How expensive is this thing? First of all, this device has an important parameter called clamping force. You can understand it literally. The domestic quotation is calculated according to the clamping force of 1 ton 1 ten thousand yuan. Linear calculation of 8000 tons is about 80 million RMB (of course, with the increase of tonnage, the price may be higher, and there will be preferential treatment according to the changes of policies, regulations and tax refund policies).
Where is this process used? Many people think that the whole body is the whole body, but it is not. Look at the yellow part of the Y-shaped body.
For engineers, this part is so big that I don't even know what it is. I can only say that it is an integrated large-scale component that integrates the wheel arch at the back of the car body and the top of the rear axle. Then with this die casting machine, Tesla said that the workpiece would come out in one breath. At this time, many people from the media are embarrassed. They are all saying that the die casting machine is high in technology, but they can't say how high it is. So today, Lao Wang will tell you about the doorway from three advantages and two hidden dangers.
First of all, the first advantage, cost advantage. Die casting is pressure casting. In general, the working cycle of die casting machine starts with die closing, followed by injection, hammer return, cooling, nitrogen filling, parting, mold opening, ejection, ejection and finally spraying. This is a cycle.
To tell the truth, it may not be clear for you to ask the engineers engaged in body work in traditional car companies, but engineers who have worked as engines know that because two parts of our 3C, cylinder block and cylinder head, have aluminum alloy die casting technology, it is still suitable for Lao Wang.
As we all know, besides the slogan of "engineer culture", elon musk is essentially a businessman, so let's make it clear here that all casting processes have absolute cost advantages over forging and stamping. Forging, which we are familiar with, is essentially to remove a lot of materials, and the subtle changes of metal metallographic structure in the blank stage are uncontrollable. There is also a lot of material waste after stamping, cold working hardening and cutting, all of which belong to extensive technology. In addition, laser welding advocated by most people is not as magical as the legend. In fact, in this position just mentioned, integral casting still has an absolute cost advantage.
What company is Tesla? People come to Tucki to strive to be a new energy Mercedes-Benz BMW, and Tesla does the opposite. If it wants to become Toyota Volkswagen in the new energy industry, the production rhythm becomes extremely important. The production rhythm of die casting is 6000-8000 tons. According to the patent of Adela Company in 1 1, in order to improve the rhythm, this patent can be used on both sides in the sealing process of castings. Due to the negative pressure in the cavity, bubbles generated by casting turbulence can be effectively eliminated, which is very helpful for the consistency of materials and casting speed during die casting. This time, Adela's 8000-ton die casting machine also has this function. According to the data released by Tesla, about 80 kilograms of aluminum alloy liquid will be injected into the cold chamber mold at the speed of 10 meter per second for each casting. The beat is about 85 seconds, 42 pieces per hour, and the output rate of three shifts is almost 1000 pieces per day. From this point of view, it can be regarded as the optimization of the current beat.
What is the Italian IDRA company mentioned just now? This company is one of the oldest manufacturers of nonferrous metal die casting machines. By the way, it's different from our national company's style of wanting to make different kinds of cross-border products when it grows up. Since the establishment of 1946, this Italian company has been deeply involved in the die casting process. Up to now, it has been running stably all over the world, and tens of thousands of die casting machines are produced by their home. Many countries use their products in military industry, chemical industry, equipment manufacturing, automobile and aerospace. MIT has been working closely with this company in SSR semi-solid die casting.
Many partners in the industry have seen many patents of this company when they were in school, and their company is the first to bring remote control and diagnostic thinking into industry. Under the simulation of real-time updating of this company, many people were able to graduate. In general, this is a big advantage of Tesla. It is this supplier who has done the best in die casting technology. This company now has an office building in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. You can visit the doorman when you are free. Besides, in principle, IDRA and China also have a very deep friendship and technical relationship. You can search Lijin Group synchronously. In any case, it is expected to absorb all IDRA system technologies in the future. This enterprise is also the invisible champion in China market. The automobile industry depends on such companies, but some internet companies are not playing with capital.
So is there any hidden danger in integral die casting? Of course, and it's not small. Otherwise, Daimler has been building cars 134 years. Has anyone thought about it? In fact, everyone who has made castings has seen trachoma, right? The trachoma in the water channel of the cylinder body exceeding a certain depth will be in danger of perforation under the action of cavitation in the water channel. The back of the cylinder head does not affect the small trachoma of the valve seat assembly, but sometimes we can make a decision to release it. Why? Due to the casting defects of aluminum alloy in different modes, the acceptance criteria are different.
From the point of view of fracture mechanics, the cracks produced by die-casting aluminum of automobile body castings will develop linearly, and will gradually expand under the impact of vibration and alternating stress, resulting in potential failure of fracture. Suppose there is a medium-sized accident.
Internal injuries after the collision are difficult to check. Generally, there is a kind of nondestructive testing for flaw detection, which can be ultrasonic or X-ray.
What if I find internal injuries? There is a high probability that it will not be repaired or replaced. From a technical point of view, Tesla's operation is very unfriendly to the market where vehicle prices are getting lower and lower. At present, it is learned from Shanghai that the whole casting of GIGA factory can produce spheroidization (but not spheroidization) in the process of die casting because of the use of special brand aluminum alloy, which has solved this problem initially.
The simple understanding is that this material can reasonably release part of the stress of aluminum alloy during die casting, so why is it called a hidden danger rather than a disadvantage? That's the reason. Before Tesla disclosed the attributes and grades of materials, I opposed all those who used technology to make a conclusion about products, because ignoring materials and talking about technology was hooliganism.
Another link that may lead to casting defects is cooling. You should know that stamping is cold-working hardening without heating, while casting is from hot to cold, and molten metal will shrink after cooling. In the casting cavity, it is necessary to set up a small material pool that is cooled at the latest to replenish the space after cooling and shrinkage at any time, otherwise defects will be formed.
Then it involves a lot of mold design experience and simulation parameters. To be honest, IDRA has accumulated enough experience, but Tesla is not enough. So far, the 6000-ton simulation of the extreme case of Y-type stacking is just enough. Although 8000 tons are used on Cybertruck, the appearance is so regular, but this part is still similar when casting.
We sometimes hear die casting engineers joke that this process is not enough with machines and materials, but it will take several years to use process engineers. When the newly designed mold changes, the quality of the first few batches is definitely not very good. After all, they say it is art.
Moreover, there is another point in the specific design of the mold, that is, air holes will inevitably appear in the die casting process, and the high-speed metal jet is more destructive to the mold. Therefore, the size of die-casting parts often presents extremely complex surface shapes, which requires special patient appearance treatment. After the parts are off the assembly line, the word "exhausted" is used.
According to several on-the-job 1 line personnel, it seems that only Chinese workers can play well after this equipment is put into operation. Why? First, the demand for high-level workers in the inspection team and maintenance team has increased. Don't start to preach that the factory is empty as soon as you hear that this equipment reduces manpower. It is estimated that there are too many robot videos. In fact, no matter how advanced the technology, man-machine-material-method-ring are, they are all people-oriented. At this point, the patience of China workers can be said to be the highest in the world.
Second, compared with European and American workers, China workers have low wages, are easy to accept overtime, and have a higher degree of professionalism than Southeast Asian workers. In the future, with the progress of technology, repetitive work will be reduced, but people with good ability model and high cost performance are basically in China. This is one of the biggest advantages of China manufacturing industry. It is suggested that Tesla understand the international situation and geopolitics, treat China workers well and pay bonuses occasionally to prevent the loss of these high-end workers and engineers.
So we have said so much before, beating optimization and reducing costs. In Musk's eyes, it is true that some conservative factors are ignored and the driving force must be radical. But as users, we still have to understand what Lao Wang said in the live broadcast room: the slogan of waiting for a new car for half a year. This important technological change, we need to wait until it really matures. For ordinary users, it is not a bad thing to criticize technology as soon as they hear that it is risky. After all, it is not a bad thing for one company to try and make mistakes for other companies.
Then there are still many controversial technical applications on Tesla's body that are worth talking about. From the user's point of view, I suggest that it is safer to wait for mature technologies to experience major events before making a choice. Technically, I support it. After all, only radical technology can inspire society to move forward, otherwise everyone will stick to the old technology, and there must be blood and lessons on the road of scientific progress, but at present these blood and lessons are filled by early adopters. These people deserve admiration because they are trying to make mistakes for ordinary users. For example, in the next issue, Pharaoh will be reduced to a person, Joshua Brown, a die-hard fan of Tesla's autonomous driving, and his life will stop at an accident of over-trusting autonomous driving.
How many people followed in his footsteps? Did you have to stop research and development because of the death of autopilot? In the next issue, we will discuss the chip development of autonomous driving, as well as the definition and current progress of autonomous driving. I am Lao Wang. See you next time.