Tesla Giga Press
“GIGA PRESS” a game changer in the automotive industry
Since the TESLA camp (Tesla) entered the realm of high-tech by ELON MUSK (Elon Musk), CEO, the “science wizard” of the 21st century, we have seen that His electric car has created a wave of change that has hit the automobile world hard and non-stop. Whether it is many models of high-performance electric cars that has speed performance that makes hyper-carscry. Or will it be an automatic driving system? Even though it’s not 100% perfect, it works amazingly. Until some car owners dared to take a nap while driving long distances, and as a result, TESLA has continued to gain in popularity to the point where sales are increasing every day. Until now, there are giant manufacturing plants called GIGAFACTORY (Gigafactory) on 3 continents around the world. In the United States, there are 3 located in Nevada, New York, and Texas. In Europe, they are in Bangkok. Berlin, Germany In Asia, it is in Shanghai, China, and has two smaller factories in California. and the Netherlands as well.
One part that pushes the current TESLA electric car to go further than other car brands. that came before that It appears to be because various organizations Under the leadership of ELON MUSK, they are organizations that are leaders in engineering thought that break the boundaries, such as SPACE by liquid propellant It is notable for its innovations that can reuse rockets that have been fired, such as FALCON ROCKET (Falcon Rocket) and STARSHIP ROCKET (Starship Rocket), which ELON MUSK uses elite people from various circles under supervision.His direction Come join us in creating products that break the concept.
But even if there is innovation and has excellent performance, but the TESLA electric car faces quite a few production problems. Because many people complain that The car itself had problems with production quality control. With the use of too complicated assembly techniques What appears is that the joints on the car are not very stable.And when we look at the production line of the GIGAFACTORY factory, we will find that it is a factory that uses thousands of robots. It performs the function of “welding” (WELDING), “riveting” (RIVETING), uses “adhesive bonding” (ADHESIVE BONDING), and each process is usually a different type of material. In assembling, there is a chance that there willbe quite a lot of discrepancies in the workpiece.And when we look at the production line of the GIGAFACTORY factory, we will find that it is a factory that uses thousands of robots. It performs the function of “welding” (WELDING), “riveting” (RIVETING), uses “adhesive bonding” (ADHESIVE BONDING), and each process is usually a different type of material. In assembling, there is a chance that there will be quite a lot of discrepancies in the workpiece.This is why we are searching for solutions. And we mustmake a difference in leaps and bounds. In the style of ELON MUSK management, it was ordered that the TESLA team had to find a way to make car assembly more precise. Produce faster than before and has a lower cost. In addition, the weight must be reduced as well
Of course, if it is still produced using the same methods. It will never reach the point where it creates game-changing change. And this is where the change comes from. Previously, the assembly of cars was UNIBODY (unibody) using welding, riveting, and gluing metal sheets to be used as mounting points for the suspension system. and electric motor Gone are the days of large, one-piece stamped aluminum structures. From the giant machine GIGA PRESS (Gigga Press) using it with TESLA MODEL Y (Tesla Model Y).
“GIGA PRESS” is the name of the giant machine of the IDRA company, model OL 6100 CS, from Italy. used to form workpieces from liquid aluminum by compression with high pressure Also known as the DIE CASTING process, the GIGA PRESS machine is considered the largest aluminum DIE CASTING machine in the world. It has a molding force of up to 6,100 tons and the weight of each machine can be up to 430 tons. GIGAFACTORY is the first customer in the world to use this machine. At present, the factory in Shanghai has 3 GIGA PRESS machines installed and another 2 at the factory in California. In Berlin and Texas, the foundations are being prepared. to install this giant machine in each factory.
The working principle of the GIGA PRESS machine is to extrude molten aluminum alloy at high pressure (HIGH PRESSURE DIE CASTING) into a steel mold. to get the desired shape The aluminum alloy used is grade AA386, an alloy invented by TESLA metallurgists together with the SPACE The remainder are many other elements, according to the table of SANDY MUNRO (Sandy Munro), an expert in automotive engineering, analyzed by this aluminum alloy grade AA386 has flow properties suitable for large metal castings. big and can be welded and repaired if cracks occur.
Quantity of aluminum alloy It will be heated to a temperature of 850 degrees Celsius until melting and then placed in a heated furnace with a temperature of 750-850 degrees Celsius in an electric furnace with a power of up to 400 kilowatts under an atmosphere filled with nitrogen. To prevent chemical reactions caused by the combination of oxygen with other substances.
Before injecting liquid aluminum alloy into the mold, the mold is spray-coated with a lubricant derived from soybean oil. To prevent the workpiece from sticking to the mold before joining the mold together Ready to suck air out of the mold to create a vacuum. and began the process of spraying liquid aluminum alloy. that is measured to have the right weight for the desired workpiece volume and is pressed into the mold until it is full at a speed of 10 m/s.
Then wait until the temperature of the workpiece drops from around 750 degrees Celsius to only 400 degrees Celsius, which takes only 80-90 seconds. So, the mold is opened. Then the mechanical arm will pick up the workpiece from the mold. and brought to reduce the temperature quickly in a liquid bath to reduce the temperature to about 50 degrees Celsius before trimming the edges of the workpiece to make it neat. and take the work piece for X- ray to inspect the inside where air bubbles may appear in the production process. And when passing this point, It will be used to measure various control dimensions. and polished again to be ready for use in the next step.
Reference: https://images.app.goo.gl/6nB3jYJq7JhBBsWK6
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This article is a part of the class
“751309 Macro Economic 2”
supervised by Asst. Prof. Napon Hongsakulvasu
Faculty of Economics, Chiang Mai University
This article was written by
Jaja (Chayada, Saengkaew and 631615010)