Volvo Cars plans to invest SEK 10 billion ($1.07 billion) in its Torslanda manufacturing plant in Sweden over several years, in preparation for the production of its next generation of EVs. The company will introduce a number of new technologies and manufacturing processes at the plant, including the Tesla-pioneered technique of megacasting of aluminum body… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "megacasting "
Chinese automakers adopting Tesla’s megacasting technology
Tesla’s megacasting technique—using giant casting machines to make car bodies with just a few massive cast parts—greatly reduces the complexity of the body assembly process, saving costs and improving efficiency. Tesla is producing Model Y at Gigafactory Texas using an enormous Giga Press to cast a single rear body piece, which replaced 70 different parts…. Read more »
First Model Y megacasting produced at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas
Tesla has taken a major step towards implementing an innovative new chassis design—the first Model Y megacasting has come out of the enormous Idra “gigapress” at Gigafactory Texas. Front and rear megacastings will be combined with the company’s new structural battery pack to form the underbody of Model Y. Current automobile chassis are made up… Read more »
Elon Musk and Sandy Munro talk Production Hell, megacastings, structural battery packs and much more
This is a meeting that promises to be fascinating for any EV fan—Elon Musk speaks to auto manufacturing expert Sandy Munro for over 45 minutes. Sandy has become something of an internet star of late for his insightful comments (both positive and negative) about Teslas and other EVs. In this new video on the Munro… Read more »
Toyota demonstrates Tesla-inspired gigapress die-casting process
It’s been a long time since auto industry observers have seen Toyota as an innovator, so it was a pleasant surprise when the world’s second-largest automaker demonstrated a version of the die-casting process pioneered by Tesla, using a massive hydraulic press to cast the entire rear third of an auto chassis as a single piece…. Read more »
Volvo orders two Tesla-style Giga Presses for Slovakia EV plant
Tesla pioneered megacasting, a technique that uses giant casting machines to make car bodies with just a few massive cast parts (a Matchbox car is said to have provided the inspiration), and other automakers quickly took notice. In 2021, the LK Group reported that it would supply giant casting presses to several Chinese companies. In… Read more »
Tesla Model Y teardown shows Toyota what it’s up against
The Tesla teardown is a staple of the EV literature. Teardown expert Sandy Munro has taken apart many a Tesla, with highly informative (and entertaining) results. Various legacy automakers have performed their own private teardowns—rumor has it that, when the Model 3 first appeared, a group of German automakers paid an enormous sum to have… Read more »
Another Idra Giga Press delivered to Tesla Gigafactory Texas
Everything’s big in Texas, especially Tesla’s Gigafactory and the giant Giga Press casting machines that will be used there to stamp body components for Model Y. Tesla put its first Giga Press into operation at the Fremont factory in 2020. Made by the Italian firm Idra, it has a clamping force of 55,000 to 61,000… Read more »
Tesla shows off new structural battery pack with 4680 cells at Giga Berlin
Tesla threw a party for the locals to celebrate the upcoming start of production at its Berlin Gigafactory. Kids of all ages dug the carnival rides, the giant Tesla coils shootin’ out sparks, and the obligatory pumpin’ sound-and-light show. For techies, however, the star of the show was Tesla’s new structural battery pack. A cutaway… Read more »
Sandy Munro discusses next-generation EV technologies at Charged Virtual Conference on EV Engineering
Following his two informative presentations at our September conference comparing 10 leading EV motors and Tesla’s inverter technology versus other BEVs, Sandy Munro returns to the Charged Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, April 19-22, 2021. For many years, Munro & Associates has been performing teardowns—taking cars apart to find out what their components are, where… Read more »