Process Technology Research
With the aim of enhancing our production capabilities, we are implementing a range of technical developments that leverage our technologies, including refining and solidification, plastic working, measurement and control, as well as analysis and evaluation.
Particularly in the field of specialty steel, we are advancing research under a close internal collaboration system that leverages integrated process and system technologies ranging from melting to processing and product assurance.
Development Case
Steelmaking Process (Refining and Solidification)
We possess experimental melting furnaces of various sizes, enabling us to conduct experiments that reproduce refining and solidification phenomena.
We are combining experimental results with a simulation technology to create new manufacturing processes that have fewer defects, such as inclusions and segregation.
Spray Process (Alloy Powder)
Metal powders with a high level of sphericity can be produced by spraying high-pressure gas onto molten steel to pulverize it.
In addition, process control allows us to produce metal powders with different chemical compositions and particle sizes suitable for various industrial uses.
Processing (Plastic Working/Cutting)
The use of process modeling to replicate processes using real production machines allowed us to predict the microstructure and mechanical properties of materials in advance, and this led to the creation of a new technology for designing processes to achieve the desired product characteristics.
Heat Treatment
Fluid analysis simulation predicts the flow of cooling water around the material and calculates precise temperature changes, enabling efficient process design and quality improvement, thus significantly accelerating product development speed.
In addition, this enables the identification of optimal heat treatment conditions while saving experimental time and costs, leading to the creation of innovative products.
Additive Manufacturing
We conduct property evaluations of additive manufactured (AM) objects made by the 3D printer (AM) using powder and wire materials.
It is possible to evaluate the characteristics of AM objects using the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED) methods.
Inspection Process
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Inspection process
We develop non-destructive inspection and visual inspection technologies to enhance the efficiency and labor-saving capabilities of inspection processes. -
Instrumentation system
We measure products with various shapes using lasers and imaging technologies,
contributing to the optimization of manufacturing processes.