With the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the global push for de-carbonization and the reduction of fossil resource-derived plastics has intensified, supported by various laws and regulations. In Japan, this has led to increased collaboration among industry, academia, and government, particularly concerning Green Transformation (GX) activities. In this context, the paper highlights the efforts of a die manufacturing company, a crucial pillar of the Japanese economy, to advance GX activities from a global perspective. Leveraging its superior die manufacturing technologies, the company is moving downstream in the value chain to acquire new technologies in emerging fields, thereby enhancing its own value. This initiative not only contributes to the development of the regions where the company operates, such as Iida City in Nagano Prefecture and Ohta Ward in Tokyo, but also to the creation of a sustainable society. This report also details the establishment of advanced PLA injection molding technologies (i.e. ultra-thin wall PLA injection molding and heat-resistant PLA injection molding technology). Additionally, it covers the marketing strategies for PLA products and the conceptual framework for creating an organization and system to promote GX activities. Nissin Precision Machines Co., Ltd., renowned for its precision die manufacturing technology since its founding in 1957, serves as a case study to illustrate these efforts.

The metal plating process consumes a large amount of electricity, gas, water, and various chemicals, resulting in a significant environmental impact in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. As a business coordinator, the author has coordinated and integrated a wide range of measures in each plating process to create a plating line with a low environmental impact. Aiming to achieve further decarbonization, the author has developed various technologies based on on-site and functional ideas and implemented them in state-of-the-art facilities together with customers. In this presentation, we will introduce examples of development and the results of our activities.

This report focuses on the practical activities of industry, academia, and government, focusing on cases where local small and medium-sized enterprises utilized active industry-academia collaboration organizations as a background for developing energy-saving devices aimed at realizing a decarbonized society utilizing NEDO projects. Explanation of the importance, in particular, about know-how possessed by technology-related small and medium-sized enterprises is necessary for responding to the field related to GX promotion, and also about exchange of knowledge that goes beyond the technical information accumulated by a single company that is effective in increasing the added value of manufacturing. The authors have understood the above and this report from Mabuchi Engineering Co., Ltd. describes the successive development by organically incorporating an industry-academia collaboration organization that took advantage of recovery and reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, as well as public testing and support from local governments.

The Japan Society for Computational Engineering and Science (JSCES) has been holding the Symposium of Public Testing and Research Institutes, which introduces the latest status of CAE and simulation utilization and collaboration with small and medium-sized companies at public research institutes that are the consultation partner of companies in each region. The aim of the symposium is to exchange information among the parties concerned and to create opportunities to learn about the innovations in the process of utilizing CAE in a compact and dense manner, from analysis to manufacturing, the training of engineers, the succession and transfer of technology, and practical methodologies for real problems. In this paper, I will introduce the outline of the project, future efforts, and issues to be addressed.

In order to improve environmental problems such as sustainability issues due to resource depletion of plastic materials and increase in CO2 emissions，attention has focused on the use of paper materials as an alternative material．

The objective of this research is to develop three-dimensional molded products made of paper materials for the wide use of alternative materials，and for this purpose，we aim to improve the strength and workability of paper materials，which are considered lower than those of plastic materials．

Research methods include investigating the strength characteristics of different fiber widths and pressure during drying，as well as investigating and researching the processability of paper laminated before drying and at different moisture contents of the paper．

In this development, we networked multiple small and medium-sized enterprises that possess metal additive manufacturing machines and equipment for producing metal powder, using digital technology. We conducted a prototype of a mock product. The mock product was designed as a desktop-sized gas turbine, assuming it would be manufactured using metal additive manufacturing. This report introduces the features of this system and the results of the prototyping.

To increase the thrust of drone, I suggested attaching the flow guide around a rotor blade. The main components of the guide are only two parts and have elementary shapes. In the hovering state, the overall thrust increased by attaching the guide in the rotational speed range of 3000 – 6000 rpm. Then the thrust generated by the blade was slightly lower than without the guide. However, adding the thrust generated by the guides caused increasing overall thrust. In the ascent state, the effect of increasing drag of the guide is greater if the ascent speed is higher. In the descent state, the thrust coefficient dropped abruptly at a certain descent speed. Visualization of flow using the smoke wire method revealed that this situation was similar to the vortex ring state. If the descent speed was too fast, the rotor lost its function as a thruster. The proposed guide s effective in increasing thrust in the range of relatively low-speed ascent and descent.

The flow on a rotating cone has been studied as a simple model to understand three-dimensional boundary-layer flows, such as flows over swept wings or rotating blades. Despite the simple geometry, defined only by the apex angle, the flow exhibits different flow instabilities depending on the apex angle. Here, we discuss the difference as well as similarity of the laminar-turbulent transition caused by different instabilities using the probability density function and spectrum of the azimuthal velocity obtained by hot-wire measurements.

Flow conditions near the casing tongue have a significant impact on the performance and stable operation of the centrifugal pump, so the internal flow conditions have been measured by the experiment and PIV measurement. The internal flow conditions of mini centrifugal pumps especially smaller than 100mm are less measured by PIV measurement and its flow conditions near the casing tongue are not clarified yet. Therefore, PIV measurement was conducted near the casing tongue for the mini centrifugal pump having 55mm impeller diameter. The two-dimensional open impellers with different blade outlet angle were selected as the test impellers. FlowMaster Stereo-PIV by LaVision was used for the PIV measurement and the whole test section was made of the acrylic resin including the test impellers. The PIV measurement results at different flow rates were shown. In the present paper, the internal flow near the casing tongue is clarified by PIV measurement results and the flow conditions at the different flow rates are discussed.

The origin of the Tatara iron-smelting furnace dates back to the mid-6th century, in the late Kofun period. The furnaces that appear in the Chugoku region are called box-shaped furnaces and differ significantly in shape, size and technology from those of the Korean Peninsula of the same period and were not established under direct influence from the Peninsula. Rather, it is thought to have been born from a fusion with the blacksmithing techniques native to the Chugoku region. The furnace continued to rise and fall with the historical background of each period and developed in the Chugoku region from the Heian period onwards, before being established as Tatara in the early modern period. Its operating technology is characterized by the abundance of points for observing the situation inside the furnace during smelting.

About half of all heart failure in the elderly is a type of heart failure known as 'diastolic failure', which presents with symptoms of heart failure despite preserved contractility. Diastolic failure is caused by a stiff left ventricle that does not expand easily and has been investigated as increased stiffness and abnormal relaxation, respectively, but these have not been fully elucidated. Cardiac hypertrophy, in which the wall thickness of the heart increases, is one of the factors causing diastolic dysfunction. Using a model of cardiac hypertrophy, we examined the relationship between incomplete relaxation and increased stiffness, and evaluated the elasticity of the myocardium using ultrasound.