I
f the movement toward environ- mental sustainability in manu- facturing plants is a leisurely Sunday drive, it’s a drag race in the consumer segment. In the past several years,
“
Any hybrid has a transmission and power electronics, which means aluminum casting all over.” —Art McGrew, GM engineer
energy-effi cient end-users of castings have sprouted up in a variety of places. Here’s a look at three green markets where castings show strong market potential.
Electric Cars T e U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says it is in the process of creating the
infrastructure necessary to put more electric vehicles on the roadways. According to DOE, President Obama’s plan to put more than 1 million electric vehicles on American streets by 2015 isn’t just a pipe dream. “T e goal…is a race America can win, if we answer the president’s call to out-
innovate, out-build, and out-compete the rest of the world,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Aff airs David Sandalow. But how will an increased number of electric cars aff ect the total number of
cast parts appearing in the vehicles we drive every day? T e answer isn’t cut and dry, according to Art McGrew, an engineer for General Motors. Light-weighting eff orts and reductions in drivetrain sizes may change the casting sizes and materi- als that appear in electrical vehicles, but they may not translate into an overall reduction in the number of castings used. “I can’t say for certain, but in the electrical world, where you have more electri-
cal loads, you have a lot of parts and components,” McGrew said. In addition to the small die castings that appear in these electrical systems, larger nonferrous castings are still found in the drivetrains of electrical vehicles. T e growth of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is likely to be regional, accord-
ing to green energy watchdog Pike Research. T e research institute suggests the largest number of PEVs will be on the roads of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. “Electric vehicle adoption will follow markedly diff erent patterns in vari- ous parts of the country,” said Pike senior analyst Dave Hurst. “Demographics,
consumer attitudes, city and utility in- frastructure, and manufacturer launch plans will all have an infl uence on the uptake of [plug-in electric vehicles].” According to Pike, the growth of the market will be contingent on creating recharging station networks, developing product and produc- tion plans and allocating marketing resources. T e regional nature of the growth also will be infl uenced by the way state and local government offi - cials and utility managers plan for the introduction of PEVs. Pike forecasts certain utilities, such as Southern California Edison and Pacifi c Gas & Electric, will need to prepare for the arrival of PEVs in larger numbers than other regional utilities.
Hybrid Transportation McGrew was a mechanical design
manager at the time General Mo- tors rolled out one of its fi rst hybrid programs. Unlike some of its overseas counterparts, GM wanted to gain a foothold in the hybrid market through large platforms that off ered more bang for the buck before moving into automotive technologies. “It was always GM’s philosophy that in its infancy, [hybrid technol- ogy] was too expensive,” McGrew said. “Why not take this expensive tech- nology and put it where it makes the most sense, like a bus?” In those high-ticket-price plat-
Dae ra sum que perum cullabo. Exped quidi nate elisimus sum est, quia nos ipsanturio. Derepudi dolupta tendae quid modis vollectis int
Because hybrid drivetrains (like the Toyota Prius engine shown here) include both electric and gas sections, they can include more metal castings than traditional vehicles.
forms, GM determined that a hybrid drivetrain would make sense, as it rep- resents a smaller portion of the total cost. Now, as the technology has de- veloped, GM has entered the personal hybrid market, along with many other car companies. According to industry forecaster and consumer advocate J.D. Power and Associates, global hybrid vehicle sales were projected to reach 910,000 units in 2010, an increase of 25% over 2009. T e forecaster expects
Sept/Oct 2011 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 45
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