to survive in an industry where competitions with other businesses in Asia have been becoming more and more extreme.

Conventionally, the client determines what materials and specifications are used in the board construction. Recently, however, the company has taken the consulting role more often due to an increase in clients with less knowledge on the subject. Okubo saw an opportunity in this situation. If design, manufacturing, and mounting were all taken care of in-house, the benefits for clients without expertise in circuit boards would be tremendous. However, because it was very rare for a circuit board manufacturer to also have a line for mounting, Okubo met strong opposition from his father, the previous president, as well as from others in the field. However, Okubo pushed through the naysayers, and was able to start mounting in his plant following a five-year investment plan to update it.

 

The Benefit of Integrated Design, Manufacturing, and Mounting

While the company experienced a slow first two years, the effects of word of mouth slowly started to make themselves clear. Aside from quicker deliver times, having a construction process with the mounting already in mind M1drove prices down, making the company more competitive. Okubo says that he approaches consulting to clients with the mindset that supplying technology is also part of the service. Conventional circuit board manufacturers are not too keen on giving out detailed information on their technology to clients.

However, at Miyama Giken, clients receive a detailed explanation on design, manufacturing, and mounting; a proposal of the optimal choice is offered only after extensive dialogue with the client has been established. “Sharing information and jointly developing products while strongly connecting with the client is what brings the biggest benefit to all of us” says Okubo. For the client, the benefits are the quicker delivery times and lower costs. Miyama Giken gains valuable feedback from clients, and this in turn is implemented to further improve quality.

 

 

In-house Development of the CO2 Sensor

Miyama Giken also has another key product: the CO2 sensor. Okubo was inspired to develop this product after frequently seeing talks in the news about cutting CO2 levels. These CO2 sensors are used in a variety of fields, such as measuring the CO2 concentration within a building, monitoring the air pollution within cars, and predicting CO2 concentrations in vegetable factories. However, the IMG_1062analog sensors that are mainstream on the market are only capable of measuring, and users had to add a circuit board in order to display and record values.

Okubo developed a sensor that is a lot more user-friendly, and has since received his patent. The resulting sensor is of a type called a nondispersive infrared sensor (NDIR) and measures the amount of CO2 in the space between the device irradiating infrared light and the sensor’s receptor by measuring the amount of infrared light allowed in. Conventional analog sensors had receptor surfaces that were ten centimeter rectangles with a small surface area, and therefore lacked precision. The sensors developed by Miyama Giken, on the other hand, feature a spiral-like shape which results in a longer receptor surface. The resulting extreme increase in surface area accounts for the improved accuracy.

 

 

Creating Demand through Added Values

Sensors of the past had to be recalibrated regularly, but Miyama Giken’s sensors are equipped with digital microcomputers and can make automatic adjustments. The sensors also feature an alarm. There are three colored lamps of blue, yellow, and red which, after being set to represent values of the user’s choice, will give off a warning for safe, cautionary, and hazardous levels of CO2. The sensor can be set from 500ppm to 8000ppm; even the maximum value is sixty percent higher than the common value of 5000ppm for most sensors.

Because these sensors are equipped with sensors, they can record values once every ten seconds, right out of the box. The standard memory is enough to have two years worth of measurements saved. To increase the recordable time, additional memory can be purchased. The data can be exported via USB for possible analysis with a computer.

The fully integrated, in-house manufacturing makes for fast delivery times. If in stock, the product can be delivered to clients anywhere in Japan within 5 days. Even if out of stock, the product will still be delivered in about 2 weeks.

 

Risky Decisions: The Innovation of Japanese Small to Medium Enterprises

Okubo operates under a single mission. This mission is to spark innovation and to create and supply a product of value that cannot be replicated by competitors. “Product development entails risk. I see an increased number of large companies that fear taking risks. I believe that small to medium businesses, through their flexibility and agility in these situations, will be the ones that change the future of Japan through its innovations.”

Miyama Giken Co., Ltd.

Business Description: Manufacturing of Printed Circuit Boards and
Mounting Components
Head Office: 664-2 Sanyumachi Hachioji, Tokyo Japan 192-0012
President & CEO: Norio Ookubo
Established: 1978
Number of employees: 12
Sales (Results of fiscal 2012): 280million
Website: www.miyamagiken.co.jp