take up to 300 hours to machine and the initial material cost is $60,000–$100,000. This requires a rigid machine to meet tighter tolerances and challenges us to make larger machines.” An example of a larger, multitasking machine that Okuma sees as a future mainstay in oil and gas is its MULTUS B750 capable of delivering 37 kW of power and 5000 N•m of torque with a maximum turning diameter of 1050 mm.
Reducing Demand for Labor Not all contract manufacturing shops know whether their
products are used on land or in sea. “The technical require- ments for these parts are about the same," said Marc Breaux, manufacturing manager of Taylor Oilfield Mfg. (Broussard, LA). "Ninety percent of the components we make are for mud mo- tors. ... We do a lot of shaft work, components, long parts, and other parts with long splines on them.”
Since his start in machining for oil and gas, he has seen equipment transition from shops filled primarily with manual
equipment to advanced four and five-axis CNC machines. “We do a lot of three-axis and four-axis work,” he said, mostly with combined machining and turning centers. They have a Mazak Integrex e-650H-II and two Integrex e-500H-II mul- titasking machine models. These provide turning, milling, drill- ing and optional long boring bar capabilities. They also feature B-axis high-torque milling spindles, heavy-duty C-axis turning spindles, long bed lengths and rethreading functions. The move to done-in-one setup is not isolated to Taylor Oilfield. “One-setup machining has grown in importance,” agreed Scott of Mazak, who noted that labor costs have in- creased for manufacturers of oil and gas equipment as skilled labor continues to be difficult to find. “A single-setup opera- tion minimizes labor and thereby reduces cost because one person does the work of what used to take three or four,” he said. He also emphasized that done-in-one is no more difficult for a machine operator to handle, especially if they are already familiar with operating milling centers.
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