Opinion ID: 222928
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: 2004 Change to 2505 BLDC Compressor

Text: The original April 19, 2002 business proposal listed a “Thomas 32 stroke compressor.” However, at an October 2004 meeting, Nihon Rufuto asked Nidek to incorporate a 2505 BLDC compressor into the Unity Project. The 2505 BLDC compressor was not yet sold on the market and a sample unit was unavailable for 9 testing. Further, the 2505 BLDC compressor ran on DC power, while the Thomas compressor in the prototypes used AC power.4 And, the 2505 BLDC compressor was more expensive. Nihon Rufuto also asked Nidek, among other things, to reduce the cabinet size. Nidek spent many hours making the requested changes and researching the 2505 BLDC compressor and the adjustments needed to incorporate it into the oxygen concentrator. At meetings in March and August 2005, Nihon Rufuto asked for even more design changes and other modifications, including reducing the weight of the concentrator by ten kilograms. Nihon Rufuto insisted on incorporating the 2505 BLDC compressor even though it was still not available on the market and also asked for drastic changes to the oxygen monitoring system board and a total cabinet redesign. According to Nidek’s Holman, Nihon Rufuto’s requested changes transformed the Unity Project into “another project altogether,” and placed “unreasonable demands” on Nidek. Although Nidek spent hundreds of hours making Nihon Rufuto’s changes, Nihon Rufuto did not want to pay any additional money to Nidek.