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| Q1. |
What is the benefit of outsourcing the work for developing control circuits? |
| A1. |
Development of control circuits requires specialized skills, and it may sometimes put pressure on your product development projects. By outsourcing it, you will be able to dramatically cut down time and resources during the research and development stage. (Please see “Suitable for Such Customers” for further details.) |
| Q2. |
What is the difference between you and an engineering/technical staffing agency? |
| A2. |
We subcontract the entire design work relating to the development of control circuits. Our services include proposal on the choice of systems and circuits which are the most suitable for your objectives. We carefully study your specifications and propose the best available options to you to maximize your trust and satisfaction. (Please see “Business & Services” for further details.) |
| Q3. |
Do you send us your engineers to carry out development in our site? |
| A3. |
In principle, we do not undertake our development at the customer’s site. All the design activities will take place in our own premises. However, this principle does not apply to some exceptional cases such as when the evaluation systems must be installed in a specific location, etc. |
| Q4. |
How do you charge us the cost of your service? |
| A4. |
Once we have received the “Required Specifications” from the customer, we prepare “Functional Specifications” and estimate the development effort required for both hardware and software. The cost of our service will then be determined based on this estimated effort.
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| Q5. |
Tell us about the timing and procedure for confidentiality agreements. |
| A5. |
Prior to entering into the Development Contract which specifies the detail of the development, we sign the Basic Agreement (which contains confidentiality clauses). |
| Q6. |
Do you have your own evaluation facility? |
| A6. |
We have our own evaluation equipment as listed below for the time being. If any other measuring equipment or devices are required, we will discuss arrangements with you. (We may ask you to let us use your equipment if the situation permits.) |
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Evaluation Equipment (As of June 2007)
· 2ch digital oscilloscope (TDS1012, Tektronix)
· 4ch digital oscilloscope(TDS2014, Tektronix)
· Network analyzer (MS3401A2, Anritsu)
· H8S emulator (E10A-USB, Renesas)
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| Q7. |
What is your policy regarding patents for products jointly-developed with your customers? |
| A7. |
Regarding the handling of discoveries such as new inventions and ideas during the development and patent attribution associated with them, we discuss and agree with the customer as the situation arises.
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| Q8. |
Is there any chance that a circuit you have developed for your customer in the past will be utilized for anything other than the original purposes, for example, a specific circuit configuration designed for your client “A” will later be used for other customers including A’s competitors? |
| A8. |
We develop systems to the customer’s specific needs such as their specifications and required functionalities, which means that there will be no diversion of purposes, except for, of course, unspecialized or general-purpose circuits. |
| Q9. |
How and when shall we pay for prototypes? |
| A9. |
We agree on the detailed procedure after discussions with the customer. Our preference is for installment supply based upon agreed deliverables, followed by receiving inspection and payment. |
| Q10. |
Who is responsible for failures in commercial mass production? Is there any warranty or compensation in such cases? |
| A10. |
Any product failure in commercial mass production is the customer’s responsibility, as all of our design deliverables are quality-inspected by the customer upon receipt. However, we offer one-year design warranty. In the event of failure, we investigate the cause of such failure and take appropriate responses based on the result of such investigation. We bear the cost of all remedial measures that are necessary due to a fault in our design. Where our design is not at fault, we discuss with our customers how to deal with the issue. |
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