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WESTECPreviewHorstEngineeringShape MemoryAlloysDETROIT’s SUPREMESnardelli wagoner mulallyMarch 20095w w w. t o d a y s m a c h i n i n g w o r l d . c o mvolumeissue3Falling offthe charts?
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in this issueMarch 2009 volume 5 issue 3DepartmentsFeatures724A Supreme Debacle: The Long Declineof the Detroit Three by Paul Eisenstein1132Horst Engineering1318How it WorksBook Reviewby Jerry Levine20Fresh Stuff38Next40One on One51Shop Doc52Product FocusWESTEC Preview58U.S.A.SwarfThe Trillion Dollar MeltdownWorking with Shape Memory Alloys by Barbara DonohueMADE INForumSTEREO33in this issue42An Interview with Scott Livingston by Lloyd GraffEditor’s NoteThink Tank59Postings66AfterthoughtA Letter to Sarah 2007 Today’s Machining World, Inc. All rights reserved.SUBSCRIPTION/CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Basic subscription rate: US 40 for domestic/US 55 for international.Send address changes and/or subscription inquiries to: Today’s Machining World, P.O. Box 847, Lowell, MA 01853 or emailcs-smw@computerfulfillment.comCPC Publication Agreement Number 4004828860 Ad Index62 ClassifiedsCanadian Return Address: World Distribution Services, Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 email: cpcreturns@wdsmail.comToday’s Machining World (USPS 024-909) (ISSN 1945-4643) is published monthly,12 times a year by Screw Machine World, Inc., 4235 w 166th Street, Oak Forest, Ill. 60452.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Today’s Machining World, PO Box 847, Lowell MA 01853.Subscribers may also e-mail address changes to cs-smw@computerfulfillment.comPeriodical postage paid at Oak Forest, IL and additional mailing offices.CPC Publication Agreement Number 40048288Canadian Return Address: World Distribution Service , Station A PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 or email: cpcreturns@wdsmail.comMarch 20095
editor’s notewww.todaysmachiningworld.comA Screw Machine World Inc. Publication4235 W. 166th StreetOak Forest, IL 60452(708) 535-2200Keep On DrillingIManaging EditorEmily Halgrimsonemily@todaysmachiningworld.comFeatures EditorNoah Graffnoah@todaysmachiningworld.comWeb ManagerNoah Graffnoah@todaysmachiningworld.comCreative DirectorRobert Bocoktmwmagart@gmail.comCirculation DirectorSue Ravenscraft - RS Media Servicessmravenscraft@comcast.netNational and East Coast Sales ManagerBill Papp - 845-613-7329bill@todaysmachiningworld.comSales ManagerMidwest and Central territoriesCharlie Payne - 717-666-3200adsalespro@comcast.netSales Manager serving CACraig Zehntner - 626-683-3996wnjla@aol.come d i t o r ’s n o t eDrill SergeantLloyd Graff(708) 535-2237used to jog regularly with a fellow named Gordon McKeague.He was a big guy like me, so as we lumbered through theneighborhood on our six-mile treks we had a chance to talkquite a bit.Gordon was a bigwig at Amoco, the oil giant based in Chicagowhich was ultimately absorbed by BP, then called British Petroleum. He had lived all over the world and earlier in his career hewas involved in oil exploration for the company.One summer night he recounted the story of Amoco’s biggestoil find—the fabulous Prudhoe Bay discovery in Alaska. Gordonhad been part of the exploration team at Amoco so he knew whathe was talking about.The geologists and drillers believed there was oil in the underground rock formations near Prudhoe and they convinced management to sink 72 exploratory wells. They amassed the tubularsteel and drilling equipment and started punching their holes inthe tundra of southern Alaska. The first week they hit nothing. Formonths they sank their steel and rock bits around Prudhoe andstruck zilch. They drilled their 72 wells and came up empty.But after their fruitless work was supposed to be done theyfound they had enough pipe for two more holes. So what theheck—rather than leave the stuff for the scrap dealers they decided to expend their tubing. Number 73 was dry, but on the lastexploratory well they hit the black gold they believed in their gutwas waiting to be lifted from Alaska.Gordon’s story has stayed with me long past our runstogether. When business has been tough and I thought thenext customer would never appear, I often recalled his Alaskastory, which he swore was absolutely true.But even if they struck oil on number 73 instead of 74—sowhat. It is the authentic story that keeps us going in this life.Let’s keep drilling until the last tube and bit are used up.Lloyd GraffEditor/OwnerMarch 20097
contributorsMarch’s talent poolPaul A. Eisenstein is a veteran automotive journalist based in the MotorCity—that is, if you can ever find him there. His coverage of the productsand people, business and trends keeps him on the road much of the year.Mr. Eisenstein publishes a news/blog, TheDetroitBureau.com. He has wonnumerous awards for his writing; serves as a board member with theAutomotive Press Association and is a juror for the prestigious NorthAmerican Car and Truck of the Year awards.Barbara Donohue has been turning technology into English since 1993.An MIT-educated mechanical engineer with more than a decade of industrialexperience, she started her career in journalism as editor of a small-townweekly newspaper. She regularly contributes “How It Works” articles to TMWand loves that it gives her an excuse to research different technologies andvisit machine shops and factories wherever she goes. When she’s not writing,Barbara likes to take her therapy dog, Luke, to visit patients in nursing homesand hospitals.contributorsLloyd Graff is the founder and owner of Today’s Machining World. He also coowns Graff Pinkert and Company—a machinery trading firm—with his brother,Jim. He has been around metalworking equipment since he was a child, whenhis father, Leonard, would bring him to the screw machine plant he owned.Today’s Machining World developed out of his love of writing and his fascinationwith buying and selling used machinery. In his spare time he watches TV andworries a lot.Jerry Levine has been retired since 1998. When not reviewing books forTMW, he enjoys his grandchildren, playing golf and tennis, and leading adulteducation classes at Northwestern University. Mr. Levine had a 35-year careerat Amoco Corporation, initially designing and starting up chemical plantsaround Europe and Asia, then in world-wide crude oil supply during the wild1970’s—through the 1973 Arab Embargo, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and thegovernment price controls. He spent the last half of his career in Washingtonrepresenting Amoco and the oil industry on energy and environmental issues.Jerry holds chemical engineering degrees from Purdue and Michigan and is amember of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.8Today’s Machining World
forumKeeping onMark ErikssonForm Tools IncorporatedPlymouth, Minn.Tough loveEmily Halgrimson is perfect in her position as managing editor. “Turning Hardship into Hope” is a factual article writtenby a compassionate person. The text and photos truly have aperson-to-person feel, which is hardly ever found in any othertrade magazine. One of the most important points made isthat learning a skill can lead to a college education. A largepercentage of industry leaders started their career with thatapproach, though most parents and educators are not awareof this fact. Also, many college students do not end up withsix credit hours during the first 16 weeks of attending college.It seems to me that the MTA has created a tough-love program that provides the industry with skilled and adaptableemployees with great character. I am truly impressed by thefact that the students end up with a forklift operator certificate and OSHA certificate in addition to machining, CNCset-up and operating. I hope that Eddie Welch will look intogetting NIMS accreditation for the MTA program, which willthen give the students a truly portable skills certificate. Theadvisory board mentioned provides the input to keep thisprogram in tune to the needs of prospective employers. Ourindustry leaders too often do not realize that getting involvedin the local high schools with a machine shop or a nearbytrade school is beneficial to the students and industry alike.Paul HuberPresident, COMEX Bridgeport, CTThe TMW Swarfblog, found at www.swarfblog.com, recentlyposted a blog on GM’s decision to suspend work on the 370million factory being built to assemble the new Volt. The following questions were posed: Are you disappointed that GM stoppedconstruction of the Volt’s engine plant? Should the company giveup on the project, or has it already?Out of touchThe Volt is actually a redux of its former protégé—anotherversion of an electric car that they released and then renegedon (see the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?). It wasone of the few things I was looking forward to seeing on thehorizon of American manufacturing. It has a cool design too,but the cost will probably be way out of line with the averageconsumer’s buying capability. That’s where GM falls on thejob. They are so out of touch with the rest of us.Elizabeth BarrThe Machinist’s Wife blogforumI have been reading your magazine for a couple of yearsnow, having had it recommended to me by Dennis Hoff ofHoff-Hilk Autioneers. I enjoy it very much, and in fact, it’s theonly trade magazine that I don’t just skim. I hope you cankeep it going—I’m sure it must be tough. I’ve been involvedin manufacturing since 1966 when I started as a screwmachine operator at Honeywell. I stuck with screw machining in various capacities, including a stint with NationalAcme as a sales engineer until the early 1980s when I startedthis business to make form tools for screw machines usingwire EDM. That business is all but gone now and we havetransitioned to precision job shop machining, now employing about 20 people. I feel as if we have been under constantstress since around 2000, but, like a lot of other industriesthe good shops survive and the weak ones fall by the wayside. I hope Lloyd’s health continues to improve and you cankeep the magazine going. There is nothing else like it!It’s possibleLet’s all hope they can make the Volt and capitalize on theirinnovations in the media—like Toyota has done with Prius. Itwill be costly. And like Prius, you most likely will not get yourmoney back with the current price of fuel. But it can be usedas a “flag” for the company, like what Ford did with the GT.(Got the young guys to buy Mustangs and such). If fuel hits 4.00 a gallon, it should be a real hit.Marty FielderSomething on your mind? We’d love to hear it.Send your comments to: TMW Magazine 4235 W. 166th Street, Oak Forest, IL 60452Or email us at:March 2009emily@todaysmachiningworld.com or lloyd@todaysmachiningworld.com11
swarfBy Lloyd Gr affChanging WiththeTimesBReader’s Digest was king. The editors con-densed interesting pieces from other publicationsand solicited their readers to submit small 100word stories that they ran at the bottom of manypages. It was a fabulously successful formula andpropelled the magazine to success comparable toI Love Lucy on TV.My writing career began by submitting short pieces toReader’s Digest. I actually got a few published—the beginningof my career as a professional writer. I received 25 for piecesthey ran. It was a little like Woody Allen’s professional start inwhich he wrote jokes for popular comedians and picked up fivebucks for each one that ended up in a routine.The grandchild of Reader’s Digest is the online forum andblog. Writers can be heard on a million topics. Questions canbe answered by a myriad of experts or at least self-proclaimedexperts.March 2009I have been trying to build a community with Today’sMachining World since I began the magazine. We had aforum at the beginning but it got spammed to death byporno raiders who flocked to a magazine named ScrewMachine World.We started the www.swarfblog.com rendition a yearago, but it has not caught fire like I had hoped, maybebecause it had similar content to this magazine.My son, Noah Graff, built the ShopDoc column inTMW into a successful component over the last fo
ISCAR METALS INC. 300 Westway Place, Arlington, TX 76018-1021 Tel 1 817 258 3200, Fax 1 817 258 3221,Tech Tel 1-877-BY-ISCAR info@iscarmetals.com, www.iscarmetals.com ads-0109.indd 2 12/19/08 11:34:11 AM
