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Jim Destefani
Editor
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Has the Oil Bubble Burst?
Yes, if you believe an op-ed that appeared last week in the London Daily Telegraph.
From a peak of more than $145 in early July, the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to around $120—almost a 20% decrease. That’s good news, but better, according to the article, is that the psychological tide seems to be turning against the speculators and others who bet on bad news and drove prices up.
Positive developments on the supply side include a willingness by OPEC to open the oil taps a bit wider and a wave of investment in new drilling and refinery capacity. Meanwhile, demand is expected to ease as sales of more fuel-efficient vehicles pick up and growth in some of the world’s biggest industrial economies—even China—slows.
The article predicts that by this fall oil prices could be down by as much as half from their summer peak. That would be great news, taking the sting out of the current inflationary surge and enabling energy users, whether finishers and other industrial users or consumers at the pump, to catch a breather.
Cross your fingers.
ALSO In this issue..
- Finisher’s Perspective
- Powder Coating
- Plating
- Mechanical Finishing
- New Products
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Feature Article—Understanding Fluidized Bed Powder Coating
Ever wondered whether fluidized bed powder application would be useful for your parts? Here are the answers, in an easy-to-read Q&A format.
Powder Coating Clinic—Crimping Coated Parts
The coating on a reader’s sheet metal parts is cracking after post-forming. What can be done to address the issue? Click here to read the response of our powder coating expert.
Powder Coating Forum—IR Powder Curing
A forum user would like to know if infrared curing is applicable for his steel parts, which have heat-sensitive internal components. Have any thoughts? Click here.
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Feature Article—Troubleshooting Hex Chrome Plating
Rumors of the demise of hexavalent chrome are greatly exaggerated. This article provides some tips on how to troubleshoot your hex chrome process.
Plating Clinic—Pinholes in EN Deposits
A reader would like to know what can cause pinholes in electroless nickel deposits. Read the response of our plating expert Art Kushner here.
Plating Forum—Whys and Wherefores of Dummying
A forum user would like to know why dummying his tanks before production plating is important and how to go about doing it. Click here to kick in your two cents.
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Feature Article—Better (and Safer) Buffing Through Chemistry
Is your buffing operation a safety hazard? Click here to read how one plant eliminated a potentially explosive situation by switching to non-combustible buffing pads and compounds.
Mechanical Finishing Clinic—Selecting Ceramic Media
A reader is confused by the choice of ceramic media for finishing his parts. Our mass finishing guru Steve Marcus responds here.
Mechanical Finishing Forum—Additives in Vibratory Finishing
A forum user has a question about use of additives to his vibratory process. Click here to see the original question and give your response.
From the product repository of PF Online:
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