Blog Giga Press Manufacturer Touts 8,000-Ton Machine

A new video from the manufacturer of Tesla’s Giga Press gives details on the machine the automaker intends to use to use to stamp out the Cybertruck.

The video from IDRA Group General Manager Riccardo Ferrario did not name Tesla, but announced that an electric car manufacturer ordered the first 8,000-ton die-casting machine. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk previously said that to produce the Cybertruck the company would need an 8,000-ton casting press.

Tesla currently owns the two biggest casting machines in the world, including a 6,000-ton unit used to manufacture the Model Y rear chassis and crash rails as a single component.

Tesla reportedly has three casting machines installed at Giga Shanghai, two machines installed at the factory in Fremont, Calif., and one machine set to be installed at both Giga Berlin and Giga Austin.

“This giant machine will be used for the production of chassis components of larger vehicles such as pickup trucks, full electric lightweight goods vehicles, and SUVs,” Ferrario said. “It is a maestro, and not only shows the capabilities of IDRA’s technical superiority but also validates the many, many years of hard work that have gone into realizing this project.”

Musk recently said that a production version of the Cybertruck is expected to be unveiled in Q2. The company is currently rushing to build Giga Texas in Austin in time for the Cybertruck to go into production at the end of the year.

Image: Wikipedia

 

[ThomasD]

How long will it take to manufacture the press? Install it and start making the trucks

 

[Migizi]

If the Cybertruck is an exoskeleton, then would not this casting machine be for other vehicles such as the Semi, or other cars? It has been reported that Semi, model 3 and model Y's will also be built there (Austin).

Wouldn't the manufacture process of the Exoskeleton need more of a press to fold the body from cut patterns of the stainless steel?

 

[Cal1]

I thought the casting machine was for front and rear underbody pieces. Nothing to do with the folding of the stainless steel. I was initially confused by the many references to a giga press casting machine. It doesn't press anything. It's an injected molten metal die cast process. A press folds exactly as you questioned. I found experts specially referencing the "giga press" as a giga casting machine.

The bottom line is that there will be two giga machines, a giga casting one for the under body parts and a giga press to fold the stainless aluminum body panels. While the giga casting process has been pretty well figured out on the MY the new one for the CT will have teething pains. It uses much higher pressure (8,000 tons) than a MY casting machine (6,000 tons) but will probably not hold up production. The gigapress probably will.

We've seen MY front and rear casting coming out of GigaTexas already as they are testing the two MY machines already in place. They haven't even taken delivery of the CT giga casting machine yet.