
ABOUT PLEXTOR
Plextor is a subsidiary of the Shinano Kenshi Company (SKC), Ltd.
SKC’s roots stretch back to 1918, when it began to manufacture textiles in Japan’s
northern prefecture of Nagano. (Nagano, incidentally, will be the site of the 1998
WinterOlympics.)SKC’sinvolvementintheelectronicsindustrystartedin1962,when
it diversified into the production of stepper motors for commercial audio products.
SKC is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of small motors used in hard
disks, floppy disks, tape drives, copy machines, video cameras ---- and your Plextor
CD-ROM drive.
Over the past decade SKC has developed a reputation as an innovator in compact
discandCD-ROMtechnology.In1992itwasthesecondcompanytobeginshipments
ofdouble-speedCD-ROMdrives.In1994,itwasthefirstcompanytobeginshipments
of half-height quad speed CD-ROM drives. SKC also is a leading manufacturer of
compact disc players used for industrial and commercial applications (e.g., back-
ground music players for retail stores, restaurants and shopping centers).
Plextor acts as SKC’s sales, service and support arm throughout the world. In addition
toCD-ROMdrives,Plextoralsosellsunderitsownlabelprofessionalaudioequipment
used by radio stations, high-speed printing presses, and a CD encoding system
developed by SKC that can pack up to eight hours of audio onto a single compact disc.
Plextor’s home office is located in Tokyo. Plextor first opened an office in California’s
SiliconValleyin1990.Rapidgrowthhasrequiredit to move twicesincethentolarger
offices. Plextor now occupies a 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Santa Clara, CA, which is
staffed by sales, marketing, technical support, engineering, administrative and ship-
ping personnel. It’s European office (located in Brussels) began operation in 1994.
ThePX-43CHandPX-45CHrepresentthefifthgenerationofCD-ROMdrivesthatSKC
hasbrought tothe marketthrough Plextor.In additionto standalone CD-ROMdrives,
Plextor also sells drives in kit, bundle and tower (4-bay and 7-bay) configurations.
Plextor’s CD-ROM Drives
Model Introduced Data
Transfer Rate Access
Speed Buffer
Size
1st generation DM-3020/5020 1990 150KB/sec 430ms 64K
2nd generation DM-3021/5021 1991 150KB/sec 340ms 64K
3rd generation DM-3024/5024 1992 300KB/sec 265ms 64K
4th generation DM-3028/5028 1993 335KB/sec 240ms 64K
5th generation PX-43CH/45CH 1994 600KB/sec 220ms 1MB
68 PX-43CH/PX-45CH OPERATION MANUAL