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What Is a Pump?

A pump is a device that uses the action of pressure to pump or deliver a gas or liquid.

Applications include pumping from a lower position to a higher position, converting low pressure to high pressure, and converting or releasing mechanical energy.

Examples include:

• Pumping groundwater to use above ground
• Pumping pond water and releasing it into a fire
• Pumping compressed air into a cylinder to push things out

How a Pump Works

There is atmospheric pressure on the earth, which is always standard 1,013 hPa at ground level (0 m above sea level). This state is called 1 atmospheric pressure, and the state in which the pressure inside a container falls below 1 atmospheric pressure is called negative pressure.

Since fluid has the property of flowing from higher pressure to lower pressure, by creating negative pressure in the pump, fluid under atmospheric pressure is drawn into the pump. The fluid in the pump is sucked in and pushed out to create pressure, and when the pressure exceeds 1,013 hPa, the fluid is pumped to a location higher than ground level or converted into mechanical energy.

In the case of vane pumps used in hydraulic systems, fluid in the pump is forced out through the discharge port as the vane, which is directly connected to the motor, rotates in the enclosed pump head. As the fluid is pushed out, a vacuum is created inside the pump, creating a negative pressure.

When negative pressure is generated, the fluid in the tank is sucked into the pump through the feed port and pushed out again, creating pressure.

Types of Pumps

There are several ways to divide pump types, but the major types are by structure or by application.

1. Structure Type

Vane Pump
A radial impeller called a vane is rotated to create suction and discharge.

Centrifugal Pump
Rotates a spiral-shaped impeller to suction and discharge.

Gear Pump
Two gears are meshed together and rotate each other to perform suction and discharge.

Piston Pump
Suction and discharge are performed by reciprocating a piston.

2. Types Of Applications

Submersible Pump
Submersible pumps are waterproof and used in tanks.

High-Pressure Pump
Produces extremely high pressure and is used for pumping to high places, washing machines, etc.

Vacuum Pump
These pumps are used to create a vacuum and are used to collect liquids and reduce pressure.

What Is a Motor?

A motor is an electrical device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.

Generally, motors output rotational motion by utilizing the force generated by the interaction between a magnetic field and an electric current – known as the Lorentz force.

A motor consists of a rotor, which has a rotating shaft, a stator, which rotates the rotor, a bearing, which supports the rotating shaft, and a cooling system, which cools the heat generated by the losses. The part of the rotor and stator that generates the magnetic field is called the field magnet, and the part that interacts with the field magnet and generates the magnetic field to obtain torque is called the armature.

Linear motors, as well as other variations of linear motors, are also available.

Motor Mechanism

The following is an explanation of the most basic brushed DC motor mechanism.

First, a coil is placed in a magnetic field between the S and N poles. The current flowing through the coil generates a magnetic field in the coil, which repels one pole and attracts the other pole, causing the coil to rotate. By reversing the current flowing through the coil during rotation, the forces of repulsion and attraction are interchanged, and rotation is sustained.

There is an element called a commutator in the motor, and when the commutator hits the brushes, power is supplied from the brushes. The commutator rotates with the shaft, and the position where the commutator contacts the brush moves with the rotation. The direction of the electric current changes as the position of the commutator changes.

The basic structure of a simple DC motor consists of a coiled wire, brushes, and commutator fixed to the rotating shaft within the magnetic field of a magnet. The commutator is the part that switches the contact/non-contact between the power source and the coil. The brush is responsible for bringing the commutator into contact with the power supply. When a DC current is applied to the coil, the Lorentz force acts according to the direction of the current and the coil begins to rotate.

However, when the coil rotates 180 degrees and the left and right sides are reversed, rotation stops and a commutator is required. The commutator suspends contact between the coil and the power supply when the coil has rotated 90 degrees. In this state, the coil continues to rotate by inertia, and the next time the commutator contacts the power supply, the Lorentz force again acts in the direction of coil rotation.

Classification of Motors

Motors are classified by drive power supply into two types: DC (direct current) and AC (alternating current). In addition, motors are classified by structure and principle as follows: 

1. DC Motors

DC motors are capable of high-speed rotation of 30,000~40,000 rpm and have high torque.

• Brushed Motors
  Brushed motors are the most common type of motor. The current is switched by sequentially bringing the brushes, which are electrodes on the stator side, into contact with the commutator on the armature side, thereby causing the motor to rotate.
• Brushless Motor
  Brushless motors do not use brushes and commutators. The current is switched electrically using a switching function with a transistor, etc. (Application example: CD player).
• Stepping Motor
  A stepping motor operates using pulsed electric power and are also called a pulse motor. They are characterized by its ability to easily perform accurate positioning operations. (Application example: Printer)

2. AC Motor

Also called induction motors, AC motors are motors that rotate on an AC power source. A coil that generates a magnetic field around an aluminum disk is prepared, and an alternating current is used to rotate the aluminum disk. An inverter is used to control the speed of the AC motor, allowing smooth acceleration from low speeds and speed control at will.

• Induction Motor
  AC generates a rotating magnetic field in the stator and an induced current in the rotor. Rotation is caused by this action.
• Synchronous Motor
  Rotation occurs when the rotor with magnetic poles is attracted and followed by the rotating magnetic field created by the alternating current. The speed of rotation is synchronized with the power supply frequency.

What Is Testing Equipment?

Testing equipment is a generic term for equipment used to examine material properties such as strength and hardness, and to verify the performance of products that have been developed and designed.

Since testing equipment provide experiments and confirmations, they are used for processes that do not create added value, but they are definitely important for companies to confirm the durability of products or to obtain data for development and design.

Difference Between Testing Equipment and Testing Instruments

1. Testing Machine

A testing machine is a piece of equipment used for experimentation and verification. It incorporates complex mechanisms, devices, etc., and requires programming and operation. 

2. Testing Equipment

Testing equipment refers specifically to the tools and instruments used for experiments and checks.

Types of Testing Equipment

Types of testing equipment can be broadly classified into two categories:

• Material testing equipment, to examine material properties such as strength and hardness of materials
• Performance testing equipment, to examine performance such as output and fuel consumption of products.

1. Material Testing Equipment

Material testing machines include the following:

• Tensile Testing Machines
  Tensile testing machines pull materials to examine its tension, yield point, breaking point, etc.
• Compression Testing Machine
  Compression testing machines are used to examine stress and strain by crushing and breaking materials.
• Bending Tester
  A bending tester is used to examine the strength and deformation of a material by applying force to it and bending it until it is deformed.
• Torsion Testing Machine
  A torsion testing machine examines the torque at which deformation occurs and the number of revolutions until the material breaks by twisting it while holding both ends of the material.

2. Performance Tester

Depending on the product, a variety of performance testers can have a variety of items to examine.

The following is an example of an automobile performance tester:

• Output Tester
  An output tester measures the output of an engine or motor. This is an important test that is greatly related to the performance of a car in terms of speed and load capacity.
• Emission and Fuel Consumption Tester
  An emission and fuel consumption tester is used to measure emissions during operation and fuel consumption. The fuel efficiency test measures fuel efficiency according to the situation, such as maximum fuel efficiency and fuel efficiency in city driving.
• Noise Measurement Tester
  A noise measurement tester is used to measure driving noise. There are two types of tests: one examines the noise produced by the vehicle itself, such as engine revolutions and exhaust noise, and the other examines differences in noise levels caused by road surface conditions and different types of tires.

What Are Sensors?

Sensors are devices that detect various types of physical quantities or concentrations of substances.

Also called detectors, sensors are incorporated into all kinds of electronic devices and play a role equivalent to that of sensory organs such as the eyes, ears, and nose. They are used not only to detect the object in real-time, but also to determine the next action of the device or to stop the device from operating for safety reasons.

Sensors convert physical information, such as light and heat, into electrical information, which can be incorporated into electrical circuits to enable automatic operation of electrical equipment.

For example, a temperature sensor is installed in an air conditioner. When the air conditioner is set to a certain temperature, the temperature sensor inside the air conditioner detects the temperature. This information is then transmitted to a microcomputer, which operates the air conditioner so that the indoor temperature equals the set temperature.

How Sensors Work

Temperature Sensors are devices that sense temperature and activate a contact point or change electrical resistance. A device that activates its contacts depending on the temperature is a temperature sensor called a thermostat. Two types of metal plates with different thermal expansion are laminated together, and when a temperature change occurs, the metal plates are disengaged.

A device that changes electrical resistance is a temperature sensor called a thermistor. Thermistors have the characteristic that their electrical resistance changes significantly even with slight changes in temperature. Therefore, for example, when used in heating equipment, fine control is possible, such as gradually reducing the output as the room temperature rises.

Types of Sensors

Sensors can detect heat, pressure, sound, light, distance, flow rate, etc. There are different types of sensors depending on the object to be measured, and the principle of measurement is also different.

For example, smartphones are equipped with a variety of sensors. Touchscreens are equipped with sensors that detect finger contact and movement, and cameras have sensors that detect light and convert it into images. Communication with an AI assistant is made through the microphone, which is also a sensor that detects sound.

In recent years, the rapid proliferation of IoT has led to more and more people adopting smart homes and other devices. For example, when a smart home detects the approach of a person and turns on a light, it uses infrared-based motion sensors to detect the approach of the person.

For example, when a sensor is used to turn on the air conditioner when a person approaches home, the GPS sensor is used to detect the location of the person.

Control of temperature and humidity is important to achieve a comfortable living space, and temperature and humidity sensors are also used here.

Sensors can be categorized according to the five human senses. 　

• Eye (Sight)
  Optical Sensors (Photodiodes, CCD, CMOS, etc.) 　
• Ear (Hearing)
  Sound Sensors (piezoelectric elements, condenser microphones, etc.) 　
• Skin (Touch)
  Temperature Sensors (Thermocouples, Thermistors, etc.), Pressure Sensors (Diaphragms, Semiconductor Pressure Sensors, etc.)
• Nose (Smell)
  Smell sensors (semiconductor gas sensors, bio-chemical elements)
• Tongue (Taste)
  Taste Sensors (PH Sensors, Particle Sensors)

Since there are so many different types of sensors, it is important to carefully consider what to detect and select the appropriate one for your purpose.

What Is a Heat Source?

A heat source is a source that generates or absorbs heat and supplies it to another source. It can refer not only to heaters, but also to facilities and equipment that supply heat for heating, cooling, and hot water supply.

Types of Heat Sources

Heat sources generate heat using electricity, gas, or fuel. The most common of these methods uses electricity to generate heat. There are several types of heat sources, such as resistance heating that uses the heat generated when an electric current is applied to a metal (Joule heat), induction heating that uses the magnetic field generated by a heating coil with an alternating current, microwave heating and infrared heating that use the frictional heat generated by the vibration of molecules caused by electromagnetic waves, and so forth, which are used according to the heating target and application. They are used in different ways depending on the heating target and application.

In resistance heating, which is the most widely used method, the basic heat source is the sheath heater. The electric heating wire is covered with a metal sheath, which is used in many products for both home and industrial use. Because they are easy to bend and surface process, sheathed heaters are incorporated into a variety of heat sources with different shapes and uses.

Examples include flange heaters, cast heaters, circulation heaters, and micro heaters. Other examples of heat sources using resistance heating include thin film heaters, plate heaters, rubber heaters, and tube heaters with these heaters wrapped around tubes.

Heat sources using the infrared heating principle include lamp heaters and line heaters. They are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, machine materials, and resin materials, as well as in the drying of food products and printed matter, because they can heat objects without contact using electromagnetic waves in the near-infrared to far-infrared range.

Types of Heat Source Facilities

Heat source facilities are responsible for generating the heat necessary for heat exchange in the air conditioning and hot water supply systems of buildings, factories, and other facilities. Boilers are heat source facilities that supply steam and hot water by burning fuels. In addition to general hot water boilers that use fossil fuels, there are biomass boilers that use industrial waste such as wood chips as fuel. Heat pumps, which use electricity to transfer heat extracted from low-temperature materials to high-temperature materials, are also widely used.

What Is a Fixture?

A fixture is generally an auxiliary tool used to improve work efficiency in the process of processing and manufacturing.

A fixture is used to hold a workpiece to be machined or to guide a cutting tool, such as a drill or end mill, into position when machining.

A fixture is called a jig when it is used to more precisely and efficiently manufacture or measure relatively anything that assists in adapting the workpiece to be machined or the part to be machined.

Types of Fixtures

There are three main types of fixtures:

1. Those for Efficient Production of Parts
   These include paint making fixtures and fixtures for specifically fixing.
2. Those Used During Product Assembly
   Caulking fixtures, ultrasonic welding fixtures, etc.
3. Inspection Fixtures and Measurement Fixtures Used for Inspection
   Special fixtures are sometimes made when a surface plate cannot be applied for dimensional measurement from a measurement standard.

Examples of Fixtures

Two examples commonly used to improve production efficiency are:

1. In product assembly, for example, when fixing a small switch with double-sided adhesive tape to a semi-finished product by bonding, the jig is used to guide the switch so that it is bonded at a fixed vertical and horizontal position on a flat surface.
2. When semi-liquid adhesives are used for bonding, a spring mechanism like a clothespin is used to apply a certain amount of pressure to the bonding surface for a while.

What Is a Storage Device?

A storage device is a component of a computer that stores general information and instructions.

Examples include hard disks, floppy disks, CDs, and memory drives. Storage devices are broadly classified into two main categories: main storage devices and auxiliary storage devices. Main storage devices are those that directly exchange data with the CPU, such as memory. Auxiliary storage devices are devices that exchange data indirectly with the CPU, such as hard disk drives (HDDs).

Types of Storage Devices

There are two types of main storage devices: non-volatile memory and volatile memory.

ROM, which is read-only, falls into the former category, while RAM, which is read-write, falls into the latter.

ROM is typically classified into two types: NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory. There are three main types of ROM media: USB memory, SD memory cards, and SSDs.

Other ROMs include mask ROM whose written contents cannot be changed, PROM that can be written only once, EPROM whose memory contents can be erased and rewritten by UV irradiation, and EEPROM whose memory contents can be erased and rewritten by applying high voltage. EEPROMs can be erased and rewritten by applying high voltage.

Storage Device Technology and Mechanism

There are two types of storage device access methods: random access and sequential access. The former is digital and can access any location, while the latter is a sequential access method like magnetic tape.

Classifications of storage device media include semiconductor, magnetic, optical, and paper. For example, HDD, floppy disks and magnetic tapes are typical for magnetic type, while for optical type, there are read-only ROM type for CD, DVD and BD, R type that can be written only once and RW type that can be rewritten as many times as necessary.

What Is Purification Equipment?

Purification equipment is a generic term for equipment that removes contaminants from objects to make them clean and sanitary.

There are many variations depending on the object to be purified, but the most common types of water and air purification equipment are shown here.

Types of Water Purification Equipment

There are two types of water purification equipment: those used to treat water for human use and those used to treat wastewater after it has been used.

Water treatment technologies are classified into four categories: physical methods, such as filtration; physicochemical methods, which use the principles of ion exchange and osmosis; chemical methods, which use the principles of neutralization and oxidation-reduction; and biological methods, which use microorganisms and plants.

While some equipment uses a single treatment technology, such as circulating filtration systems, seawater filtration systems, neutralization systems, and reverse osmosis membrane water purifiers (RO systems), water treatment plants and wastewater treatment systems usually use a combination of several technologies. Since the technology applied varies depending on the nature of the water to be purified, the most efficient treatment process is generally adopted, taking into account the cost of each technology.

Types of Air Purification Equipment

Air purification technologies include physical methods using filters such as ULPA and HEPA, electrostatic precipitators, fume collectors, and wet dust collectors, chemical methods using catalysts such as SELFEEL, and biological methods using ultraviolet light and ozone.

Exhaust gas treatment equipment often consists of a combination of several technologies, and the appropriate method must be selected according to the nature and purpose of the air to be purified.

Clean rooms are used to maintain extremely high air cleanliness in semiconductor and food manufacturing sites and medical facilities. There are industrial clean rooms and biological clean rooms, each of which controls the dust and bacteria count in the air, temperature, humidity, and room pressure in accordance with international standards.

In most cases, air showers and air curtains are installed at the entrances to remove foreign matter from the clothing of those entering the room.

What Are Optical Components?

An optical component is a generic term for components of optical devices that utilize the properties of light. They are also called optical elements.

Types of Optical Components

Basic optical components include lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms.

1. Lenses

Lenses are optical components that focus or diverge light. They come in various shapes with different functions and are classified into spherical lenses, aspherical lenses, distributed refractive index lenses, and specially shaped lenses such as rod lenses. Fresnel lenses in the form of thin sheets, lenticular lenses with lenses arranged on a flat surface, and fly-eye lenses are also used in a wide range of fields.

2. Mirrors

Mirrors are optical components that reflect light and can be classified into flat mirrors, spherical mirrors, and free-form mirrors. In addition to shape, performance such as reflectance varies greatly depending on the coating type, such as metal film or derivative film.

3. Filters

Filters are optical components that reflect or absorb light and transmit only specific light. There are ND filters that adjust the amount of light, colored glass filters that absorb specific wavelengths, and polarization filters that transmit only specific polarization.

4. Prisms

Prisms are optical components that reflect or disperse light according to wavelength, such as 45° right angle prisms, wedge prisms, corner cubes, and retro-reflectors. Since prisms also function as lenses and mirrors, they are sometimes used as substitutes for them.

Other typical optical components include beamsplitters, polarizers, optical modulators, and diffraction gratings.

Applications of Optical Components

Optical components are used in optical devices in a variety of fields. Examples include displays, projectors, cameras and other imaging equipment, telescopes, microscopes and other observation equipment, millimeter wave radars, spectrometers and other measurement equipment, CDs, DVDs and other storage devices, light bulbs, LEDs and other lighting equipment, optical fibers, etc.

Many optical components have application-specific names, such as LED lenses and CCTV lenses. There are also a number of optical components for which application-specific names are used, such as LED lenses and CCTV lenses.

What Are Polymeric Materials?

A polymeric material is a material composed of a compound with a molecular weight exceeding 10,000, defined as a polymeric compound. There is no clear standard for the molecular weight of a polymer.

Polymeric materials are made from low-molecular-weight monomers through a reaction (polymerization) to form polymers, and are also called polymers in the sense that they are compounds of many monomers.

Types of Polymeric Materials

There are three types of polymeric materials: natural polymers, existing man-made materials, and synthetic polymers. Polymeric materials are commonly referred to as synthetic polymers.

Synthetic polymers include polyethylene, polypropylene, styrenics, polyvinyl chloride, PET fiber, nylon fiber, engineering plastics, polyurethane, epoxy resin, acrylic resin, fluoropolymers, and specialty synthetic rubbers.

Characteristics of Polymeric Materials

Polymeric materials (synthetic polymers) are characterized by processability, light weight, and strength.

1. Processability

Compared to metals and glass, polymers can be melted at relatively low temperatures (100-200℃), dissolved in solvents, and fluid in the raw or semi-fluid state, making them easy to process during molding.

2. Lightweight

In general, specific gravity is around 1 to 1.5. The specific gravity of polyethylene and polypropylene is 0.90 to 0.97, and some materials are less than 1. The specific gravities of steel and aluminum are 7.8 and 2.7, respectively, indicating that polymeric materials are lightweight. The specific gravity of polymeric materials can exceed 2 when fillers are added to give them strength, but when they are made into foam products, the specific gravity is 0.1, etc. The weight can be varied by changing the formulation and manufacturing process according to the application.

3. Strength

There are several indicators of strength, but we will use tensile strength as an example here. Polymeric materials themselves, such as plastics and rubbers, are not as strong as metals and glass.

However, by adding fillers such as glass and carbon fibers, it is possible to increase the strength of plastics several times. Plastic materials with low specific gravity can gain strength comparable to metal materials such as steel, and in particular, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, known as FRP, has strength surpassing that of magnesium alloys and duralumin.