THK Journal

The THK Journal provides articles covering THK products, services, and initiatives.

Products

Precise Positioning with Shorter Settling Times: Leveraging the Rolling Spring Effect of the LM Guide
Positioning technology is a crucial element of manufacturing. The ability to quickly and accurately stop at a specified position is particularly important for production floors that require precise position resolution. Here, the concept of “settling time” is key. Settling time is the time the machine spends repeatedly making minute adjustments before it reaches its target position. Because long settling times drastically impact product quality and processing efficiency, shortening them is crucial. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at control technology used to shorten settling times in precision positioning systems that make use of the LM Guide.
Products

The Basics of Semiconductor Manufacturing and Examples of Chip Picking Process Improvements
In this article, we’ll start with a simple overview of the processes and machines involved in making semiconductor chips and the products all around us that rely on them. We’ll then take a closer look at some of the challenges that arise in the semiconductor chip picking process, where chips are grabbed and lifted. After that, we’ll suggest methods for damage control using THK’s Pick and Place Robot (PPR) by sharing examples of user challenges and product applications.
Products

Accelerating the Boom in AI Chips! Component Parts for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment
Digital transformation (DX) technology has developed rapidly in the last few years. This can be seen across a variety of fields in the adoption of generative AI, the dissemination of cloud computing, and the development of self-driving technology as well as closer to home in the form of digital appliances that can connect to your smartphone. All of these advances rely on semiconductors, and the industry that creates them is currently developing new manufacturing processes for the purpose of imbuing these components with even greater performance capabilities. In this article, we’ll take a look at linear motion guides that are frequently used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and highlight which of these is best-suited to meeting each kind of required specification.
Products

When Disaster Strikes! Seismic Isolation for Equipment as Part of a Business Continuity Plan
In a perfect world, none of us would have to worry about the chaos created by natural disasters and the spread of disease. In reality, however, it is impossible to prevent the unpredictable. What assurance can we have, then, that our organizations will be able to continue conducting business in the face of events such as these? This time, we’ll be exploring what kind of countermeasures are required for business continuity during an emergency and looking at a concrete example of earthquake countermeasures that utilize THK seismic isolation for equipment.
Products

Supporting Super-Precise Processing: The Nano-Level Accuracy Super-Low Waving LM Guide
Have you ever heard the phrase “mother machine?” When we think of machines, a number of examples come to mind, from automobiles and airplanes to clocks, air conditioners, and robots. These machines are made up of countless component parts that have been fashioned from raw materials by processing machines known as machine tools. Put another way, machine tools produce the parts that give birth to all the machines in existence. And this is why they are sometimes referred to as “mother machines.”
Products

Skill Management AI Solution: Centralizing Skill Maps for Strategic Training and Personnel Placement!
Recent years have seen cutting-edge technology like automation, the IoT integration, and AI introduced for factory production equipment. At the same time, these advancements have thrown into sharp relief a number of problems related to personnel involved in the operation, maintenance, and repair of such machines. For instance, as some machines age and others become more complex, their care demands a higher level of skill. As veteran employees retire, we see that their technical knowledge isn’t being passed on quickly enough. This time, we’ll look at THK’s Skill Management AI Solution, a skill management system that focuses on personnel-related challenges faced by those on the ground in the manufacturing industry.
Products

Numerical Simulation Technology for Enhancing LM Guide Accuracy
The LM Guide first debuted on the market in its current form in 1973. During the just over 50 years since, it rapidly became ubiquitous around the world in machine tools and a variety of other fields besides. Today, the LM Guide is essentially synonymous with linear motion and its use is widely taken as a given. That said, the changing needs that have accompanied market expansion have been the impetus for a wider range of available sizes, more varied product concepts, and numerous combinations of optional features that have collectively resulted in a vast variety of LM Guide products on offer. From a customer’s perspective, though, selecting the appropriate LM Guide to build a machine that meets their requirements from this vast array poses a challenge. There are performance factors like service life and rigidity as well as dimensional constraints to consider, to say nothing of cost and lead times that must also be taken into account. This is where THK steps in as a manufacturer to offer different types of technical support.
Products

The Ball Screws Driving More Compact, High-Performance Machines
Many of the products we encounter on a daily basis are constantly evolving thanks to technological advances in making things more compact. This increasing compactness is such a timeless theme for engineers involved in manufacturing that it is considered unrivaled by other forms of improvement. But what exactly are the benefits of making things more compact? And what methods are used to make equipment more compact in the first place? In this article, we’ll take a look at the indispensable ball screw as an example of the kinds of solutions making more compact equipment possible.
Products

Slide Rails Supporting Logistics Warehouse Automation and the Adoption of Robot Technology
Not a day goes by that we don’t hear news about work-life balance, the 2024 problem in the logistics and construction industries, and various industries bemoaning labor shortages. Businesses have lately taken to instituting overtime, creating part-time positions, and utilizing temporary workers to shore up their labor forces. At the same time, however, drastic increases in labor costs and energy prices create strong headwinds against profitability. As a result, it has become imperative for each industry to increase productivity, rendering the push for work automation essential. In this article, we’ll look at the utility slide, a slide rail that is used to solve these challenges in a variety of applications, such as automation equipment for logistics.
Products

The Importance of Quality Control for Automotive Components: THK's Zero-Defect Guarantee
It goes without saying that quality control is imperative for a company that produces and sells the diverse range of products that THK does. For THK's automotive and transportation business in particular, which develops, produces, and sells automotive components, quality control is one of the most important processes connected to the customer's peace of mind and safety. In this article, we’ll talk about THK’s philosophy and projects related to quality control as well as the “zero-defect guarantee” in the automotive and transportation business slogan.
Products

From Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment to Machine Tools: The Unexplored Potential of the Slide Rail!
The slide rail is a linear motion guide used for the drawers of furniture and office automation devices. But did you know that the range of its applications has been growing? Its use in combination with the LM Guide has been attracting attention in recent years in industries that require environmental considerations as well as performance. Additionally, slide rails adapted to the clean environments of semiconductor manufacturing and the low temperatures of logistics warehouses have met with customer praise. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some new example applications of the slide rail and talk about slide rails intended for special environments.
Products

Optimal for Suction Transfer Processes in Crystal Oscillator Manufacturing! The Functionality of the Pick and Place Robot
In this article, we'll take a look at an example application of the Pick and Place Robot PPR introduced in our last post as it is utilized in the crystal oscillator manufacturing process. We’ll explain what a crystal oscillator is in the first place; show what role the PPR plays in the suction transfer, assembly, and mounting processes; and propose process improvements made possible with the PPR's “all-in-one” nature.
Products

Optimize Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)! New AI Diagnostic Service ADV
The last few years have seen an acceleration in the evolution of AI (artificial intelligence) and the IoT (Internet of Things) for the manufacturing industry. Whereas veteran technicians applied years of experience and intuition to machine maintenance in the past, the quantification of running conditions for various machines has now made it so that AI can analyze that data and enhance the efficiency of maintenance operations.In this article, we’ll be introducing THK’s IoT solution for improving the efficiency of maintenance operations and the newly added AI diagnostic service ADV.
Products

Rotary Bearings for Multi-Axis Multitasking Machine Tools
Machine tools are indispensable in the manufacture of industrial products. Because of this, the performance of machine tools is being pushed ever further as industry evolves and technology advances. This article will focus on the theme of rotary bearings for multi-axis multitasking machine tools.
Products

Examining the Workings of the Linear Motor through Its Features and Applications
The Japanese manufacturing industry is struggling with a declining labor population due to the country's aging society and declining birthrate, and the problem is intensifying. According to one survey, the working age population (ages 16 to 64) in Japan is expected to be 14 million people fewer in 2030 than it is today. If nothing changes, it's clear that the labor shortages are going to accelerate, which will hurt the Japanese economy. Factory automation (FA) will be an essential method of achieving labor savings to solve the challenges facing the manufacturing industry. Within this field, a particular challenge is how to boost the productivity of semiconductor manufacturing and inspection equipment, machines that produce automotive parts, and rechargeable battery manufacturing equipment.
Products

High-Performance, Non-Magnetic, and Extremely Corrosion-Resistant Products Support Cutting-Edge Scientific Fields
Non-magnetic materials are not attracted to magnets and have special properties that prevent magnetic fields from forming. (Materials with low levels of magnetism can also be referred to as non-magnetic.) Industrial materials with these properties include stainless steel and aluminum alloys, but the intensifying requirements for special environments in cutting-edge scientific fields in recent years have created a need for non-magnetic products with even higher levels of performance. Let’s take a look at THK's revolutionary products that offer high performance, non-magnetic properties, and superior corrosion resistance.
Products

Seismic Isolation: An Inside Look at the Development, Structure, and Applications
Seismic isolation structures hinder the transmission of ground movement to buildings. They have become an increasingly common feature of earthquake-resistant office buildings and high-rise apartments, and they are gradually becoming a part of daily life. Let's take a look at how THK's linear motion guide technology, which uses a rolling guide mechanism, came to be adopted in seismic isolation technology and how it is being used to provide seismic isolation for buildings and equipment.
Products

Exclusive Look at the Internal Structure of the Pick and Place Robot (PPR)
We're now in an age where every single thing you own—from smartphones and computers to household appliances and cars—contains electronic components. Everyone is probably familiar with the image of electronic components as circuits that move machinery, which are made by soldering components onto a green circuit board. But do you know just how small those components have become? Looking at typical components as an example, the smallest resistors and capacitors are 0201 size (0.2 mm × 0.1 mm). At this granular size, it's becoming difficult to pick them up even with tweezers. The smaller and thinner they get, the more difficult it becomes for production equipment to handle them, which causes a bottleneck in transfer processes. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the Pick and Place Robot is optimized for assembling and transferring these kinds of tiny electronic components, which will include a rare peek inside the structure of this product.
Products

The Indispensable Ball Joint for Vehicle Suspension Systems
What is known by car enthusiasts as the suspension is a collection of critical components around the tires that influence steering wheel control and the riding experience. The components that join the body of the vehicle with the tires serve a number of functions, such as accurately transmitting the movement of the steering wheel and determining the riding experience for those sitting in the driver’s, passenger’s, and rear seats. In this article, we’ll introduce the suspension component known as the ball joint.
Products

Tool Monitoring AI Solution Detects Cutting Tool Conditions and Prevents Defects!
If you install sensors and communication devices on various things connected to the internet, those things will be able to communicate with each other and exchange information through the IoT (Internet of Things). This can generate value for business and people's lives through automation and efficiency improvements. Let’s take a look at the IoT solutions that THK offers.
Products

Linear Motion Products That Determine Machine Tool Performance
Manufacturing generally refers to the entire process of creating a product, starting with design and including selection. Throughout the manufacturing industry's production processes, appropriate control of product quality is crucial to meeting customers’ needs. Let's take a look at linear motion products that have a large impact on machine tool performance.
Products

THK's Robot Hand: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Humanoid Robot Development
We are getting closer to achieving a world straight out of a movie scene, where people work side by side with humanlike robots as their colleagues. AI is already being employed in the digital realm, while humanoid robots are active in the physical. How did these robots come to exist in the real world? Let’s take a look behind the scenes of their development.

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