Racks serve as jigs for the storage and transport of printed circuit boards, primarily in production settings. They resemble a kind of box used by soba restaurants for food delivery but with the lid removed. The side walls (guide rails) have numerous slits. On the factory floor, racks are laid horizontally, and multiple printed circuit boards are inserted vertically between the slits.

Traditional metal racks were too heavy to carry, but non-conductive resins, on the other hand, tended to accumulate static electricity, which could damage ICs and other components even in miniscule amounts. Resins also presented issues with structural strength.

Under the direction of Mr. Aoki, Assistant Sales Director Tamotsu Matsuda, who was in charge of transport boxes, worked together with the development team to take on the challenge of creating a rack that was conductive, lightweight, adjustable and compact in size.

They decided to use nylon resin guide rails to reduce weight, mixing in carbon to give them conductivity. Instead of manufacturing the guide rails as a single large piece, they were divided into several smaller pieces and assembled. This approach reduced initial costs and allowed for customizing rack sizes to individual orders. In line with standard design principles, a hat section (formed by pressing sheet metal) was adopted as the joining method to allow for molding using a simple die while ensuring structural strength.

In 1980, our company's first rack, the Adjust-I, was complete. Made using nylon-carbon composite material, it had a glossy black finish.

Until then, our company had produced racks solely for storage and transport which were not compatible with using automated insertion machines with the boards still in the rack. PCB racks used in factories using robotic automation demanded a high degree of precision, and since racks designed to hold printed circuit boards that have been through the hot solder dipping process would become heated, their resin material would need to withstand heat without warping or distortion.

At Matsuda's request, the development team, led by Toyohiko Akama, began designing the newPCB rack based on the technology used in developing the Adjust-I model. The first challenge the development team faced was that the allowable distortion limit was only 1 millimeter. Due to the nature of resin, even when molds are made to exact dimensions, the sizes of injection-molded parts can vary slightly. This had to be taken into account. In addition, combining materials with such different properties as metal and resin made the design process even more challenging.

Warping of the resin when exposed to heat was also a major problem. The team made numerous attempts to solve these issues, none of which yielded satisfactory results.

So, why not add heat-resistant materials to the resin? Well, at temperatures as high as 130℃, even that would not be enough to prevent warping.

Finally, the team tried using the guide rail segmentation method used in the Adjust-I and, as it turns out, this was surprisingly effective. They found that making each guide rail smaller was effective in preventing warping and distortion caused by increases in temperature. They also discovered that the gap between the guide rails and the hat section absorbed expansion and contraction due to heat.

Thus, in 1984, the new and improved version of the Adjust-I equipped with a base compatible with automated insertion machines, the NK Cert, was complete.

To take on this challenge, the company once again assembled a development team made up of some of the industry's best engineers.

Akama and his team were eager to tackle Matsuda's request. They came up with prototypes for ideas such as a version where all four screws could be loosened by hand, a version which could be adjusted by turning a handle on the back, or a version which used belts to adjust the width. They tried idea after idea, building handmade prototypes of each, but none fully met their expectations.

"Wait - what about this?"

Suddenly, Akama remembered the rack and pinion mechanism they had used in another mechanical component. By connecting all four guide rail points using a gear and rail system, they could ensure that the movable plates shifted in parallel when adjusted. This meant that by moving one part you could move the entire system simultaneously, dramatically cutting down on time needed for width adjustment. To lock the plates in place, they adopted a level lock mechanism that could be operated with one swift motion.

And so, our company's extensive technical expertise took shape as the prototype for the NK Cert Series, aPCB rack that could be adjusted in an instant using rack and pinion technology, was born.

Remarked a representative from an affiliate company of a major home appliance manufacturer located in Kyushu who worked on none other than the manufacture of automatic insertion machines. Thrilled to hear interest from such an unexpected and prestigious player in the industry, Matsuda quickly demonstrated how easily the rack could be adjusted to accommodate different sizes of printed circuit boards. Judging by the man's focused gaze, Matsuda knew the product had struck a chord.

Soon after the event, Matsuda was back in Osaka when he received a call from the very man who had listened with such great enthusiasm to his demonstration at the exhibition. His company was eager to adopt the product and asked our company to begin mass production immediately.

It was at that moment that Matsuda knew his vision had been right all along. He flew to Kyushu to discuss the next steps and ran the numbers for mass production. However, the estimates came back steep - at least 10 million yen would be needed molds and other costs.

"This is sure to become one of our core products. Please let us do this."

Matsuda exclaimed as he took his case to Executive Director Shinichi Aoki, who oversaw the development division. Aoki, who had spearheaded the company's entry into PCB rack development during his time as Head of Planning, had always been enthusiastic about new product development. Despite skepticism from other executives who balked at the high cost, Aoki managed to convince the board. No one believed in the future of the NK Cert more than he did.

And so, the project got the go-ahead to proceed.

In October of that same year, the fruit of the company's efforts, our original NK Cert Series, was born. At the following year's InterNepcon Exhibition in January 1987, the company booth was bustling with crowds of visitors. One promotion in particular - a game where participants could win prizes if they adjusted the NK Cert rack within a set time - proved to be a major hit.

In 1989, the product expanded to various overseas markets. In 1995, it made a great impression at a major trade show in the United States. Although the product was officially marketed as the Nikkou Rack, everyone was calling it the "Niko Rack", a simplification of the original Japanese pronunciation. The name stuck, and the product was officially rebranded as the Nikko-Rack.

Today, the Nikko-Rack has gone on to achieve long-term market success, with over 300,000 units sold. Firmly established as the gold standard forPCB racks in Japan and around the world, its reach now extends to countries as distant as Brazil and South Africa.