 |
| Brian Olson posted Tesla's Giga Press. Very slick. Apparently it's replacing some steel industry capacity with aluminum in the automotive industry. For anyone who comes from a forging or extrusion background there's a lot that looks familiar. They inject molten aluminum into a mold and that becomes the frame for a tesla. You end up with a complex thin wall casting. Much more efficient than using stamped sheet metal with welds as with traditional car making. Dan Heinrikson: Looks like an Injection molding machine but instead of plastic it’s aluminum? Very interesting anyone know the machine manufacturer who made this press? Brian Olson: Dan Heinrikson IDRA in Italy. |
This video not only shows how the press was made, but it also shows how a car is assembled.
 |
| 17:32 video @ 3:08 |
Brian's comment above says they make the whole frame. I question that because closed die manufacturing can make only concave products. The video shows that the frame is still welded from parts. But the parts are bigger than what stamping could produce, so the amount of welding needed during assembly is reduced.
The above video tripped the YouTube algorithm, and I went down a rabbit hole and found this one that explains that the front and rear are each just one casting. This is the rear casting. That is not a concave part. I wonder how they do it. Does the die have movable parts?
 |
| 17:53 video @ 1:45 Giga Castings with Sandy | Evolution of Tesla Bodies In White Sandy and Cory discuss the evolution of Model 3 and Model Y bodies in white over the last five years. Sandy points out the massive advancements that have been made and encourages other OEMs to pursue similar efficiency and lean design. |
This video identifies the press as a 9,000-ton, high-flow machine. I think this is IDRA's biggest so far.
 |
| 30:01 video @ 11:20 Sandy Tours IDRA Facilities | 9,000 Ton Giga Press Sandy gets a tour of IDRA's Giga Press assembly facilities in Italy. Thank you to John and Fiore for the wonderful tour and insights into the future of aluminum die casting! |
I also watched this 5:22 video, but it was a little too technical for me. I have noticed in these videos that they talk about fill times in terms of milliseconds.
The YouTube algorithm is doing its job. This provides more of the background that I need. But I still don't understand how they can make parts that aren't strictly concave.
 |
| 14:32 video @ 3:24 How Does the Die Casting Process Work? |
This is a casting for Volvo. It looks like this one does have two opposing concave surfaces.
 |
| 13:24 Video @ 0:46 Why Tesla And Other EV Makers Are Betting Big On Gigacasting Automakers are rushing to produce cheaper EVs and profitably. While the costs and challenges of improving batteries often hog the spotlight, automakers are also investing billions into new manufacturing methods that can change the way cars are made. One such method is gigacasting or megacasting - using high pressure molds to form molten aluminum into large parts. Electric car maker Tesla is credited with pioneering the method, but several rivals are making investments. CNBC spoke with experts including Volvo Cars' Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Erik Severinson, about the Swedish car maker’s plans in this area. |
Whoops, I was wrong. This side of the rear is not concave with respect to the motion of the dies. Only the top surface is concave. But only the top die moves. This side would be in the fixed die, so it must have parts that go in and out as the movable die closes and opens. Casting instead of stamping allows the use of complex bracing to create strong parts with less thickness. Aluminum casting will probably significantly hurt the steel industry because a lot of the steel coils are now made for the auto industry. Can steel be injection molded?
 |
| @ 0:49 |
No comments:
Post a Comment