Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
0 comments 
Fabricated In Italy By IDRA Group, The Gigaton Press Is Revolutionizing Tesla Production Since 2020, But High Repair Costs And High Scrap Rates Show The Other Side Of The Coin.
A Silent Revolution, The Size Of A House, Is Changing The Way Cars Are Manufactured. It Is The Giga Press, A Gigaton Press Used By Tesla To Stamp The Bodies Of Its Vehicles From A Single Piece Of Metal. This Innovation, Developed In Partnership With The Italian Company IDRA Group, Challenges More Than A Century Of Automotive Production Based On Welding And Assembly Of Small Parts.
The Promise Is A Much Faster, Cheaper, And More Efficient Production. The Process, Called “Gigacasting,” Allows For A Simplified Assembly Line And Reduces The Weight Of Cars. However, The Technology Is Not A Magic Solution And Faces Huge Quality Control Challenges, In Addition To Generating Controversy About The Cost And Feasibility Of Repairs In The Event Of A Collision.
The Origin Of The Giga Press: Tesla’s Partnership With The Italian IDRA Group And The European Inventor Award 2024
The Machine Behind The Revolution Is Manufactured By IDRA, An Italian Company Founded In 1946 With Vast Experience In Foundry. Tesla Approached IDRA With The Challenge Of Creating A Giant Press Capable Of Producing Large Parts Of The Chassis Of Its Cars As A Single Piece, To Replace The “Patchwork” Of Components In The Model 3.
-
Inside an active volcano in Africa, residents use volcanic rocks to build houses in an impressive setting.
-
After 14 years of waiting, a rammed earth mansion built in 1702 in the North Zone of São Paulo will become a park with leisure facilities and green areas, with a million-dollar investment.
-
With 2 unfinished nuclear reactors, up to 25 billion in costs, and proven fraud, the Nukegate case has left 800,000 consumers still paying today for energy that will never be produced.
-
The household appliance that consumes the most energy in Brazilian homes is not the air conditioner; it is located in the smallest room of the house, is used daily, and can account for up to 25% of the electricity bill, while an alternative in the same outlet can reduce this cost by up to 75%.
The Partnership Worked So Well That In 2024, IDRA Engineers Fiorenzo Dioni And Richard Oberle Won The Prestigious European Inventor Award For Their Work On The Giga Press. The Most Famous Machines Are The 6,000-Ton Models, Used In The Model Y, And The Colossal 9,000-Ton Model For The Cybertruck. An Important Detail Is That IDRA Is Now Owned By The Chinese LK Technology, Which Helped Accelerate The Adoption Of The Technology In China.
The Implementation In The Gigafactories: The Timeline Of Installation In Fremont (2020), Shanghai (2021), And The 9,000-Ton Press For The Cybertruck In Texas (2023)
Tesla Wasted No Time Putting The Technology To Work. The Implementation Was Fast And Global.
Fremont, California: The First Giga Press Began Installation In May 2020. By September Of The Same Year, Tesla Was Already Conducting The First Tests For The Rear Of The Model Y.
Shanghai, China: To Speed Up The Process In China, Tesla Used Presses From LK Machinery, The Parent Company Of IDRA. By October 2021, The Gigafactory In Shanghai Already Had Five Of These Machines In Operation.
Berlin, Germany: The German Factory, Inaugurated In March 2022, Was Already Designed Around Gigacasting, Receiving The Most Mature Version Of The Technology For The European Model Y.
Texas, USA: The Gigafactory In Texas Took The Concept To The Extreme. In January 2023, It Began Assembling The First Gigaton Press Of 9,000 Tons To Produce The Chassis Of The Cybertruck.
The Elimination Of 1,600 Welds And The 40% Reduction In The Cost Of The Model Y Chassis
The Benefits Of Gigacasting Are Impressive And Can Be Measured In Numbers. By Using The Gigaton Press, Tesla Was Able To:
Reduce The Number Of Parts: The Rear Structure Of The Model Y, Which Was Previously Made With About 70 Components, Became A Single Piece.
Eliminate Processes: This Allowed For The Elimination Of Over 1,600 Weld Points, Which In Turn Made The Use Of Hundreds Of Welding Robots On The Assembly Line Unnecessary.
Decrease The Cost: Tesla Reported A 40% Reduction In The Cost Of Producing The Rear Chassis Of The Model Y.
Increase The Speed: Each Giga Press Has A Cycle Time Of 80 To 90 Seconds, Allowing For The Production Of About 1,000 Parts Per Day In Each Machine.
The High Scrap Rates Of 45% In 2021 And Tesla’s Special Aluminum Alloy
The Technology Is Not Perfect. One Of The Biggest Challenges Is Quality Control. In 2021, Industry Reports Indicated That Tesla’s Scrap Rate (Defective Parts) Was As High As 45%. Although The Metal Can Be Melted Down And Reused, The Process Consumes Time And Energy.
Tesla’s “Secret Ingredient” That Makes All This Possible Is A Patented Aluminum Alloy. Its Main Characteristic Is That It Achieves High Strength And Flexibility Without Needing Heat Treatment After Casting. This Treatment Would Be Impossible On Such A Large Piece, As It Would Cause Deformations. Tesla’s Alloy, Which Contains Vanadium In Its Composition, Addresses This Issue.
How Volvo, Starting In 2025, And Hyundai, Starting In 2028, Are Adopting The Technology
The Success Of Tesla Forced The Competition To Move. In April 2024, A Report By Roland Berger Indicated That More Than 180 Large Presses Had Been Ordered By Automakers Around The World.
Volvo Cars Announced An Investment Of 1 Billion Dollars To Install Two 8,400-Ton Giga Presses At Its Factory In Sweden, With Production Starting Around 2025.
Hyundai Also Announced Its Version Of The Technology, “Hypercasting.” The First Press Was Installed In November 2024, But Mass Production, Initially Scheduled For 2026, Was Delayed To Approximately 2028 Due To A Slowdown In The Electric Vehicle Market And The Need To Prioritize Investments In The US.
Chinese Manufacturers, Such As BYD And Geely, Are The Ones Adopting The Technology Most Aggressively, Already Developing Presses Of Up To 20,000 Tons.
Seja o primeiro a reagir!