Toured the factory today. This is the second time I've seen it. The first time was October 2011.
Everyone's taking time off this week, so the factory wasn't running. There were a few folks around doing whatever (I'm guessing tuning/tweaking, plus I saw dies being shifted around (which is a time-consuming effort so a good time to do it), lights being changed, etc.) So I'll need a third visit to actually see it running :smile: but it did give Dan Myggen and myself an opportunity to see stuff we couldn't normally see (mostly 'cuz you'd be in the way of people or machinery). We also took the opportunity to go off the beaten path.
Photos are still forbidden. Not sure how someone else here (I forget who) managed to get them. I mentioned it to someone in Tesla Comms and she was surprised :smile: -- not supposed to be any photos.
It was impressive back then. It's quite a sight now. Massive quantities of a plethora of different parts everywhere. Massive stacks of stamped panels. I couldn't even begin to count how many. I'd be lucky to just count the number of containers holding 50 panels each. Just the number of bins, boxes, organizing things was really staggering.
The robots have been busy reproducing. There's probably 10x more than last time I was there. The assembly line is long and thoughtfully-laid out. I can't imagine architecting that line. Smart cars, lifts, fixed lines, oh my!
Saw some of the plastics area again. The dies for that stuff are just as impressive as the dies for the aluminum! Holy cow! Massive. I keep forgetting that a lot of the plastics in the car are made right there in the factory. Seeing the machinery that does it took it home. Pretty impressive to see the high quality stuff coming from those machines.
Part of our walk included seeing where the power for the facility comes in.
Imagine going to a major power switching station. Yeah, that. A 90kW supercharging load is a drop in the bucket for what's coming in there.
There were dies for the aluminum stamping everywhere. Enormous. Some were being moved around when we were there. Dan and I were mesmerized watching the overhead crane (45-ton capacity) built into the facility's structure being manipulated to pick one up and move it around. You could feel the vibrations of the crane and cart through the floor. I almost had to pick our jaws up off the floor and keep ourselves moving on the tour or we'd just stand there and watch all day :smile:
The break room is pretty cool. All kinds of food, drink, snacks in there -- on pretty much the honor system where you grab what you want, scan it through an automated device at the door and pay for it (cameras everywhere of course). Chocolate milk is free. Dan and I enjoyed some :smile:
Oh, and rolls of aluminum. Lots of them. Various sizes and grades. Thick sheets! Yikes. Literally no way to manipulate that stuff sans machinery.
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff. I didn't do anything like look at VINs or whatever. I'll add more if I remember it ...
My thanks to Tesla for the hospitality and amazing access to the factory (not just me -- everyone getting tours)!
Everyone's taking time off this week, so the factory wasn't running. There were a few folks around doing whatever (I'm guessing tuning/tweaking, plus I saw dies being shifted around (which is a time-consuming effort so a good time to do it), lights being changed, etc.) So I'll need a third visit to actually see it running :smile: but it did give Dan Myggen and myself an opportunity to see stuff we couldn't normally see (mostly 'cuz you'd be in the way of people or machinery). We also took the opportunity to go off the beaten path.
Photos are still forbidden. Not sure how someone else here (I forget who) managed to get them. I mentioned it to someone in Tesla Comms and she was surprised :smile: -- not supposed to be any photos.
It was impressive back then. It's quite a sight now. Massive quantities of a plethora of different parts everywhere. Massive stacks of stamped panels. I couldn't even begin to count how many. I'd be lucky to just count the number of containers holding 50 panels each. Just the number of bins, boxes, organizing things was really staggering.
The robots have been busy reproducing. There's probably 10x more than last time I was there. The assembly line is long and thoughtfully-laid out. I can't imagine architecting that line. Smart cars, lifts, fixed lines, oh my!
Saw some of the plastics area again. The dies for that stuff are just as impressive as the dies for the aluminum! Holy cow! Massive. I keep forgetting that a lot of the plastics in the car are made right there in the factory. Seeing the machinery that does it took it home. Pretty impressive to see the high quality stuff coming from those machines.
Part of our walk included seeing where the power for the facility comes in.
Imagine going to a major power switching station. Yeah, that. A 90kW supercharging load is a drop in the bucket for what's coming in there.
There were dies for the aluminum stamping everywhere. Enormous. Some were being moved around when we were there. Dan and I were mesmerized watching the overhead crane (45-ton capacity) built into the facility's structure being manipulated to pick one up and move it around. You could feel the vibrations of the crane and cart through the floor. I almost had to pick our jaws up off the floor and keep ourselves moving on the tour or we'd just stand there and watch all day :smile:
The break room is pretty cool. All kinds of food, drink, snacks in there -- on pretty much the honor system where you grab what you want, scan it through an automated device at the door and pay for it (cameras everywhere of course). Chocolate milk is free. Dan and I enjoyed some :smile:
Oh, and rolls of aluminum. Lots of them. Various sizes and grades. Thick sheets! Yikes. Literally no way to manipulate that stuff sans machinery.
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff. I didn't do anything like look at VINs or whatever. I'll add more if I remember it ...
My thanks to Tesla for the hospitality and amazing access to the factory (not just me -- everyone getting tours)!