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The Author makes no mention of Tesla's use of that "Giga Press" Die Casting IP in its automotive fabrication process and how in one casting 70 different "body s

The Author makes no mention of Tesla's use of that "Giga Press" Die Casting IP in its automotive fabrication process and how in one casting 70 different "body shop" assembly steps are reduced into one single casting step. So Tesla will eventually get to the point where the entire car/truck unibody will be cast in one step and that cost and unit time to produce a car/truck will be further reduced. And if the other automakers can not match Tesla's productivity via those Giga Press Die casting processes they will not be able to compete on price with Tesla!

p_l 6y ago
The Italian-Chinese die casting tech is available to other customers too - it just has less impact when you already have high-performing manufacturing lines vs building a new one. But companies are buying, and Tesla only happened to be first customer for the largest model at the time, IIRC.
- Farfignoggen 6y ago
  Yes but the Others are not using that currently and Tesla's got some IP of its own included there to achieve such large Die Cast parts' production so there's that to consider. So Tesla has been making use of that and bringing that IP further along whereas the competition will have a learning curve that will not catch up to Tesla in time to keep Tesla from gaining more Electric Vehicle market share!
  - itsoktocry 6y ago
    Can you post evidence of anything you are saying here?
    - Farfignoggen 6y ago
      There is this(1) and I'm looking for some metallurgical patent that I read about but I have not bookmarked that page. So even if Tesla's not creating the Die Cast machines themselves there are alloy compositions and procedures that Tesla makes use of that are of proprietary nature such as recipes for metal alloys and casting procedures that produce acceptable results that are considered Trade Secrets related. (1) "Tesla Files Patent Application For Die-Cast Unibody Machine" https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/23/tesla-files-patent-application-for-die-cast-unibody-machine/ https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/23/tesla-files-patent-appl...
    - Farfignoggen 6y ago
      Here is another(1) that I was talking about and: "Tesla Motors has once again made clear its interest in metalcasting technology, filing a patent application for a new series of aluminum alloys that the automaker claims can maintain high-yield strength while achieving high conductivity. More than this, the “high-performance diecastable aluminum alloys” described by Tesla also have “a high flowability and low susceptibility to hot tearing when diecast.” "(1) (1) "Patent Filing Indicates Tesla's Material Progress The EV developer's research efforts reveal a plan to melt and cast an aluminum-nickel alloy with high-yield strength and high conductivity. Mar 22, 2020" https://www.foundrymag.com/materials/article/21126759/patent-filing-shows-material-progress-tesla-motors https://www.foundrymag.com/materials/article/21126759/patent...
mcgoo 6y ago
Great from a manufacturing perspective, but I wonder what repairability is going to be like. It seems like it will be a lot more likely to write off a whole car if the whole frame is one piece.
- itsoktocry 6y ago
  This is true, but is true for many new cars today. Even minor accidents are total write offs.

p_l 6y ago

The Italian-Chinese die casting tech is available to other customers too - it just has less impact when you already have high-performing manufacturing lines vs building a new one. But companies are buying, and Tesla only happened to be first customer for the largest model at the time, IIRC.

Farfignoggen 6y ago
Yes but the Others are not using that currently and Tesla's got some IP of its own included there to achieve such large Die Cast parts' production so there's that to consider. So Tesla has been making use of that and bringing that IP further along whereas the competition will have a learning curve that will not catch up to Tesla in time to keep Tesla from gaining more Electric Vehicle market share!
- itsoktocry 6y ago
  Can you post evidence of anything you are saying here?
  - Farfignoggen 6y ago
    There is this(1) and I'm looking for some metallurgical patent that I read about but I have not bookmarked that page. So even if Tesla's not creating the Die Cast machines themselves there are alloy compositions and procedures that Tesla makes use of that are of proprietary nature such as recipes for metal alloys and casting procedures that produce acceptable results that are considered Trade Secrets related. (1) "Tesla Files Patent Application For Die-Cast Unibody Machine" https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/23/tesla-files-patent-application-for-die-cast-unibody-machine/ https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/23/tesla-files-patent-appl...
  - Farfignoggen 6y ago
    Here is another(1) that I was talking about and: "Tesla Motors has once again made clear its interest in metalcasting technology, filing a patent application for a new series of aluminum alloys that the automaker claims can maintain high-yield strength while achieving high conductivity. More than this, the “high-performance diecastable aluminum alloys” described by Tesla also have “a high flowability and low susceptibility to hot tearing when diecast.” "(1) (1) "Patent Filing Indicates Tesla's Material Progress The EV developer's research efforts reveal a plan to melt and cast an aluminum-nickel alloy with high-yield strength and high conductivity. Mar 22, 2020" https://www.foundrymag.com/materials/article/21126759/patent-filing-shows-material-progress-tesla-motors https://www.foundrymag.com/materials/article/21126759/patent...

mcgoo 6y ago

Great from a manufacturing perspective, but I wonder what repairability is going to be like. It seems like it will be a lot more likely to write off a whole car if the whole frame is one piece.

itsoktocry 6y ago
This is true, but is true for many new cars today. Even minor accidents are total write offs.