Tesla’s method to utilizing big casting machines, nicknamed Giga Press, to make automotive our bodies with just some large casted components is catching on within the auto business.

A Tesla provider says that it’s working with about half a dozen different automakers taking the identical method.

 

Over the previous couple of years, Tesla has been closely investing in casting and alloy know-how to allow bigger casted components which have the aptitude to vastly simplify manufacturing.

The corporate acquired a number of models of the most important casting machines on this planet. They’ve been deployed at Tesla’s factories within the US, Berlin, and China.

Tesla has already been producing the Mannequin Y with a single rear physique piece that changed 70 totally different components within the automobile.

Earlier this yr, an image of the primary single entrance casting a part of the Mannequin Y produced at Gigafactory Texas leaked.

Final month, we reported that Tesla produced the primary Mannequin Y with each back and front single-piece casting.

The technique to vastly scale back the variety of items to make a automotive physique ends in a large discount within the complexity of the physique line and the capital wanted to construct the manufacturing line.

It additionally brings weight benefit to the automobile itself, which in flip can enhance effectivity. Nevertheless, it’s not all benefit.

Some individuals within the business have been important of the price related to potential restore within the occasion of an accident. That is led to questions whether or not Tesla is main a brand new approach for the auto business to construct automobiles sooner or later or if it was a idiot’s errand.

However now it appears like another automakers are keen to provide it a shot, particularly in China.

The New York Instances revealed a report on Liu Siong Tune, an engineer behind LK Know-how, a companion in Tesla’s casting know-how.

Liu mentioned that he’s working with six Chinese language automakers to deploy comparable casting know-how as quickly as subsequent yr:

“Along with Tesla, LK will provide comparable big casting machines to 6 Chinese language corporations by early 2022 as extra automakers undertake Tesla’s approach of constructing automobiles, Mr. Liu mentioned.”

Nevertheless, the engineer means that they could run into some points:

“For all China’s progress, it nonetheless has an extended technique to go. LK hopes to ship the identical sorts of casting machines to many Chinese language corporations within the subsequent two years. However a few of these corporations are struggling to search out automotive designers of the kind and expertise that Tesla has aplenty. With out the designs, LK can’t ship the machines.”

Except for designs, different automakers may also run into some points with supplies.

Tesla has lengthy invested in materials science to develop its personal alloys to help such giant casting components. The automaker even partnered with SpaceX to share materials science expertise to develop these alloys.