A rising refrain of automakers and automobile trade specialists will let you know that giga presses – the high-pressure die-casting machines for automobile physique meeting pioneered by Tesla – would be the key to cranking out future electrical automobiles cheaply and in large volumes. Now, it seems like Volvo is the most recent automaker to affix the gigacasting revolution.
Final month, we realized that Ford and Hyundai had purchased giga presses from Italy’s IDRA Group, the identical firm that provides Tesla with huge die-casting machines that churn out giant items of auto underbodies for the Mannequin Y and Cybertruck. The report from Reuters famous that there was a 3rd automaker that purchased two giga presses. Whereas nothing was confirmed on the time, unnamed sources instructed the information company that the corporate could possibly be Volvo Automobiles.
It seems the report was correct as a result of IDRA Group confirmed the transaction on its LinkedIn web page yesterday. The corporate stated it was awarded a contract by Volvo Automobiles for 2 9,000-ton giga press machines – the most important mannequin IDRA makes – that will likely be put in on the automaker’s future electrical automobile manufacturing facility in Košice, Slovakia.
“These state-of-the-art machines are set to revolutionize the automotive manufacturing trade and place the model’s new plant in Košice as a strategic hub for Giga Casting,” IDRA stated in an announcement.
The corporate famous that the 9,000-ton aluminum casting machines, that are stated to be among the many largest die-casting machines in Europe, ought to symbolize “a outstanding leap ahead in automotive manufacturing know-how.”
IDRA Group Giga Press 9000
Volvo Automobiles hasn’t gone public with the acquisition but, however we contacted the automaker to learn the way the giga presses are going to assist advance its EV manufacturing efforts and which fashions the casting machines will likely be used for. We’ll replace this story once we get a reply.
Till then, we must always level out that Volvo is investing $1.25 billion in a brand new EV-only plant in Slovakia, which will likely be its third manufacturing facility in Europe. The positioning is projected to construct 250,000 automobiles per 12 months when it begins churning out next-generation Volvo EVs in 2026.
When it introduced the brand new plant final 12 months, the automaker stated that development would begin in 2023, with tools and manufacturing strains to be put in throughout 2024. Thoughts you, no groundbreaking ceremony has been introduced but.
Automakers are more and more following in Tesla’s footsteps after the EV maker and IDRA Group pioneered giga casting for the auto trade and proved it as a viable manufacturing approach.
Merely put, batteries and software program are ludicrously costly, the latter particularly as increasingly automakers chase what could possibly be an autonomous future. With a purpose to get the prices down and scale up, they must rethink automobile manufacturing itself. Giga casting will likely be a big a part of that effort within the years to return.
Carmakers that adopted or are adopting giga casting embody Geely’s Zeekr for the 009 electrical minivan, Cadillac for the Celestiq flagship, and Toyota for its future EVs. Toyota is perfecting the know-how at its plant in Miochi, Japan, and lately showcased some great benefits of giga casting in a tech workshop. The carmaker revealed that the rear part of the bZ4X SUV will likely be made out of one large solid sooner or later in comparison with 86 particular person castings for the time being.
You may perceive why it is a huge deal, because it permits a more cost effective manufacturing of advanced and light-weight elements. This brings important value reductions and accelerates manufacturing in comparison with the conventional approach of assembling the identical elements from a number of small castings and elements.
IDRA Group additionally claims the giga casting course of is “inherently eco-friendly, lowering waste and vitality consumption,” which is one other huge benefit because it additional reduces the impression the auto trade has on the setting.