DENSO : Creating a world-first 2-Drive EPS-MCU in just the third year with the company

I was so surprised when I was asked to join the big project because it was only my third year with the company. I didnʼt know why I was chosen instead of my seniors who had more experience, but I was excited by the project and its opportunity to test the skills I had been steadily developing over the last three years.

I was assigned to the development of a power module, which drives the motor of the 2-Drive EPS-MCU. Our new EPS-MCU was designed to be ultimately downsized by integrating two control devices: an ECU and a motor in a single unit as large as a conventional electric power steering motor.

The power module was particularly important as it influenced the size of the ECU.

We looked for various ways to miniaturize our new EPS-MCU. For the power module, we decided to divide it into modules by function and stack them instead of aligning functions in the same plane. However, DENSO had little expertise with such a configuration, so I had to use a process of trial and error over and over again. I tried to develop and test hypotheses, but found they didnʼt work. Whenever I thought I had found the answer, another issue cropped up and I had to change my design drastically. Even with experienced design changes, our team including veteran members was becoming increasingly skeptical about the possibility of creating a power module with modularized functions. And yet I could continue my work largely thanks to my supervisor. He was surprisingly generous about my failures, so I was encouraged to motivate the other people

involved in the project, perform trial and error until I was satisfied, and plan ahead.

The method I came up with in my third design change was criticized because it seemed to involve manufacturing problems, but my supervisor trusted me, which was very reassuring. Usually prototypes are produced by the Prototype Mfg. Dept. Even though we were a design team, we wanted to produce prototyping on our own in order to prove feasibility. He agreed with the opinion and immediately get the budget and the equipment.

After seven years, we eventually succeeded in developing a power module with modularized functions. Our new power module, the worldʼs first product of its kind, is highly valued by our customers and people both inside and outside the company.

Working on a major project in my third year with DENSO, I relied on my supervisor