Tesla is developing a new, more affordable electric car, aiming to halve the cost of previous models like the Model 3 and Model Y. Elon Musk has revealed plans to produce tens of millions of these cars, starting with a revolutionary new manufacturing process called the 'unboxed process'. This process involves developing large sub-assemblies that multiple workers and robots can work on simultaneously, then combining these parts to complete the vehicle. This is a departure from the traditional assembly line and could significantly reduce production costs and increase efficiency.
However, Tesla is also pursuing a groundbreaking next-gen technology called 'giga casting 2.0', which is slightly different from what they initially showcased to the public. This technology is being used to form parts for the Cyber truck, a completely different type of vehicle that employs an exoskeleton design. Tesla's approach is to leverage the learnings from the Cyber truck and create a new, more efficient platform for the development of the upcoming twenty-five-thousand-dollar vehicle using the unboxed process.
The company's plan is to use a large casting machine to form the entire underbody of their smaller vehicle in one single piece. This is possible due to the size of the Cyber truck castings and the techniques Tesla needed to adapt for the Cyber truck. However, this approach deviates or conflicts with the innovative unboxed process that Tesla introduced to the public at investor day in March.
Tesla aims to combine up to 400 parts into a single casting, which is a significant departure from the unboxed process. This could potentially revolutionize the vehicle manufacturing process, allowing Tesla to create a car from scratch in as little as 18 to 24 months, a significant improvement over the three to four years typically required by competitors.
However, this approach introduces several challenges. For example, the center of the large casting would be the structural battery pack, which could make it more difficult for workers and robots to access. Additionally, the sand casting process Tesla is using to create large metal molds could be prohibitively expensive, especially with larger and larger molds as Tesla intends to achieve.
In conclusion, while the adoption of the ultra-large Giga casting method introduces several challenges, it holds the potential to revolutionize the vehicle manufacturing process. Tesla is currently deciding between different methods and key engineering decisions will be made in the coming months as they prepare for the production of their twenty-five-thousand-dollar car.
1. Tesla is developing a new electric car that aims to be half the cost of the previous generation. The company plans to produce tens of millions of these cars using a revolutionary new method that parallelizes the manufacturing process. This method, called the "unboxed process," involves developing large sub-assemblies and then combining the modular parts together to complete the vehicle. This marks an innovative departure from the traditional assembly line, which hasn't seen significant changes in over a hundred years since it was popularized by Henry Ford .
2. Tesla's new manufacturing process involves a groundbreaking next-gen technology called "giga casting 2.0," which is slightly different from what they initially showcased to the public. The company has been using large Giga castings for the front and rear underbody of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for some time. They use custom-designed gigapresses ranging from six thousand to nine thousand tons of force, built by the company IDRA .
3. The 9,000 ton gigapress is one of the largest known to have been acquired by Tesla and is set to be aimed at casting parts for the Cyber truck. This is a completely different type of vehicle that employs an exoskeleton design, which places the structural elements on the exterior of the vehicle as opposed to the internal chassis of a car. Tesla has had to completely rethink the design process for this novel pickup truck, which has provided valuable insights that they could potentially reapply back into their existing chassis .
4. Tesla's approach for its upcoming twenty-five thousand dollar vehicle is to leverage the learnings from the Cyber truck and create an entirely new, more efficient platform using the unboxed process. Tesla's plan is to use this Ultra large casting machine to form the entire underbody of their smaller vehicle in one single piece. This appears to be possible in part because the Cyber truck castings are so large given the size of this vehicle .
5. Tesla's new Giga casting 2.0 deviates or even conflicts with the Innovative unboxed process that Tesla introduced to the public at investor day in March. The unboxed process showcased that the front and rear castings for the Next Generation vehicle were located in separate modules or stations being worked on independently while building the vehicle .
6. Tesla is working with design and casting specialists in the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Britain who have turned to 3D printing with industrial sand. 3D printers are used to layer sand and apply a binding agent in each pass, giving the sand some structure and allowing it to form the mold's shape. This is something new for such giant molds and it comes with significant benefits .
7. Tesla intends to use a Giga press with a clamping strength of potentially over 16,000 tons to cast the entire underbody of the new compact car. This is uncharted territory, but Tesla does have continued experience from using progressively larger giga presses most recently nine thousand tons for the Cyber truck .
8. Tesla is in the process of deciding between a high-pressure gigapress and a slower injection method that accommodates sand cores. The high-pressure gigapress could significantly extend the production timeline, while the slower injection process could compromise the quality results .
9. Tesla's adoption of an ultra-large Giga casting method introduces several challenges but holds the potential to revolutionize the vehicle manufacturing process. With this Innovative design approach, Tesla could create a car from scratch in as little as 18 to 24 months, a significant improvement over the three to four years typically required by competitors .