An nameless reader quotes a report from Reuters: Tesla has combined a series of innovations to make a technological breakthrough that might rework the way in which it makes electrical autos and assist Elon Musk obtain his intention of halving manufacturing prices, 5 individuals acquainted with the transfer mentioned. The corporate pioneered using enormous presses with 6,000 to 9,000 tons of clamping strain to mould the entrance and rear buildings of its Mannequin Y in a “gigacasting” course of that slashed manufacturing prices and left rivals scrambling to catch up. In a bid to increase its lead, Tesla is closing in on an innovation that will permit it to die forged almost all of the complicated underbody of an EV in a single piece, relatively than about 400 components in a standard automobile, the individuals mentioned.
The know-how is core to Tesla’s “unboxed” manufacturing technique unveiled by Chief Government Musk in March, a linchpin of his plan to churn out tens of thousands and thousands of cheaper EVs within the coming decade, and nonetheless make a revenue, the sources mentioned. Whereas Tesla has mentioned its unboxed mannequin entails producing giant sub-assemblies of a automobile on the identical time after which snapping them collectively, the dimensions and make-up of the modular blocks remains to be the topic of hypothesis. Two of the sources mentioned Tesla’s beforehand unreported new design and manufacturing strategies meant the corporate may develop a automobile from the bottom up in 18 to 24 months, whereas most rivals can at the moment take anyplace from three to 4 years.
The 5 individuals mentioned a single giant body — combining the entrance and rear sections with the center underbody the place the battery is housed — might be utilized in Tesla’s small EV which it goals to launch with a price ticket of $25,000 by the center of the last decade. Tesla was anticipated to decide on whether or not to die forged the platform in a single piece as quickly as this month, three of the sources mentioned, although even when they do press forward the top product may change through the design validation course of. The breakthrough Tesla has made facilities on the how the enormous molds for such a big half are designed and examined for mass manufacturing, and the way casts can incorporate hole subframes with inner ribs to chop weight and increase crashworthiness. To beat the obstacles related to this manufacturing approach, Tesla is collaborating with corporations that use 3D printing expertise to create sand molds for casting, which is cost-effective and permits for fast design iterations. The sand casting course of considerably reduces design cycle instances in comparison with conventional metallic mould prototypes.
Tesla additionally plans to make use of stable sand cores throughout the molds to create hole subframes, addressing weight and crashworthiness considerations. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless a choice to be made concerning the kind of press to make use of for casting giant physique components, with trade-offs between productiveness and high quality.