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Home | Investors | Financial information | Annual Report 2006

Annual Report 2006

Research and Development

High value-added products are crucial to NSK’s growth, and the development of these products is identified as a key strategy in the mid-term plan. NSK is ready to meet product development expectations by continuing to build extensive resources of advanced technology in its core areas, and by further expanding its research and development organization.

Industrial Machinery Bearings

[Major R&D Achievements in Fiscal 2005]

Commercialization of tapered roller bearing with an aligning ring for continuous casting machines
Commercialization of low-friction suction motor bearings that contribute towards greater energy conservation
Commercialization of industrial motor bearings prepacked with newly developed grease which extends bearing service life
Development of long life ball bearing for traction motor of railway rolling stocks
Mass production of newly improved clean ball bearings for vacuum and clean environments
ELCOMP Bearing™ series for screw compressors
New series of fine-lube oil-air lubrication unit for machine tool spindle bearings

NSK applies decades of experience in advanced field technology and product development systems to supply high-performance products for a wide range of industrial purposes throughout the world. For example, NSK’s comprehensive technology development capabilities have allowed it to make an important contribution to the steel industry, an area in which demand has remained consistently strong.

As concern about global warming increases, there is growing interest in wind-power generation as a new growth industry. NSK supplies a variety of products that contribute to environmental protection in this area, including wind turbine bearings designed to meet demanding reliability, durability and economic performance requirements.

Automotive Products

[Major R&D Achievements in Fiscal 2005]

Commercialization of high-performance Ball-Key-Slider™ for the intermediate shaft of steering systems
Development of high speed thrust needle bearing
Development of multi-sensor Hub Unit with cornering force detection
Development of the world’s highest maximum power output column-type EPS (Rack Force of 12,000 N)
Commercialization of high-rigidity hydroformed steering column
Commercialization of electric power steering system that limits vibrations transmitted to the steering wheel by active vibration control
Commercialization of high-performance steering Joint—the EXCEOST Joint™

NSK has developed an extensive line-up of products to support the basic automotive functions of driving, steering and braking. As a leading world-class manufacturer in this area, it continues to supply high-performance, high-quality automotive products, including bearings, electric power steering (EPS) systems, automatic transmission parts and steering columns.

A steering system is a vital human-machine interface used to convey the driver’s intentions accurately to the wheels and feed back accurate information about the road surface. NSK supplies advanced steering products that combine superb drivability, comfort and safety with improved fuel efficiency and consideration for the environment.

Precision Machinery and Parts

[Major R&D Achievements in Fiscal 2005]

Commercialization of HFC-SRC ball screw for High-Speed and Heavy-Load applications
Commercialization of SPACEA™ vacuum and clean environment series products that are ball screws, linear guides, and rolling bearings with E-DFO thin-film lubrication
Commercialization of the V1 series ball screw for contaminated environments
Commercialization of environmentally sound ball screw and linear guides with chromium-free surface treatment
Linear Guide series for foods and medical equipment

Today’s increasingly sophisticated machinery industries depend on advanced technology to meet exacting standards of precision, efficiency and energy savings. NSK uses super-precise positioning technology and mechatronics technology to create precision machinery and parts. We supply them worldwide for use in advanced fields ranging from machine tools to LCDs, semiconductors and medical equipment.

Tribology
Lubrication is vitally important to bearings, which must support parts that are subjected to rotational and linear motion. Bearings have been at the heart of NSK’s business activities ever since its establishment in 1916. Tribology, the science of lubrication, has remained a constant priority. Advances in this area, including improved grease formulations and surface processing methods, have allowed NSK to develop faster, quieter and more durable bearings capable of sustaining heavier loads.

Material Engineering
NSK is actively working to develop the enhanced material technology needed to improve the functionality and durability of bearings used in extreme environments. Research in this area focuses on four aspects: material design, heat treatment, performance evaluation, and analytical evaluation. Innovative core technologies resulting from this work are used in the development of new products with improved durability and functionality. This field of research also produces improved ways to evaluate and analyze the materials used in products.

Analysis Technology
Another priority for NSK is the development of improved analysis technology. This technology helps NSK to create the product designs and production systems used to manufacture its extremely reliable products. To accelerate product development, computer simulations are extensively used to assess products operating under extreme conditions that are difficult to duplicate in tests using actual equipment.

Mechatronics
NSK has used technology from its product development and manufacturing activities to create innovative mechatronics technology based on the fusion of mechanics and electronics. Key advances in this field include technology for high-performance motors, control technology, highly precise sensing technology, mounting technology for applications requiring high temperatures, high densities and high reliability, and technology for Bio- MEMS (biomedical microelectromechanical systems).

NSK Asia Pacific Technology Centre
(Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Corporate R&D OrganizationNSK has research and development facilities in many parts of the world, but its research and development hub is the Fujisawa Research and Development Center in Kanagawa Prefecture. In addition to the development of new products, including bearings, automotive components, precision machinery and parts, the Center is also working to develop basic technologies used in all products. The new Mechatronics Research and Development Center, which was completed in 2005, develops new products by combining mechanical technology created through decades of effort by NSK with electronic technology, including technologies related to motors, sensors and control systems.

Overseas, NSK has established technology centers in North America (Michigan), Europe (the U.K.) and Asia (Korea and China). It has also opened a new development facility in Thailand in response to rapid market expansion in the ASEAN region.

Intellectual PropertyWe are strengthening our patent framework to ensure that new products based on original technologies created through these research and development activities can contribute fully to business earnings. For several years, we have been working to expand our patent application activities, and in fiscal 2005 NSK again ranked first in its core field of mechanical components, with approximately 1,600 patent applications filed and 1,400 published. Our efforts are not limited to quantitative growth in the number of patent applications. We are also working steadily toward qualitative improvement in collaboration with technical departments. As a result, our current total stands at 1,071 Japanese patents and 1,794 in other countries combined. These important management resources are being used effectively to develop NSK’s global business activities. An even more important area of intellectual property is the operation of the NSK brand. We are working to maintain and enhance the reputation of this brand through group-level efforts, in cooperation with official agencies, to eliminate the counterfeit products that have proliferated overseas in recent years.


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