Crossover Solutions
Assembly Line
The Gigacasting Question: Innovation Vs. Investment In Auto Production
Imagine reducing the number of total parts in a car by 370. That’s exactly what Tesla achieved with its Model 3, using the colossal Giga Press and eliminating problems associated with joining 70 pieces. Tesla reported a 40% cost reduction for the rear of the Model Y using gigacasting. While exact production time savings vary, industry experts suggest significant reductions in manufacturing time and complexity.
A comparison of manufacturing methods for producing 100,000 rear underbody units per year reveals that steel stamping and joining require $2.3 million to $3.4 million in equipment and tooling, while aluminum gigacasting needs a $6 million HPDC machine and $1.2 million to $1.5 million in tooling. However, gigacasting also achieves 27.8 doable jobs per hour versus 24.4 for steel stamping while reducing labor costs and indirect costs. With the reduced complexity, there are fewer parts to be made, simplifying assembly and quality control processes and requiring fewer operators on the production line. While gigacasting uses more expensive materials ($151 to $226 vs. $75.6 for steel), the overall cost benefits are substantial, and changing mold designs offers more flexible than modifying hundreds of parts in a complex supply chain.