The "Monozukuri Japan Grand Award" is held every two years since 2005 in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and this year marks the seventh edition. This award honors particularly outstanding individuals from various generations involved in "monozukuri" (manufacturing), including mid-career professionals who are at the core of manufacturing and production sites, skilled workers who have supported traditional and cultural "skills," and young talent who will lead in the future. We are pleased to announce that our surface defect inspection unit, the Slit Shift MinMax "SSMM-1," has received the Excellence Award in the Manufacturing and Technology Development category. Additionally, our efforts with the "SSMM-1" have been recognized, and we have also been selected as a "Regional Future Leading Company" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The "Excellent New Technology and New Product Award for Small and Medium Enterprises" is established by the Resona Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Foundation and the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun to promote technology in small and medium enterprises and contribute to the development of our country's industry. Since 1988, this award has recognized outstanding "new technologies, new products," and "new software" developed by small and medium enterprises, and this year marks the 32nd edition. We are pleased to announce that our product, the 'SSMM-1R (Slit Shift Min Max-1R),' has received the Excellence Award! The 'SSMM-1R (Slit Shift Min Max-1R)' is a renewed version of the 'SSMM-1' developed in response to user requests. This product is an inspection unit that detects scratches and foreign objects on the surfaces of products that reflect or transmit light, such as painted items (glossy), plated items, films, and glass.

The January issue of Image Lab features a case study on "Surface Defect Inspection Units Using Slit Lighting." It introduces examples of the implementation of our inspection units in the automotive industry's inspection processes and new initiatives. If you would like more detailed information, please contact us, and we will send you the published article. Media Name: Image Lab (Published by Japan Industrial Publishing) Publication Date: January 10, 2021 P.69 - "Case Study of Surface Defect Inspection Units Using Slit Lighting"

We have renewed the catalog for our surface defect inspection unit "SSMM-1R." In this renewal, we clearly introduce the strengths and unique technologies of our inspection system, along with case studies that include photographs.

On October 8, 2021, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled the production line of its Tochigi plant, which has adopted Nissan's unique car manufacturing concept, "Nissan Intelligent Factory," to support next-generation vehicle production with innovative manufacturing technology and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality. As part of this concept, our inspection unit "SSMM-1R" was selected for automatic inspection of the painted exterior.

"Surf-In" is an all-in-one model of an appearance inspection device that integrates lighting equipment, imaging equipment, conveying mechanisms, and processing devices. A multi-joint robot is positioned appropriately according to the shape of the workpiece being inspected, and our original SSMM method, which is suitable for inspecting products with mirror-like surfaces (such as painted or plated surfaces), ensures that even the smallest defects are not overlooked. ■ Achieves suitable inspections corresponding to the surface condition of the target workpiece ■ Capable of detecting defects without being affected by orange peel on painted surfaces ■ Detected defects: bumps, scratches, peeling, stains, scale, distortion ■ Minimum detectable defect size: 0.3 mm ■ Inspectable size: 300(W) mm × 300(H) mm × 200(D) mm ■ A suitable solution for inspecting a variety of complex shapes.