Outlook
Opportunities are Many if Your Company is Ready
While some would rightly call the US the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and while the traditional oil business is again booming on both the exploration and production sides, most of us in the ma- chine tool world simply call this market an opportunity today. As of this writing, the US has natural gas reserves estimat- ed at 2.6 quadrillion ſt³. And, despite the anticipation that oil will continue as the primary fuel worldwide for the coming decades, natural gas and other alterna- tive fuels represent viable opportuni- ties for new machine development and manufacturing growth. Machine builders must be flexible
and ready to respond: At EMAG we are prepared to seize these opportunities. For example, the emergence of more
sophisticated technologies in machin- ing will have a dramatic impact on the energy sector. Chief among these tech- nologies, in our view, is electrochemical machining (ECM). Te combination of surface finish capabilities and the reduction of tool costs associated with conventional hard-metal turning, drill- ing and grinding will generate many new opportunities for manufacturers of power generation equipment. As both exploration products such as casing, drill and flow pipe as well as power generation equipment components such as unitized turbines and housings usu- ally involve very large workpieces, there are inevitable inconsistencies in the finish on the various sections, caused by tooling degradation, tool changing, operator differences in the tool monitor- ing procedure and even the subtle shiſts in roughing and finishing cycles on, for example, large blisks, contour turbine blades or splines.
ECM can contribute significantly to
the reduction of manufacturing costs, as there is insignificant tool wear involved in this “touchless” method. Obvious savings in hard tooling costs, combined with less apparent but very real machine recalibra- tion and downtime costs associated with tool changing, will result in an overall bet- ter bottom line for the end user. Such new technologies will complement and, over the long term, replace the conventional technologies in the market today.
Machinery and equipment companies must be quick and flexible to preserve and expand market share.
Also, as more difficult-to-machine
materials emerge, the relatively slower ma- chining speed of new technologies will be offset by their more consistent results. Te machining of materials used on turbine blades and vanes oſten brings consider- able challenges when all production costs are evaluated. Many of the newer cutting technologies minimize some of these chal- lenges. As we see in all our target markets, the drive for cost reduction with no com- promise in quality is as keen as ever, and the energy sector is no exception. Larger, new machines will be
required to build not only the power generators that will serve in the emerg- ing natural gas market, but also contain- ment structures for natural gas, which will require different thinking. One example of these: fuel tanks for cars that will run on natural gas in the future. While we do see continued use of
windpower in the US, with its large workpiece requirements, there are grid cost factors and policy considerations
Peter Loetzner
CEO and President EMAG L.L.C. Farmington Hills, MI
involved here that continue to open doors for other alternatives. Hydropower and geothermal energy
will likewise find their niches, but have limitations of their own, based on geography and utilization, resulting in a limited scope at present. Tus, we see a “perfect storm” of new
technologies and new market opportuni- ties in the US that will create a growth environment for existing forward-think- ing machine shops and new customers for machine builders, as well. We have pushed the envelope of technology in tandem with our machine tool build- ing capabilities to position EMAG for quick, flexible response to these changing market conditions. All machinery and equipment companies must do likewise to preserve and expand their market share. Of course, while this reshaping of the
energy landscape is occurring, conven- tional petroleum-related activity will continue, though projections for the next few decades show a marked decline in the use of oil in the US, just as other markets ramp up substantially. Tis trend in the US will not result from less exploration or harvesting of resources, but rather from increased fuel efficien- cies in the transportation sector coupled with policy directives from Washington. Tese are exciting times to be in the
energy segment as a machine tool and metalcutting technologies supplier. Aſter all, changes only create problems when companies refuse to see them coming and fail to capitalize on their talents and market experiences to design and build better machines. EMAG will keep its options open to the bright future for the US energy market, on both the explora- tion and production fronts.
Energy Manufacturing 2013 21
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