I asked Mr. Shibue of the Technological Development Section about the secret of developing the
new KSC-1300B CHiPSTAR.
Table of Contents
-What is the starting point for developing the new KSC-1300B CHiPSTAR?
First, we will briefly explain the history of chipper. Since we developed a tree chipper about 30 years ago, we have been selling chipper finely against some fruit-tree farmers. Fruit farmers must prune trees. Chipper is used to treat pruned branches and leaves. Around this time, many farmers didn’t
rely on chipper to burn their own branches and leaves.
Nevertheless, demand for chipper increased, triggered by the prohibition of field burning about 10 years ago due to environmental considerations. Other manufacturers started to develop chipper one after another, and the market became active. As competition became increasingly intense, we felt that chipper we created became immersive. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea, and
decided to create a product that originally came up with the characteristics of Cali’s chipper.
When the market becomes active and various manufacturers become able to make chipper, the tendency is becoming popular in the industry. For example, chipper was originally a type in which trees are struck with a hammer and pulverized, but at present, a type in which trees are finely cut (soaked) with a knife is used. The knife type is more efficient than the hammer. We started with the hammer-type chipper, but there were also times when we were developing only knife-type grinding.
However, the knife type is much more delicate than the hammer type.Since it is crushed with a knife, the sharpness of the blade is the most important. If a small piece of metal or stone is mixed in the object to be crushed, the blade will be damaged. Maintenance should be infrequently to maintain sharpness. On the other hand, the hammer type is crushed by hitting it with a hammer, so there is no problem even if some foreign matter is mixed.
A highly efficient knife-type knife was used not only in the marketplace but also in the company.
However, there was a question as to whether chipper was so delicate or not. Chipper is used at the farm site. Even if there are some stone rolls in the trees to be ground, they do not have enough roughness to be used without problems. I thought it should be a machine that doesn’t break even if it is handled somewhat miscellaneous. At the same time, we believe that this point is also the hallmark of Kali’s products.
This is triggered by a customer’s opinion. Six or seven years ago, there was a product that was explosively sold by us. Chipper of the hammer-type M10, but this is really a good sale. We call the “legendary famous machine” (smiling) Some customers still use M10. However, since it is a product of one or two generations ago, it is somewhat inferior to a new product in crushing speed. Customers who loved the M10 received a voice saying, “There is no machine like upgrading the M10.” At that time, however, we made only knife-type products.
I noticed there. Perhaps he was all about the knife type because he pursued efficiency by riding the trends around him. Of course,the knife type is efficient, but it is not the only one. I realized that the customer wanted something else.
In response to this customer’s opinion, two persons in the Technology Development Section began to think about what would happen if the hammer M10 evolved with the latest technology without having to make a way to the knife type, and they decided to step into the development. It’s about three years ago, isn’t it?
Everyone was negative as expected, and there were more criticisms. “Who wants it?” some asked.Around that time, the hammer type was said in the industry to be “slow (grinding speed), noisy, and thick branches could not be grinded.”
However, we were confident in the Technology Development Section. In terms of mechanical talk, there are many parts where the hammer formula is reasonably better. A concrete example is that it is too specialized, so it can be omitted. However, the knife-type method was too much to pursue speed and safety, and there were some parts that had been forced to follow the laws of physics. We knew that it would be a good machine to evolve the M10 by eliminating these points and using our existing technologies, before we made the No. 0 machine. And I also understood that the internal response is rather bad just by talking about it lol. Therefore, we tried to surprise everyone by first moving the zero machine without trying to explain the origin regression to the hammer type by talking alone. And when we actually operated the No. 0 unit, the air in the company, which was criticized, changed, wasn’t it? I learned that even if it is not the same as the knife type, the hammer type can be pulverized quickly and finely.
Chipper is most likely to be used by farmers, even if some foreign matter enters it, but it does not break even if it gets wet. For the machinery stance, it’s not a fast but delicate racing car, but rather
like a 4WD jeep that can be ridden roughly.
In this way, we have succeeded in creating KDC-1300B that we have already developed, starting with our No. 0 unit. Including the zero unit, five units have produced a prototype. It took almost two
years.
KSC-1300B is characterized by a blower (Note: a long tube-like part that discharges the crushed material. This not only discharges the crushed material in one place, but also discharges it by adjusting it to the desired angle. You can also attach a bag.) and a screen (Note: a net that adjusts the fineness of the crushed material). Our previous products were not equipped with either blowers or screens (or anything else from other companies). There isn’t a guy equipped with both!” It was a blind spot, wasn’t it? The point of achieving both of these benefits in practical terms was a challenge.
The price of the aircraft itself, which is too expensive, will rise. They were made to some extent easily for mass production, strong and durable, and had the functions required by the customer, and
the price was not too high..
After that, the largest diameter of trees that can be crushed by the latest model has also become the largest. It is OK up to 130mm in diameter. In fact, this was the only story here, and at the stage of the prototype, a slightly larger-diameter one was also made of chipper. Since large items can also be pulverized, there was an opinion to infer this, and there was an opinion to limit the size to a little upgrading and to make the other aspects well balanced.
As a result, we decided to give priority to the better overall balance, such as the compactness of the machine itself or the low cost, rather than seeking too much for the maximum diameter that can be
milled. It’s farmers who actually use it. It was concluded that both thin branches and thick branches
could be crushed constantly, and that highly safe ones would be important for users, and they fell into the current ones.
Products equipped with both were not conventional products. It was difficult to balance the price and function.
A success factor. It’s because the zero unit worked properly. That changed the reaction of the employee. All you have to do is to show a machine that can overcome the concerns that everyone has about the hammer-style. “I wanted to make you think, “”Well, this is different from the hammer style I used to use,”” so I was particular about the direction.”
I think it’s a tough task to reverse the prevalent tendency, but if you put some ingenuity into your presentation, you’ll probably be able to make a new wind hole. The performance of the machine is perfect. If you can’t get a perfect score, be rude to the customer!
There is no doubt as to the performance of the developed machine as far as it is concerned. If we
don’t send a product that can be called perfect, we’re rude to the customer who purchased it. We were
proud to have done the best in some of the limited conditions, such as in terms of cost.
Then, I would like to ask for the message to the customer at the end.
Customer feedback is very important. However, it is not possible to reflect all of the products you think you wish to have a single client?. I want to make tools that as many customers as possible can think “I want!” or “I like it!” The machine is a tool. The most easy-to-use products are used by customers.
Mr. Shibue,
