What does Kenic system do?

We have been dedicated to the development of LCD controllers continuously since 1998.

Our products have been widely adopted in various fields,
with many of our LCD controllers used effectively in industrial equipment.

While any major chip manufacturer can merely supply the LCD controllers,
our company provides wide-ranging support to customers,
including technical guidance to customers who are introducing LCD-related equipment for the first time,
ideas and proposals for touch panel controllers, DC/DC converters for LED backlights,
firmware source code, etc. Customers can complete their development projects without any worries.

Taking advantage of our strengths in analog technology and power transmission technology,
we also do some OEM designs.

How does Kenic system’s LCD controller differ from the competition?

① Internal structure is FPGA, not ASIC.

＜Advantages＞
② Even if the LCD is discontinued, it is possible to customize for an alternative LCD.

③ Even if production of the FPGA itself is discontinued, at worst, only a change in the PCB design is necessary.
A change of software developed by the customer is unnecessary.

④ We can freely custom-design products for customers. With ASIC, custom-design is almost impossible.

⑤ Regarding the unit-price of the product, we can match the price of specialized chips for customers ordering quantities of hundreds to thousands a year.

⑥ We do not spare any effort when composing the user manuals, allowing for the easier understanding of the devices and a drastic reduction in development costs.
We also believe that the starter kit is an important tool which helps with understanding.

＜Disadvantages＞
⑦ For very large lots, the unit-price of the product is more expensive than ASIC.
　　However, with the arrival of the 28nm generation, we expect this issue will be solved.

⑧ Complex functions that consume much logic cannot be installed
　　(for example, the expansion and reduction of images, rendering functions, etc.).

What is your track record on product adoption?

We have a proven track record of adoption in many types of industrial equipment.

While we cannot divulge specifics due to customer privacy, our products are most widely used by: medical device manufacturers, shipping device manufacturers, power equipment manufacturers, broadcasting equipment manufacturers, measuring instrument manufacturers, biotechnology-related manufacturers, rice milling machine manufacturers, digging equipment manufacturers, and major laboratories for new product development.

Can you provide examples of effective results when your product was introduced?

Based on customer feedback, we list some points below

① Development was extremely easy. The starter kit came in handy.

② Since we have a responsibility to provide a long-term stable supply of medical devices, we were able to introduce the product with peace of mind.

③ Since we were introducing an LCD for the first time, Kenic system’s technical support was helpful.

④ We developed a revolutionary new product, but as we could not determine unit sales at first, we utilized the complete CPU board product, which allowed us to keep down the early development costs.

⑤ As the GDC from Company E and N were discontinued, Kenic helped us by developing a compatible product.

⑥ Because the instrument panel operated by the shop staff was a character LCD, the operation was difficult. We therefore introduced a monochrome LCD.

⑦ Since I wanted to study the world of LCDs, I decided to purchase the starter kit for the time being.

As expected, we feel there is a steady increase in customers who want to make the shift from seven –segment LEDs to LCDs.

How do I design the screen?

From the perspective of the Host-CPU, the frame buffer appears to be orderly lined up on the local bus, so it is possible to draw points as if writing to memory.

Functions for drawing straight lines and boxes are prepared utilizing this dot-drawing function, and the source code for these functions is offered in our starter kit. This is included free of charge. When designing the screen this way, it is not as easy as using a convenient tool such as a paint program, but it allows for detailed display and a great increase in design freedom.

Line graphs, bar graphs, animation etc., are also possible via the software. In order to display an image as depicted in the screenshot, create a full-color bit-mapped image first, using a tool which automatically converts it into our format. The tool can be downloaded at no cost; please follow the link below.
Tool download

Is the LCD controller different for every LCD?

Basically, yes.

The reason is, if the controller tries to be compatible with many types of LCDs, it is necessary to prepare a large number of registers, and the designer needs to pour through the LCD manual carefully to search for the correct setting value, which requires extra time and effort.We first pinpoint the LCD and then produce the product around it, ensuring maximum compatibility. For details, please inquire.

Moreover, we take advantage of the fact that we use FPGA in the internals by actively working on custom-designs. This allows us to promise the customer foolproof development.

What is the price? How do I order?

Standalone parts can also be purchased.

For example, the most popular request is for the “33-pin flexible cable.”

This is because the minimum lot for manufacture is at least 3,000 pieces.

In addition, there are many LCD-related parts that require an extremely large production lot; these parts can also be sold as single items.

When using the touch panel, are there any good decorative panels?

We are preparing panels for 5.7-inch and 3.5-inch screens. Please feel free to make use of them. When there is no touch panel, all that is usually necessary is just making a hole in sheet metal and covering it with an acrylic sheet.

However, when a touch panel is involved, the edge treatment of the hole corners in the sheet metal becomes troublesome. In such cases, it is possible to use our aluminum front panels.

This front panel is convenient when producing limited quantities of prototypes.

Can I also buy the DC/DC converter for the LED backlight?

Surprisingly, we have recently received many such requests. Initially, we publicized only the circuit diagram and information; however, now we ship quite a few finished products.

Please feel free to ask.