- Please note that this report considers mini motors as those that run on less than 37.5 watts.
- Although people tend to think of motors as large and heavy, the machinery and equipment becoming smaller and smaller that we have seen in recent years naturally requires ever mini motors to run on. Some vibrating motors for mobile communication tools are just 4 millimeters wide, while apparently certain kinds of medical equipment use motors that are a mere 1 millimeter wide.
- Motors convert electricity into mechanical energy to perform various jobs. A motor gets its power because an electric current that is sent through a magnetic field causes a coil to spin.
- There are both direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) mini motors. Direct current motors are divided into magnetic field and field winding types. Direct current motors include brush motors, brushless motors, core motors, and coreless motors. There are many types of alternating current motors: commutator motors, synchronous motors (permanent magnet, reaction, and inductor motors), inductive motors (single phase or capacitor motors, phase splitting motors or shading motors, and three phase motors), stepping motors, and servo motors.
- With improved materials and processing, better technology for measuring and controlling, and of course human beings' desire to make their lives more efficient and convenient, mini motors have made great leaps in performance. There is no shortage of demand for mini motors for both consumer and industrial products. This demand is only growing as markets get larger for things like office automation equipment, audio-visual, information and telecommunications products, electrical automobile components, game machines, and cameras and camcorders. We're also seeing new applications for mini motors in car navigation systems, cell phones, pagers, PHS (personal handy phones), and CD-ROM and DVD players.
- There is now a wide range of mini motors, each of which can perform an extremely specialized function. This is thanks to developments like more speeder rotation, higher torque, superior work efficiency and faster operational response, advanced control through the use of microchips and DSP technology, better stopping position control, the creation of motors with built-in drive circuits, soundproofing, improved dust- and water-resistant construction, and longer life.
With their ability to efficiently convert electrical energy into rotary motion, mini motors are indispensable for driving today's multimedia information products. User demand for higher performance means that manufacturers will continue to be under constant pressure to improve their motors.
- Although there are no exact figures for domestic production of mini motors under 37.5 watts, the value of exports in fiscal 1997 was 108.522 billion yen. These exports went to the following countries. (Units: Millions yen)
| Country |
Export value
|
% of total exports
|
| Singapore |
26,204 |
24.1% |
| U. S. A. |
23,810 |
21.9% |
| Korea |
9,514 |
8.8% |
| Malaysia |
7,647 |
7.0% |
| China |
6,337 |
5.8% |
| Thailand |
5,377 |
5.0% |
| Hong Kong |
4,860 |
4.5% |
| Taiwan |
4,119 |
3.8% |
The Philippines
|
4,085 |
3.8% |
| Indonesia |
1,186 |
1.1% |
| Others |
15,383 |
14.2% |
Looking at these figures, we can guess that American machinery manufacturers are either importing the motors for use in their products or selling them to someone else. In other countries, factories set up by Japanese manufactures are using the mini motors imported from Japan in their finished products, which they sell locally, or re-export to Japan. Most Hong Kong companies take the motors from Japan and export them to China, where they are used.
- There are also a fair number of mini motors imported to Japan. Imports in fiscal 1997 totaled 94.079 billion yen, and came from the following countries. (Units: Millions yen)
| Country |
Import value
|
% of total exports
|
| China |
44,901 |
47.7% |
| Thailand |
12,433 |
13.2% |
| Singapore |
9,582 |
10.2% |
| Taiwan |
6,514 |
6.9% |
| Malaysia |
5,880 |
6.3% |
| Indonesia |
5,066 |
5.4% |
| U. S. A. |
2,913 |
3.1% |
| Korea |
2,586 |
2.7% |
| Switzerland |
805 |
0.8% |
| Germany |
524 |
0.6% |
| Others |
2,875 |
3.1% |
The mini motors in the above table were manufactured by Japanese companies in these countries and re-exported to Japan.
- The exodus of Japanese mini motor manufacturers overseas began when MABUCHI MOTOR established a processing and assembly plant near Kaitak Airport in Hong Kong in 1964. Companies proceeded to move into nearby Taiwan and Korea, then into the ASEAN countries, and currently they are in the process of setting up in China and Vietnam. These Japanese companies were no doubt looking to make use of the ample low cost labor in these countries. MABUCHI MOTOR began making motors for toys, but turned to specializing in miniature motors with the movement towards smaller and lighter home appliances and consumer electronics. The company now has an approximate 50% share of the world market in mini motors. MABUCHI MOTOR has stopped production in Japan and manufactures solely overseas.
- MABUCHI MOTOR was only one of many Japanese companies that moved their manufacturing bases overseas in the 1960s. Mini motor manufacturing is very labor intensive. As wages rose in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, the companies converted the factories there to R&D and sales bases and moved manufacturing to countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines China and Vietnam. The percentage of manufacturing bases in China stands to increase in future.
- As of 1998, Japanese mini motor manufacturers had 9 bases in China, 5 in Malaysia, 5 in Thailand, 4 in Taiwan, 2 in Indonesia, 2 in the Philippines, 1 in Hong Kong, 1 in Vietnam, 1 in the U.S.A., 1 in Canada, and 1 in Korea. It is not uncommon for one Japanese company to have several bases in one country, as is the case with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., which has 3 in Malaysia.
- Among electronic components, the category of mini motors has the highest ratio of production outside of Japan to total production. Some Japanese companies manufacturer all their motors overseas. It is estimated that, on average, companies make between 70 and 80% of their products outside Japan.
Nowadays, all mass-produced motors are manufactured overseas, and only those produced in small lots, such as specialized, custom-made motors and prototype, are made in Japan.
- The flagship consumer products of the 1980s-cameras, VTRs, and portable cassette players, to name just a few-all made use of mini motors. Today, automobile electronic control systems, mobile communication tools, man-made satellites, and computers all depend on mini motors. Cars, for instance, typically have more than 100 mini motors. The more electronic technology progresses, the more uses-and demand-there will be for mini motors. All this will likely mean even more overseas production by Japanese companies.
Source of figures: Japan Trade Monthly Returns
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