Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards, known as the Oscars of technology, chooses 100 revolutionary technologies from world renowned industry-academia-research institutes each year. So far, thousands of inventions have been chosen that can change the world and make it a better place. This year, with support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), MIRDC (Metals Industries Research & Development Centre) stood out from thousands of entries from around the world with its innovative R&D capabilities. MIRDC was nominated for three of its technologies and won an award with the Continuous Type Heat Treatment System Equipment for Micro Parts, ranking along with world-renowned institutions like the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Toyota Central R&D Labs. Winning this award means that MIRDC's innovation capability is globally recognized and establishes Taiwan's position and image in technology.
Chiu-Feng Lin, President of MIRDC, pointed out that the Continuous Type Heat Treatment System Equipment for Micro Parts, Smart Multifunctional Periodontal Pathology Quick Screening System, and Smart Motoring-Gear Module were the three nominated technologies. The award-winning Continuous Type Heat Treatment System Equipment for Micro Parts technology is a heat treatment process and equipment specially designed for micro parts smaller than 2 mm in diameter. It integrates automatic feeding, automatic monitoring and main furnace for real-time adjustment, an innovative oil tank and collecting device, and smart cloud services. The technology is already being used for heat treating micro screws and gears of smartphones, helping manufacturers discover optimal production process conditions and schedules quickly to greatly shorten the lead time and maintain a high yield and collecting rate. Products that were heat treated were certified by major international companies like Tesla, and have successfully entered their supply chains. This technology can be used in fields such as 3C, healthcare machinery, electric vehicles, optoelectronic semiconductors, and aerospace. The Smart Multifunctional Periodontal Pathology Quick Screening System features dental plaque fluorescence detector and gingivitis spectrum detector, and is small and easy to carry and use. The system provides a comfortable, painless, and quick screening service for patients to catch periodontal diseases early for timely treatment, providing a more convenient healthcare service. The Smart Motoring-Gear Module, from a collaboration with National Cheng Kung University, integrates magnetic actuation/transmission/sensing in conjunction with a smart control system capable of controlling speed reduction and increment, continuously variable speed transmission, torque adjustment, sensing feedback, and smart control while maintaining special features of no contact friction, low maintenance, and compact volume.
Again, MIRDC won the R&D 100 Awards this year. In the future, MIRDC will re-enhance R&D results for innovative technology to strengthen industrial development capabilities and speed up industry utilization of the results, to ultimately promote sustainable development and growth of Taiwan's industries.