EDITOR’S CHOICE
GLOBAL MANUFACTURER
KOYO
A CONTINUOUS INVESTMENT IN
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Koyo is a global manufacturer of bearings
with a long history of producing high quality
products for extreme environments.
A huge part of their success has been a
continuous investment in Research and
Development to look for new products,
technologies and materials that can improve
on existing solutions. They were the first
company to produce viable ceramic bearings
and Koyo were instrumental in developing
the first traction drive – an industry standard
today.
KOYO INVESTS IN MAGNETIC
BEARINGS
Magnetic bearings offer some significant
advantages over traditional bearings such
as very low friction, no mechanical wear,
very high-speed rotation and no maximum
relative speed so it’s easy to see how they
could impact almost every area of the
manufacturing process. There is a trade-off
however as magnetic bearings come with
increased weight, volume, electric power
consumption and system complexity when
compared to traditional bearing solutions.
This makes it particularly hard to see a future
where they are used in aircraft given that
weight and space are at such a premium
but, Koyo is on a journey to ensure magnetic
bearings become an industry standard.
In fact, as a sign of their confidence Koyo
have invested in a new manufacturing facility
dedicated to the design, development and
production of magnetic bearings for high
speed rotation in both medium and large
equipment. The aim is to develop new
products which can be truly useful, reliable
and well tested for every sector.
The product range will focus on the
development of Active Magnetic Bearings
with digital control technology for high-
speed rotation machines with contactless and
lubrication free bearings. By adding active
magnetic bearings to their product range,
Koyo will continue to maintain its position
at the forefront of the industry, increasing
capacity and meeting new demands for
magnetic products.
2ND GENERATION POWER
ASSISTED SUIT SCHEDULED FOR
2019
Since their appearance in the 1986 film
‘Aliens’ Power Assisted Suits have been the
stuff of science fiction but in recent years
significant developments in both materials,
manufacturing and technology have allowed
Koyo’s parent company, JTEKT, to develop
power assisted suits that support the natural
movement of the body during times of high
stress.
It’s a huge task that has the power to
dramatically affect the manufacturing
industry as part of the 4th Industrial
Revolution (or the Internet of Things).
Koyo are proud to be part of a group that’s
researching and developing this type of
solution JTEKT announcing the launch of the
2nd generation Power Assisted Suit: the ‘J-PAS
– Lumbus’.
The suit is primarily designed for applications
in the manufacturing and logistics industries
including aerospace, aviation, automotive and
many more. The second generation improves
on the original design by offering a lighter,
more user-friendly design that supports the
user whilst performing physically demanding
activities.
The new suits are due for initial release in
Spring 2019 and from what we’ve seen,
demand is likely to be high.
www.koyo.co.uk
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PECM Issue 36