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☆ Ford, Hyundai turn to Italian casting machine maker IDRA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The OL 9000 CS gigapress machine is pictured at the IDRA group plant in Travagliato, Italy, October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Giulio Piovaccari Acquire Licensing RightsTRAVAGLIATO, Italy, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Idra, an Italian aluminium casting machine maker and Tesla supplier (TSLA.O), has added Ford (F.N), Hyundai (005380.KS) and a European company to its customer base as more carmakers explore this manufacturing technique. The source said IDRA was also about to sign a supply contract for two 9,000 presses with a premium automaker in Europe, its first with a European group. Six gigapresses are now emerging as the standard for an annual production of 500,000 vehicles, the source added. IDRA has so far signed orders for 25 presses, with 21 already produced and shipped, including to leading 'Tier 1' parts makers.

Persons: Giulio Piovaccari, Tesla, gigapresses, IDRA Organizations: REUTERS, Hyundai, Ford, Thomson Locations: Travagliato, Italy, European, Travalgiato, Brescia, Europe, Austin, Texas

☆ 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

☆ Geely's EV brand Zeekr jumps on the 'gigapress' bandwagon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoApril 27 (Reuters) - Geely's EV brand Zeekr is the latest to join a growing list of automakers that have turned to the "gigapress" die casting technique pioneered by Tesla to slash the cost of electric cars. "In the future, Zeekr will use giga-casting technology on more models," Jiang said. Metal and plastic die casting has long been used in manufacturing, but its application to large aluminium underbodies in carmaking is relatively new. The front and rear sections are then connected with large under-floor battery packs to form a three-piece EV chassis. 'MEGA-CASTING'Other automakers turning to large die casting include General Motors (GM.N), which is using the technology to help design its Cadillac Celestiq electric saloon.

☆ China's Xpeng aims to cut costs with new vehicle manufacturing platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] He Xiaopeng, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors attends a news conference ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, April 16 (Reuters) - China's electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng (9868.HK) unveiled on Sunday a new platform it developed in-house for making vehicles, which it said will reduce the development and manufacturing costs for its company's upcoming models. He said that these cost reductions would give Xpeng an edge against its rivals in an increasingly competitive market. Xpeng will build its G6 SUV, which will debut at the Shanghai auto show starting on Tuesday, as the first model to be built on the SEPA 2.0, according to the company. Xpeng's rival Tesla (TSLA.O) uses massive casting machines, also known as gigapresses, to make large single pieces of vehicle underbodies.

☆ Gigapresses - the giant die casts reshaping car manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

GIGAPRESS 9,000Metal and plastic die casting has been largely used in manufacturing, but its application to large aluminium underbodies in carmaking is relatively new. The global aluminium die casting market was worth almost $73 billion last year and is projected to top $126 billion by 2032, according to an AlixPartners analysis based on Apollo Reports data. Ralf Bechmann of manufacturing consultant EFESO said the benefits of die casting would push it "to be applied to an increasing number of new models of BEV vehicles, also by other manufacturers". Yet not all automakers are convinced, and EFESO's Bechmann cautioned that large module die casting required product design to be "super solid". After initially considering die casting for its upcoming Trinity model, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) has backtracked, while BMW (BMWG.DE) has never expressed an interest.

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