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Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy EV makers are investing in the new manufacturing method of gigacastingAutomakers are seeking new manufacturing methods that can help achieve the goal of producing cheap EVs profitably. One technique is called gigacasting or megacasting where high pressure molds are used to form molten aluminum into large parts. Electric car maker Tesla is credited with pioneering the method, and some rivals also are stepping up investments. CNBC spoke with experts, including Volvo Cars' chief product and strategy officer, Erik Severinson, about that company's plans in this area.

Persons: Tesla, Erik Severinson Organizations: CNBC, Volvo Cars

☆ Why Tesla’s big bet on gigacasting has other EV makers reimagining their factories
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Gigacasting is a form of die-casting — pouring materials like molten aluminum into large molds to form parts. For example, the front and rear portions of the early Model 3 chassis each contained more than 70 parts, according to Tesla. Reducing weight ultimately means more range for the customer, and substituting one large megacast for dozens of stamped parts reduces labor and boosts production, he said. Severinson views repair as a solvable challenge: "There is a solution to repairing also a casted rear floor," he said. Burns and Volk say that might be a sign that the company is hitting some technical limits.

Persons: Elon Musk, Shea Burns, AlixPartners, Tesla, Musk, Erik Severinson, Burns, Wolfram Volk, Volk, Lars Moravy Organizations: Toyota, Ford Motor, General Motors, Hyundai, Nissan, Volvo, Technical University of Munich, BMW, Volkswagen Locations: American, Germany

☆ Elon Musk's plan for a cheap EV seems to have hit another major snag
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla has quietly backed away from plans to build EVs with a revolutionary new "gigacasting" method, per Reuters. It raises further doubts over Elon Musk's plans for an affordable EV. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The automaker has reportedly pulled back on plans to roll out a revolutionary new manufacturing method for its electric cars, per Reuters. A move that casts further doubt on Elon Musk's low-cost EV ambitions.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk's, —, Elon Organizations: Reuters, Service, Elon Musk's, Business

☆ Tesla retreats from next-generation ‘gigacasting’ manufacturing process
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Employees of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg work on a production line of a Model Y electric vehicle. Tesla has backed away from an ambitious plan for innovations in gigacasting, its pioneering manufacturing process, according to two sources familiar with the matter, in another sign that the electric-vehicle maker is retrenching amid falling sales and rising competition. Tesla has been a leader in gigacasting, a cutting-edge technique that uses huge presses with thousands of tons of clamping pressure to die-cast large sections of the car's underbody. One of the two sources familiar with the automaker's gigacasting operations said the suppliers involved are now adapting Tesla's three-piece process for the next-generation vehicle. Both sources said the automaker decided last autumn to halt work on the more innovative and difficult one-piece casting process.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk Organizations: Tesla, Brandenburg, Reuters Locations: gigacasting

☆ Why a small China-made EV has global auto execs and politicians on edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

The rise of BYD and other Chinese automakers led Tesla CEO Elon Musk in January to warn that Chinese automakers will "demolish" global rivals without trade barriers. Caresoft, an engineering benchmarking and consulting firm, has already torn down one China-built BYD Seagull and is preparing to do another. Michael Wayland / CNBCThe consulting firm tore apart the BYD Seagull piece by piece to benchmark the small EV against vehicles from other startups and traditional automakers. Its initial study of the BYD Seagull found it to be efficiently and simplistically designed, engineered and executed, but with unexpected quality and anticipated reliability. Growing concernsBYD's rise comes at a precarious time for global auto industry dynamics.

Persons: It's, Terry Woychowski, Warren Buffett, —, BYD, Tesla, Elon Musk, Caresoft Bernstein, Nissan, Michael Wayland, Caresoft, simplistically, Woychowski, Mathew Vachaparampil, CNBC BYD, Stellantis —, Donald Trump, Zach Gibson, Jennifer Granholm, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, Trump, –, GM Dong, Tang, Marin Gjaja, Gjaja, Ford, you've, Evelyn Cheng, Dylan Butts Organizations: Shanghai International Automobile Industry, National Exhibition, Convention Center, Visual China, Getty, U.S, General Motors, Caresoft, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Overseas, Chevrolet, Nissan Leaf, Bolt, Chicago Federal Reserve, BYD, CNBC, Cox Automotive, Seagull, Tesla, Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, Honda Motor, Hyundai, Kia, — GM, Ford, Chrysler, U.S ., Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Republican, North American Free Trade, Republicans, Buick, SAIC, GM, GM Dong Yue Motors Co, Detroit Locations: Shanghai, LIVONIA, Mich, –, China, Europe, Latin America, Detroit, Texas, Germany, Japan, U.S, Livonia , Michigan, America, XPENG, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Hungary, Uzbekistan, ., Washington ,, United States, Marco Rubio of Florida, Yantai, Shandong Province

☆ 3 reasons why electric cars will soon get a lot cheaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Some automakers are slowing down EV production, saying electric vehicles are too expensive. Auto execs have pointed to high prices as a big reason why demand for electric cars has slumped this year. AdvertisementHere's three reasons why electric cars are getting more affordable. Cheaper battery packsBy far the most expensive part of any EV is the battery, and spiking battery prices have hit automakers hard. "You have to get to a certain scale to really start to make money on electric cars and for the costs to go down," Valdez Streaty said.

Persons: —, Kelley, Tesla, Goldman Sachs, EVs, David Browne, Patrick T, Fallon, Browne, Matthias Preindl, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, it's, Valdez Streaty, Elon, you've Organizations: Service, Ford, General Motors, EV, Atlas Public, EVs, Bloomberg, Department of Energy, Smart, Toyota, Manufacturers, ICE, Columbia University, Smith, Cox, Chicago Tribune, Getty Locations: China, Germany, Los Angeles

☆ Exclusive: GM snatches key Tesla gigacasting supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Tesla and TEI President Oliver Johnson did not respond to requests for comment. The specialists use sand casting in a process called rapid prototyping to help validate Tesla's designs and engineering specifications for its giant molds quickly and cheaply. According to all four sources, TEI began helping Tesla around 2017 to develop the Model Y and is considered in the industry to be one of the world's top sand casting specialists. "TEI will remain its own business entity with GM as its parent company," GM said. Reuters was unable to determine whether Tesla was one of the several companies that bid for TEI.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Tesla, TEI, Oliver Johnson, Ford F.N, Elon Musk, TEI's Johnson, James Womack, Womack, David Clarke Organizations: Motors, REUTERS, Equipment, General Motors, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Chief, Tesla's, Celestiq, American Foundry Society, GM's Global Manufacturing, Reuters, SEAT, Tesla, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, , Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, TEI, Livonia, Detroit

☆ Tesla working on 'gigacasting' tech to mould underbody in one piece -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A staff member attends to customers inside a Tesla Model Y car at a showroom of the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker in Beijing, China February 4, 2023. The state-owned Chinese newspaper, which based its report after a recent visit to Tesla's Shanghai factory, did not say when and where the upgrade will happen. Reuters reported this month that Tesla was closing in on an innovation that would allow it to die cast nearly all of the underbody of an electric vehicle in one piece. Tesla has pioneered the use of huge presses with 6,000 to 9,000 tons of clamping pressure to mould the front and rear structures of its Model Y in its "gigacasting" process that has slashed production costs. Reporting by Zhang Yan, Albee Zhang and Bernard Orr; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Florence, Tesla, Zhang Yan, Albee Zhang, Bernard Orr, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Tesla, U.S, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai Securities, Reuters, HK, Zeekr, Shanghai Securities News, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Shanghai

☆ In EV battle, Toyota bets on new technology and old-school thinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( David Dolan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He pointed to engineering and technology expertise anchored in "TPS", shorthand for the Toyota Production System. Toyota revolutionised modern manufacturing with its system of lean production, just-in-time delivery and "kanban" workflow organisation. ASSEMBLY LINE, GIGACASTINGOne innovation being emphasised by Toyota is its self-propelled production lines, where EVs are guided by sensors through the assembly line. Toyota also showed off a prototype of the die-casting technology known as "gigacasting" pioneered by Tesla that produces aluminium parts far bigger than anything used before in auto manufacturing. Like Tesla, Toyota says it will produce EVs in modular sections, reducing parts.

Persons: EVs, Goldman Sachs, Kazuaki Shingo, Tesla, Koji Sato, David Dolan, Jamie Freed Organizations: Toyota, TOYOTA CITY, TPS, System, United Auto Workers, Tesla, Thomson Locations: Japan, gigacasting, Toyota City, Motomachi

☆ The UAW strike and the inexorable math of electric vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

EVs have fewer parts than gas-powered vehicles. This means fewer jobs in the industry. That means fewer jobs because EVs are much simpler and therefore easier to assemble. Higgins wrote a book about Tesla, called Power Play, that expertly explains how the company developed a more efficient vehicle manufacturing process. The Tesla Giga Press is a giant machine that uses aluminum die casting to make much larger vehicle parts.

Persons: Stellantis, Tesla, I've, Jim Farley, Carl Court, Elon Musk, Tim Higgins, Higgins Organizations: GM, Ford, EV, Service, Bloomberg, Congressional Research Service, Labor, Auto, Financial Times, UAW, Street, Tesla, Shanghai, Giga, Tesla Giga Press, Toyota, Hyundai, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Dagenham , England

☆ Gigacasting 2.0: Tesla Reinvents Carmaking With Quiet Breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +8 min

Another said the whole design process for a large metal mold would typically cost about $4 million. To overcome the obstacles, Tesla turned to firms that make test molds out of industrial sand with 3D printers. 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. 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. And once Tesla is happy with the prototype mold, it can then invest in a final metal one for mass production.

Persons: Norihiko Shirouzu, Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk, Terry Woychowski, Woychowski, Tesla's, David Clarke Organizations: Caresoft, U.S, GM, Reuters Locations: Norihiko Shirouzu AUSTIN , Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, United States

☆ Gigacasting 2.0: Tesla reinvents carmaking with quiet breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, Terry Woychowski, Woychowski, Tesla's, David Clarke Organizations: Caresoft, U.S, GM, Reuters, Thomson Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, United States

☆ Why are other automakers chasing Tesla's 'Gigacasting'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here's a look at Gigacasting and how the innovation is forcing automakers to scramble to match Tesla:WHAT IS GIGACASTING? The Giga Press is an aluminium die-casting machine adopted by Tesla at its factories in the U.S., China and Germany. The house-sized machines are able to produce aluminium parts far bigger than anything used before in auto manufacturing. Toyota said it expected that using aluminium die-casting would eliminate dozens of sheet metal parts from assembly and reduce waste. The global aluminium die-casting market was worth almost $73 billion last year and is projected to top $126 billion by 2032, showed an AlixPartners analysis.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Tesla, Elon Musk, Zeekr, Kevin Krolicki, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Toyota, Giga Press, EVs, WHO, Industries, Buhler Group, HK, General Motors, Hyundai Motor, Volvo, EV, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S, China, Germany, Italy, Europe, Japan, Gothenburg, Sweden

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