Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Europe By The Numbers
  • Car Cutaways
  • Resource Center
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • PUBLICIS SAPIENT: The power of post-purchase: How automakers can maximize customer lifetime value
    • TOYOTA EUROPE: Toyota Motor Europe's next-gen C-HR: sensory innovations revealed by Vehicle UX leader
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • SENSEAUTO: Driving the future of mobility with SenseAuto: The AGI power behind the wheel
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Focus on Electrification
September 15, 2023 04:23 AM

Tesla closes in on car manufacturing breakthrough

Tesla's 'unboxed' manufacturing strategy combines a series of innovations to transform the way it makes electric vehicles while slashing production costs.

Reuters
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Idra Giga Press

    Tesla is further developing the use of giant casting machines known as Giga Presses. Shown is a Giga Press made by Italian supplier Idra.

    AUSTIN, Texas – Tesla has combined a series of innovations to make a technological breakthrough that could transform the way it makes electric vehicles and help Elon Musk achieve his aim of halving production costs, five people familiar with the move said.

    The company pioneered the use of huge presses with 6,000 to 9,000 tons of clamping pressure to mold the front and rear structures of its Model Y in a "gigacasting" process that slashed production costs and left rivals scrambling to catch up.

    In a bid to extend its lead, Tesla is closing in on an innovation that would allow it to die cast nearly all the complex underbody of an EV in one piece, rather than about 400 parts in a conventional car, the people said.

    The know-how is core to Tesla's "unboxed" manufacturing strategy unveiled by CEO Musk in March, a linchpin of his plan to churn out tens of millions of cheaper EVs in the coming decade, and still make a profit, the sources said.

    While Tesla has said its unboxed model involves producing large sub-assemblies of a car at the same time and then snapping them together, the size and make-up of the modular blocks is still the subject of speculation.

    Terry Woychowski, president of U.S. engineering company Caresoft Global, said if Tesla managed to gigacast most of the underbody of an EV, it would further disrupt the way cars are designed and manufactured.

    "It is an enabler on steroids. It has a huge implication for the industry, but it's a very challenging task," said Woychowski, who worked for U.S. automaker GM for more than three decades.

    "Castings are very hard to do, especially the bigger and the more complicated."

    Two of the sources said Tesla's previously unreported new design and manufacturing techniques meant the company could develop a car from the ground up in 18 to 24 months, while most rivals can currently take anywhere from three to four years.

    The five people said a single large frame - combining the front and rear sections with the middle underbody where the battery is housed - could be used in Tesla's small EV which it aims to launch with a price tag of $25,000 by the middle of the decade.

    Tesla was expected to make a decision on whether to die cast the platform in one piece as soon as this month, three of the sources said, though even if they do press ahead the end product could change during the design validation process.

    Neither Tesla nor Musk responded to questions from Reuters for this story.

    3D printing and sand

    The breakthrough Tesla has made centers on the how the giant molds for such a large part are designed and tested for mass production, and how casts can incorporate hollow subframes with internal ribs to cut weight and boost crashworthiness.

    In both cases the innovations, developed by design and casting specialists in Britain, Germany, Japan and the U.S., involve 3D printing and industrial sand, the five people said.

    All spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

    So far, automakers have shied away from casting ever-bigger structures because of the "gigacast dilemma": creating molds to make parts of 1.5 meters squared or more boosts efficiency but is expensive and comes with myriad risks.

    Once a large metal test mold has been made, machining tweaks during the design process could cost $100,000 a go, or redoing the mold altogether might come to $1.5 million, according to one casting specialist.

    Another said the whole design process for a large metal mold would typically cost about $4 million.

    That has been deemed prohibitive by automakers - especially as a design might need half a dozen tweaks or more to achieve a perfect die from the perspective of noise and vibration, fit and finish, ergonomics and crashworthiness, the sources said.

    But Musk's vision from the start was to find a way to cast the underbody in one piece, despite the risks, the sources said.

    To overcome the obstacles, Tesla turned to firms that make test molds out of industrial sand with 3D printers.

    Using a digital design file, printers known as binder jets deposit a liquid binding agent onto a thin layer of sand and gradually build a mold, layer by layer, which can die cast molten alloys.

    According to one source, the cost of the design validation process with sand casting, even with multiple versions, is minimal - just 3 percent of doing the same with a metal prototype.

    That means Tesla can tweak prototypes as many times as needed, reprinting a new one in a matter of hours using machines from companies such as Desktop Metal and its unit ExOne.

    The design validation cycle using sand casting only takes to two to three months, two of the sources said, compared with anywhere from six months to a year for metal mold prototypes.

    Tailor-made alloys

    The subframes in a car underbody are typically hollow to save weight and improve crashworthiness. At the moment, they are made by stamping and welding multiple parts together leaving a void in the middle.

    To cast subframes with hollows as part of one gigacasting, Tesla plans to place solid sand cores printed by the binder jets within the overall mold.

    Once the part has been cast, the sand is removed to leave the voids.

    But despite that greater flexibility achieved in both the design process and the complexity of the large frames, there was still one more major hurdle to clear.

    The aluminum alloys used to produce the castings behaved differently in sand and metal molds and often failed to meet Tesla's criteria for crashworthiness and other attributes.

    The casting specialists overcame that by formulating special alloys, fine-tuning the molten alloy cooling process, and also coming up with an after-production heat treatment, three of the sources said.

    And once Tesla is happy with the prototype mold, it can then invest in a final metal one for mass production.

    The sources said Tesla's upcoming small car has given it a perfect opportunity to cast an EV platform in one piece, mainly because its underbody is simpler.

    The kind of small cars Tesla is developing – one for personal use and the other a robotaxi – do not have a big "overhang" at the front and the back, as there is not much of a hood or rear trunk.

    "It's like a boat in a way, a battery tray with small wings attached to both ends. That would make sense to do in one piece," one person said.

    The sources said, however, that Tesla still had to make a call on what kind of Giga Press to use if it decides to cast the underbody in one piece - and that choice would also dictate how complex the car frame would be.

    To punch out such large body parts fast, the people said Tesla would need new bigger Giga Presses with massive clamping power of 16,000 tons or more, which would come with a hefty price tag and might need larger factory buildings.

    Three of the five sources said one problem with presses using high clamping power, however, was that they cannot house the 3D printed sand cores needed to make hollow subframes.

    The people said Tesla could solve these obstacles by using a different type of press into which molten alloy can be injected slowly - a method that tends to produce higher quality castings and can accommodate the sand cores.

    But the process takes longer.

    "Tesla could still choose high-pressure for productivity, or they could choose slow alloy injection for quality and versatility," one of the people said. "It's still a coin toss at this point."

    Related Article
    An Italian supplier's Giga Press is changing car manufacturing
    Tesla's new car production process stokes debate among industry experts
    Focus on Technology: Sign up for our monthly newsletter that looks at advancements in all aspects of the vehicle including performance, autonomous driving, batteries and more.
    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Mercedes, BMW, Porsche stand to lose most in EU-China tariff row
    Recommended for You
    Mercedes EQE production Beijing 2023
    Mercedes, BMW, Porsche stand to lose most in EU-China tariff row
    VANCE.jpg
    Mercedes applies for tax relief for projects at two U.S. plants
    Baidu robotaxi
    China set to become worldwide leader in automated driving market volume by 2035
    Dr. Kai Yu, Founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics
    Sponsored Content: Interview with Dr. Yu Kai, Founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Europe By The Numbers
    • Car Cutaways
    • Resource Center
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • PUBLICIS SAPIENT: The power of post-purchase: How automakers can maximize customer lifetime value
        • TOYOTA EUROPE: Toyota Motor Europe's next-gen C-HR: sensory innovations revealed by Vehicle UX leader
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
        • SENSEAUTO: Driving the future of mobility with SenseAuto: The AGI power behind the wheel
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us