[RahulNagaraj]

According to reports, Toyota has developed a prototype of a new gigacasting equipment capable of manufacturing a third of a car's body in just 3 minutes.

The prototype machine located in Toyota's Myochi plant, was showcased to journalists recently. The carmaker showed how molten aluminium poured into the machine was rapidly cooled from 700-deg C down to 250-deg C, solidifying the single die-cast piece which made up the entire rear third of the vehicle's chassis. As a reference, the same piece built normally involves 86 parts in a 33-step process and takes hours to complete.



Reports state the first EV with its front and rear section made via gigacasting will be out in 2026.

Toyota's first gigacasting prototype was said to be built in September 2022, with the initial molds taking a day to swap out. However, this process is now cut down to just 20 minutes, by reducing the number of parts that need to be detached. With the use of the gigacasting machine and proprietary software to analyse the optimal conditions for molding, Toyota aims to improve production by 20%.

As per reports, the high battery costs make EVs difficult to offer profitability by just expanding on conventional methods of production. Hence, Kazuaki Shingo, Chief Production Officer of Toyota stated, "We're learning new options from specialized EV makers to take on the challenge."

The Japanese carmaker aims to sell 1.5 million EVs by 2026, of which 40% will be built on the existing TNGA platform, while the rest will be underpinned by an EV-specific architecture. As a point of reference, in 2022, Toyota sold just 24,000 EVs.

Source: Asia.nikkei

Link to Team-BHP news

[GrammarNazi]

AFAIK even Tesla manufactures the Model S, X & Y the same way & thus it drastically reduced welding. Apparently it also helped them achieve a much stronger body-shell since it was basically just 1 mould. I think they call it the Giga Press.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

AFAIK even Tesla manufactures the Model S, X & Y the same way & thus it drastically reduced welding. Apparently it also helped them achieve a much stronger body-shell since it was basically just 1 mould. I think they call it the

That's what they meant "We're learning new options from specialized EV makers to take on the challenge."

"We're learning new options from Tesla to take on the challenge."

[enj0y_ride]

True, World leaders in Production System got disrupted by start ups like Tesla. And they are still many years behind in operationalising it. Couple years back no one would have believed Toyota will inherit manufacturing process from Tesla. I feel, Tesla will solve the Cyber truck manufacturing issue as well with some disruptive tech and Toyota will get Phase 2 of this.

[abhiijithbhatn]

As someone with indirect involvement in the molding and casting field, I believe Toyota has taken the right approach by developing three separate sections for Giga molds (Front, Body, and Rear). This approach allows them to launch different types of designs (length, width, and battery space) tailored to specific markets while minimizing testing and certification costs. Additionally, it reduces their reliance on large Giga presses, which are only produced by IDRA and are booked up to 2028 due to Tesla orders.

VW Group, Geely, and other Chinese companies have already begun working on Giga Press-related concepts. Giga presses could lead to increased productivity and efficiency in the automotive industry, which could benefit consumers in the form of lower prices and better products.

While this is positive from a technological standpoint, it is concerning from a job market perspective. Each Giga press can indirectly replace up to 10,000 relatively skilled workers. This is because Giga presses are so large and powerful that they can produce entire car body panels in a single operation, eliminating the need for many traditional manufacturing steps such as stamping, welding, and assembly.

It is difficult to predict the overall socio-economic impact of Giga presses on local economies. On the one hand, they could lead to job losses in the automotive manufacturing sector. On the other hand, they could also create new jobs in the development, construction, and operation of Giga press factories.

[Jeroen]

There is a different down side to these large castings. It is showing up in Tesla’s already. It is far more difficult and complex to repair in case of an accidents. Tesla’s with relative small damages end up as economic total loss.

It will push insurance premium up for all of us.

Jeroen

[norhog]

These castings, can this be used in production of an Internal Combustion Engine driven automobile?

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by norhog

These castings, can this be used in production of an Internal Combustion Engine driven automobile?

Ofcourse it can. Infact, the car body can be much lighter (& thereby fuel/energy efficient). Here's a better explanation of the Gigapress.

https://youtu.be/rsBbt3TxKGg?si=CJWPz810zqeQKBxm

Originally Posted by Jeroen

There is a different down side to these large castings. It is showing up in Tesla’s already. It is far more difficult and complex to repair in case of an accidents. Tesla’s with relative small damages end up as economic total loss.

It will push insurance premium up for all of us.

Jeroen

True. Toyota has (relatively) unbelievably huge scale & will take it's time to adopt it for each car design, so maybe this still must be atleast 15 years away for any car plant in India.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

There is a different down side to these large castings. It is showing up in Tesla’s already. It is far more difficult and complex to repair in case of an accidents. Tesla’s with relative small damages end up as economic total loss.

It will push insurance premium up for all of us.

Jeroen

I am sure we heard the same argument from quarters when cars moved from having a separate ladder chassis to monocoque in the 1970's. That said, I fail to see how it will effect small damages given the giacast is the structure of the car and not the outder body which is still made up of stamped body panels.

Any accident which causes the crash structural element such as front or rear gigacast to mangle or destory completely will cause the vehicle to totalled anyway just like it does for traditional monocoque framed vehicles today. Where is the difference?

It would be a different story for India though where cars even with serious damages to the chassis or the frame are repaired by insurance companies. Even then you could argue that replacing the whole front of the car with a single cast and bolting it in would be much easier than reparing a damaged crumple zone made up of stamped metal with hundreds of different parts welded together.

[ChiragM]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

There is a different down side to these large castings. It is showing up in Tesla’s already. It is far more difficult and complex to repair in case of an accidents. Tesla’s with relative small damages end up as economic total loss.

It will push insurance premium up for all of us.

My understanding is that the gigacast component is set deep into the vehicle, after the crash management systems. If the accident is big enough to damage these parts, the car is a write-off anyway, regardless of whether it is gigacast or not.

[sandeepmdas]

I think this technology will soon find its place in the manufacturing process of aircraft fuselage , ship and boat hulls and even engineless bullet/metro trains. Unlike cars, these are not really accident-prone and designed for heavy usage in mind for 25-40 years.

If the cost of acquisition can come down, the cost of public / freight transport too can come down. The top 0.1% too need not worry because the pricing of business jets and yachts too will get reduced.

I could be wrong here, apologies if this is a stupid post.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Any accident which causes the crash structural element such as front or rear gigacast to mangle or destory completely will cause the vehicle to totalled anyway just like it does for traditional monocoque framed vehicles today. Where is the difference?

The point is that even if the car is declared as totalled, they can be repaired and resold depending on the damage. For instance, the UK calls these Cat A, B, S and N. All of these are "totalled" but Cat S and Cat N can be legally repaired and sold by the insurance company.

Gigacasting makes you much more likely to fall into Cat A or B and that will drive up insurance costs.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

The point is that even if the car is declared as totalled, they can be repaired and resold depending on the damage. For instance, the UK calls these Cat A, B, S and N. All of these are "totalled" but Cat S and Cat N can be legally repaired and sold by the insurance company.

Gigacasting makes you much more likely to fall into Cat A or B and that will drive up insurance costs.

In Australia there are two type of write off as well - statutory write off i.e. cannot be put on the road ever vs repairable write off which can be repaired and re-registered after passing manufacturer inspect to make sure the damage repair is within spec. If there is structural damage to the car it won't ever be a repairable write off and I am pretty sure it is the same case in UK as well.

That said, most of the relatively expensive cars, especially german, are written off pretty quick by most insurance companies since they deem it too much of an economical risk to repair and then guarantee those repairs into the future. Tesla's would be no different I think, atleast initially but then Tesla's also have the best active safety system in the industry and they keep improving it all the time via updates. They also have dashcam which record from the front, left side, right side and rear and sentry mode when you parked lessening the chances of insurance fraud and in case of a not at fault accident, proof.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

If there is structural damage to the car it won't ever be a repairable write off and I am pretty sure it is the same case in UK as well.

The UK Cat S is specifically for cars with structural damage that can be repaired. There is a threshold for how much structural damage you can have before it becomes a Cat A (scrap) or Cat B (use only for parts).

https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/choo...c-or-cat-d-car

Australia might be different but you're right that the general idea is that insurance will quickly declare the car a total loss and pay the customer. But the insurance company now owns the damaged vehicle and if they are allowed/able to repair it and resell it as a Cat S car, that's a win for everyone.

[volkman10]

Next-generation BEV practical demonstration line

More details about how the new EV manufacturing breakthroughs will help it churn out electric vehicles and batteries more quickly at much lower costs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZazF...torCorporation

Link