teslamaniac

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I have worked in the Aero space industry building satellites and aircraft for almost 40 years. Manufacturing SS into boxes ore other shapes is not much different that aluminum. The 3mm thickness just changes the bend allowance. It can be done with scoring and hydraulic bending breaks it is all just metal. Manufacturing in SS is not as easy as aluminum but it is the same process. Plasma cut pieces with linier bends, as we see in the CT make it straight forward. The attach flanges of the panels that will be welded or attached to the frame to form the exoskeleton will not be that complex. It is the simplicity of the CT that allows this method of construction.

depositphotos_440428678-stock-photo-working-with-sheet-metal-on.jpg
Of course it can be done. That's how they fabricated the prototypes. But can it be done as a high-volume low-cost automated mass-production process? How does this compare in cost and speed with traditional automotive body fabrication?
I hope that you are right and that in the coming months we will begin to see videos of trial runs of this process at Giga-Texas producing test exoskeletons stacked up inside the plant - as we did with the giga-castings for the Model Y.
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SparkChaser

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Of course it can be done. That's how they fabricated the prototypes. But can it be done as a high-volume low-cost automated mass-production process? How does this compare in cost and speed with traditional automotive body fabrication?
I hope that you are right and that in the coming months we will begin to see videos of trial runs of this process at Giga-Texas producing test exoskeletons stacked up inside the plant - as we did with the giga-castings for the Model Y.
Take out the paint and you have already greatly improved the turn time.
As with any process, and I have seen plenty, it always get better with time and experience. It will ramp up just like the complex operations of the battery and the motors. Have a little faith. This is not new and the thickness and hardness of the material will be a challenge but it is not so different then chem-milling aluminum and such.
The process of bending is the simple part the assembly is what takes time.
 

SparkChaser

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It will probably be 10-15 pieces for the exterior that get bent and then attached so I am not so worried about it. The load bearing strength of the exoskeleton is where the thickness and toughness of the 3mm SS shines. Having bends stiffens it even further. I can't wait for Monroe to cut one up or if we get a look at the assembly as it is occurring.

Tesla Cybertruck Cybertruck timeline schedule prediction -- Agree or Disagree? Cybertruck Blueprint (2)
 


Ogre

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And Tesla ceaselessly promoted their new innovative technology. Yet I have not heard even a whisper about this process. I thought that I would have by now.
And maybe it isn't a new process, at all; maybe it is a very common industrial process. But I know that it has never before been used to mass produce automobile bodies. And as far as I know it has never been done before with this material at high volume for a product this large.
I just want to see it being done and know that it does indeed work and that it will not be a problem. I would love to see Sandy Munro address this.
“Ceaselessly promoted it”?

Tesla has never “Promoted” the GP in the traditional sense. They had some sample cars to show it at the Cyber Rodeo, but that was… 3+ years after the first Gigapress install. My recollection is we didn’t hear a lot about the Gigapress until it was installed and operating, but I might be wrong.

The most simple explanation for why Tesla isn’t promoting the hell out of this is it’s a simple industrial process. Bending metal isn’t rocket science.

The second most likely explanation is they want to keep it under wraps until it is actually in production to maintain competitive advantage and to ensure it’s proved out.

Very very much of the secret sauce at Tesla is indeed secret. Nobody who has toured Giga Texas has seen the inside of the 4680 production line.
 

charliemagpie

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I would love it if someone could elaborate and cite an instance in the auto-industry or in any other industry where someone has done this before in high-volume with 3-mm-thick (.118-in) ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless-steel sheets for a product this large.
I am not saying it can't be done. Maybe it is a commonly used process. But it is curious to me that, while Tesla has shown off the manufacturing process for its 4680 battery pack and has highly publicized its huge gigapresses, I have seen nothing at all about this other process.
I am genuinely interested in seeing this in action, since it is the single most innovative and unusual feature of the Cybertruck. I am surprised that no one else shares my curiosity.
Tesla used 1000 Robots before Giga casting, now it uses 300.


Any reason why Tesla can't use 1000 SS presses?, or 100 parallel steps to meet throughput ? We imagining Freddy's workshop down the street ?

Just read an article that tries to say Tesla will struggle with the speed, and it quotes 50,000 units.. YADA YADA YADA Idiot probably is thinking Austin is the same size as a niche market factory.

What a friggin idiotic FUD article. How many unsuspecting readers have been sucked in with this stupidity?

Its Tesla .. Fremont is the most productive car Factory in America... North, South, Mid, Up, Down. Autin will be 3-10 times bigger.

Austin will build as many as it wants, and will organize throughput to do just that.
 

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Tesla has been known to use a slightly larger pack when replacing them under warranty, but software-limiting the pack to have the same capacity as the original. They'll even sell you the extra capacity lol
Okay that makes more sense. The way "Bob" communicated the capacity to me, he suggested that Tesla would use the same 200kwh pack on all CT models, and for the C2, would limit range/consumption to 120kwh with software. But it sounds like thats not the case at all, which I am happy about.
 

MEDICALJMP

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I have no idea either. In researching this question I came upon the following article which now has me wondering about the efficacy of the whole notion of origami scoring and folding the steel as a high-volume low-cost mass-production process:
https://stampingsimulation.com/forming-stainless-steel-part-2/
I wish Elon would just show us and put my mind at ease.
Elon: We have an evolutionary process to make ultra hard stainless steel into new shapes at speeds that will leave our competition in the dust. Why not show everyone how it is done so they can catch up?

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
 
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teslamaniac

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Very cool video. Thanks. This is what I would like to see for the Cybertruck. There is still the issue of the speed and cost of this process versus die cutting and stamping, but there is no paint process involved, so that may cancel out any extra cost in forming the body. I still think there is a lot to work out here with the Cybertruck. I would assume that Tesla has designed this production line by now and that we will be seeing test runs soon.
 


teslamaniac

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It will probably be 10-15 pieces for the exterior that get bent and then attached so I am not so worried about it. The load bearing strength of the exoskeleton is where the thickness and toughness of the 3mm SS shines. Having bends stiffens it even further. I can't wait for Monroe to cut one up or if we get a look at the assembly as it is occurring.

Cybertruck Blueprint (2).jpg
I too would love to see of a test run of this process on the production line. I hope that they will release a video of this before too much longer.
 
 




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