IR Minebea's Glossary
Latest Update :
Jul.20, 2010
INDEX
A
"AEO Importer" "AEO Exporter"
"AEO Importer" and "AEO Exporter" are designations under the governmental policy to "expand the preferential treatment system for businesses with respectable compliance records", which is a part of the process of developing a "Japanese version of the AEO Program".
B
Backlight inverters
It is a device to convert direct current electricity and electric power into alternating current electricity and power. A back light inverter is one specialized to light backlight. By developing and producing backlight inverters for applications ranging from 10-inch mobile PCs to larger than 60 inch LCD TVs, Minebea responds to a wide spectrum of needs.
- For more detailed information, please click Back light inverters
Brush DC motors
Brush DC motors are the DC (direct current) motor with brush (a part supplying an electric current through a commutator to a turning armature). These motors are mainly used for driving digital AV equipment and PC peripherals, and for automotive electronic components.
- For more detailed information, please click Brush DC motors
Bushings
Bushings are used in a variety of mechanical moving parts on both rotary and fixed wing aircraft. They are used in helicopters, primarily in the main rotor axes, and in landing gear for fixed wing aircraft. Bushings apply originally-developed Teflon liner to the inside of the bore and edge faces to allow for rotation without the need for lubricating agents.
- For more detailed information, please click Bushings
C
Color wheels
This Color wheel, a component of the DLP® projection system, is used in data projectors, projectors for home theater systems, and rear-projection TV sets. It can work in diverse configuration and optical feature environments in answer to the applications.
- For more detailed information, please click Color wheels
E
Electronic Devices and Components business
Electronic Devices and Components business consists of Hard Disk Drive(HDD) spindle motors, information motors, PC keyboards, electronic devices, speakers, measuring components, and others (precision motors, micro actuators, and others).
F
Fan motors
Fan motors rotate fans to cool the inside of PCs and other office automation (OA) equipment by directing heat outside. Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation manufactures high-end fan motors with Minebea ball bearings, and fan motors with long-life sleeve bearings.
- For more detailed information, please click Fan motors
Fasteners
Fasteners, including bolts, nuts and rivets, are mechanical components used to fasten one object to another.
- For more detailed information, please click Fasteners
Fluid dynamic bearings (FDB)
In a fluid dynamic bearing (FDB), a thin layer of oil or other lubricant is injected between the shaft and sleeve. The structure of the bearing features a rotating shaft, which generates a hydrodynamic force, causing the shaft to rotate. The non-contact construction of this bearing makes it particularly suited for improving rotational accuracy and enhancing quietness and robustness.
- For more detailed information, please click Fluid dynamic bearings (in-house-production parts)
Force sensors
Used in bath scales, various other types of scales, game consoles, home appliances, load sensors, etc., these sensors are sensors for mass production that use strain gages.
- For more detailed information, please click Force sensors
H
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) spindle motors
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) spindle motors are what cause the disks in HDDs to rotate. The precision of these motors determine the capacity and speed of HDDs, making these components critical to HDD performance. Accordingly, these motors must offer superior performance in terms of rotational speed and low Non-Repeatable Run Out (NRRO).
- For more detailed information, please click HDD spindle motors
I
Information motor business
Information motor business consists of fan motors, stepping motors, brush DC motors and vibration motors.
L
Large mechanical parts
Built up from bearings and machined parts, and used in many areas of aircraft assembly joints, these parts allow for significant savings in assembly time and cost for our customers.
- For more detailed information, please click Precision machined parts for aircraft
LCD cluster for automobiles
It is a display for automobiles attached to instruments such as speedmeters in the driver front.
LED backlights
Minebea's lighting devices for fine color liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) for cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) can be classified into front light and back light types, according to types of LCDs. Both types of products comprise white light-emitting diode (LED) chips and transparent plastic panel made from micron-order prisms, boasting outstanding brightness and performance.
- For more detailed information, please click Lighting devices for LCDs
Load cells
Minebea manufactures load cells that use strain gage to convert tension, compression or mass into electric signals. Load cells, connected to various measuring devices for measuring purposes, display, record, control and keep track of the loads.
Applications are diverse varying from small sensors for use in electronic scales, bath scales, game consoles and home electronics to those for general industrial uses, such as truck scales, measuring systems in production lines and tank scales.
- For more detailed information, please click Load cells
M
Machine tool bearings
These bearings are used primarily in machine tools, which demand bearings made with materials and structures that deliver outstanding durability and resistance to heat.
- For more detailed information, please click Machine tool bearings
Machined Components business
Machined Components business consists of miniature and small sized ball bearings, rod-end and spherical bearings, pivot assemblies for Hard Disk Drives and other machined components.
Magnetic clutches and brakes
Magnetic clutches use electric magnets produced to lock or unlock the engine and the transmission input shaft, facilitating or terminating the flow of power. Magnetic brakes use electric magnets to accelerate, decelerate or stop rotation.
- For more detailed information, please click Magnetic clutches and brakes
Medium- and large-sized ball bearings for aerospace use
These bearings are used in aircraft applications, which demand superior durability. Accordingly, these bearings have greater number of balls and are manufactured with more high-durability materials than small ball bearings.
- For more detailed information, please click Medium- and large-sized ball bearings for aerospace use
Medium-term Business Plan (from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2013)
Minebea had disclosed the Medium-Term Business Plan on May 7, 2010. Please find details following related page.
Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation
Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation was founded by integration of Minebea Co., Ltd. and four operations of Motor Company of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (Currently, Motor Companiy of Panasonic Corporation) including fan motors, stepping motors, vibration motors and DC brush motors in April 2004. (The company name has been changed to Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation from Minebea-Matsushita Motor Corporation since July 2007.)
- For more detailed information, please click Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation
Miniature & small sized ball bearings
Ball bearings are machinery components, which comprise an outer ring, inner ring, balls, retainers, shields and snap rings. Miniature and small-sized ball bearings mean ball bearings, up to 30mm in external diameter. Essential to high-precision rotary components, ball bearings determine rotational accuracy.
- For more detailed information, please click Miniature & small sized ball bearings
N
National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap)
Nadcap is a quality assurance, special process auditing and certification system developed in 1990 by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), a certifying organization operated by and for major aircraft and aircraft-engine manufacturers. At present, it is the world's only unified certification program in the aerospace field, and its certification is necessary in order to manufacture aerospace products requiring special processes.
New manufacturing machines for miniature ball bearings
The processing machine specialized for miniature ball bearings developed by Minebea. The new machine is downsized making it possible to set three machines in the same space of two normal size machines thus contributes to the increased production efficiency.
O
Other machined components business
Other machined components business consists of fasteners, magnetic clutches and brakes, and others.
- For more detailed information, please click Machined Components
P
Perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR)
A method to arrange magnetic substances so that magnetic field may vertically turn to magnetic record side. Adopting this method in the hard disk drive made its large capacity recording possible with stability and high density.
Pivot assemblies
Pivot assemblies are fitted into the base of actuators to position HDD magnetic heads. This product combines ball bearings between shaft and sleeve.
- For more detailed information, please click Pivot assemblies
Precision mechanical assemblies
Various composite assemblies using Minebea's precision bearings.
- For more detailed information, please click Precision mechanical assemblies
R
Resolvers
The rotary angle detector, torque sensor to which motor technology is applied, mainly used for planes and automobiles.
- For more detailed information, please click Rotation angle sensors
Rod end & spherical bearings
Used in aircraft components, such as wing flaps, engine and wing mounts and hatches, rod-end spherical bearings function as joints. These bearings are also used extensively in helicopters, trains, automobiles, electric power plant, construction machinery, ships, attraction equipment and space-related products.
- For more detailed information, please click Rod end & spherical bearings
Roller bearings (Related to aircraft engine)
Roller bearings, which feature a roller housed between the inner and outer rings, are used primarily in aircraft engine.
- For more detailed information, please click Roller bearings (Related to aircraft engine)
Roller bearings (Related to aircraft flight control)
Roller bearings are self-aligning bearings with roller held by retainer between inner race and outer race. They can take the form of single or double row bearings. The main characteristic of this product is the low starting torque when compared to ordinary spherical and rod end bearings. The technology lends itself to critical aircraft applications such as flight control.
- For more detailed information, please click Roller bearings (Related to aircraft flight control)
S
Stepping motors
These motors rotate at fixed angles by digitally controlled electronic pulses and are mainly used in the paper-feeding devices of printers, copy machines, facsimiles and similar equipment. Hybrid-type stepping motors combine a rotor with a permanent magnet and a magnetic body using ball bearings. PM stepping motors use a permanent magnet (PM) as a rotor.
- For more detailed information, please click Hybrid type stepping motors
- For more detailed information, please click PM stepping motors

Hybrid type stepping motors

PM stepping motors
Strain gages
Strain gages consist of a very fine and thin metallic foil etched in a grid pattern, which is bonded to a device and used to measure the strain, or amount of deformation of the device when load or pressure is applied. The resulting electrical output is proportional to the strain.
Because these strain gages are so small that they are negligible in mass, they excel in sensitivity, stability and fatigue with no inertial effect. They are also an easy-to-handle device, whose operating temperature range is wide. The strain gages can be used to measure the strain of all kinds of materials, regardless of metal or plastic.
- For more detailed information, please click Strain gages
V
Vertically integrated manufacturing system
Competitive advantage for Minebea is its vertically integrated manufacturing system, which encompasses processes-including design and research; production and maintenance of dies; production of parts for in-house use; and assembly and testing. This system gives Minebea a sharp edge in terms of quality, supply capabilities, lead time and manufacturing costs.
Vibration motors
These motors are mainly used to create vibration in a broad range of applications such as mobile phone terminals and game machines.
- For more detailed information, please click Vibration motors