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> What a potentially incredibly efficient use of materials Actually no, casting requires more material for equal strength, and you loose materials in voids. B
by baybal2 6y ago
> What a potentially incredibly efficient use of materials
Actually no, casting requires more material for equal strength, and you loose materials in voids.
But given Tesla's pricetag, and already huge weight, it might make sense. Even most poorly designed aluminium part is likely to be lighter than steel at least by a tiny bit.
It is also not that much faster, as manufacturing from steel is automated so much these days, and cast parts needs further finishing.
And, MAYBE, having a huge casting machine, and some finishing is cheaper for Tesla than going with bigger metalworking line with their current scale.
- nickik 6y agoIts not that much faster but Tesla claimed it removes 100s of robots and an incredibly long error prone assembly line. Also, when you weld lots of parts together you have tolerances stack up. Tesla developed its own aluminum that does not need to be heat-treated. It might still need some finishing, but not a very complex process. Check out this video of Musk and Sandy Munro (former Chief Engineer at Ford) talking about it: https://youtu.be/YAtLTLiqNwg?t=1024 https://youtu.be/YAtLTLiqNwg?t=1024