Japanese and American competition in the development of scroll compressors and its impact on the American air conditioning industry.

摘要

This report examines the technological development of scroll compressors and its impact on the air conditioning equipment industry. Scroll compressors, although considered to be the compressors of the future for energy-efficient residential heat pumps and possibly for many other applications, are difficult to manufacture on a volume-production base. The manufacturing process requires computer-aided, numerically controlled tools for high-precision fabrication of major parts. Japan implemented a global strategy for dominating the technological world market in the 1970s, and scroll compressor technology benefited from the advent of new-generation machine tools. As a result, if American manufacturers of scroll compressors purchase or are essentially forced to purchase numerically controlled tools from Japan in the future, they will then become dependent on their own competitors because the same Japanese conglomerates that make numerically controlled tools also make scroll compressors. This study illustrates the importance of the basic machine tool industry to the health of the US economy. Without a strong machine tool industry, it is difficult for American manufacturers to put innovations, whether patented or not, into production. As we experience transformation in the air conditioning and refrigeration market, it will be critical to establish a consistent national policy to provide healthy competition among producers, to promote innovation within the industry, to enhance assimilation of new technology, and to eliminate practices that are incompatible with these goals. 72 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab. (ERA citation 15:034708)