Gigacasting & Large-Scale Die Casting
- Exponential Industry
- Technology Area
- 14 Milestones
High-pressure aluminum die-casting of very large single-piece structural vehicle components (also megacasting, hypercasting, unicasting). Typical presses 6,000–9,000 tons locking force; consolidates stampings/welds for EV lightweighting. Tesla pioneered three-piece chassis with structural battery pack between front/rear castings (eliminating 350+ stamped parts on Model Y lineage). Equipment suppliers include Bühler (Carat series), IDRA, and LK Machinery.
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Gigacasting & Large-Scale Die Casting
Ford deploys unicasting for affordable EV truck platform
Business Insider reported Ford would use unicasting on its affordable EV pickup, two front and rear body parts versus 147 on the Maverick. Alan Clarke said the structure would be about 27% lighter than the best on the market. Tesla had used large aluminum castings in production since 2020 /Business Insider/.
Honda installs six Bühler Carat 610 presses (Anna, OH)
ASSEMBLY Magazine reported Honda had installed six Bühler Carat 610 presses at its Anna, Ohio engine plant for two-part battery enclosures joined by friction stir welding for next-generation Honda and Acura EVs. The same survey said Bühler had sold more than 50 Carat machines and that Chinese OEMs were already gigacasting front or rear modules in production /ASSEMBLY Magazine/.
Ford announces Universal EV Production System / assembly tree
tore up the moving assembly line. Official: assembly tree of three parallel sub-assemblies + unicastings; ~$2B LAP retool; $5B with BlueOval Michigan; first midsize EV truck 2027 /Ford From the Road/.
Ford and Hyundai order IDRA Giga Presses (R&D)
Reuters reported a Ford-branded IDRA gigapress 6,100 under test at Travagliato and a Hyundai 9,000-ton press, both initially for R&D, plus a European premium OEM for two 9,000-ton machines. IDRA had shipped 14 presses to Tesla and signed 25 orders with 21 already produced /Reuters/.
Reuters — IDRA gigapresses and Ferrario on industry adoption
From Travagliato, Reuters said IDRA-class gigapresses replace about 60 welded parts with one module and can cut costs up to 40%. IDRA GM Riccardo Ferrario said the firm had been developing gigapresses since 2016, had contracts with three automakers and three Tier-1s, and bet 80% of automakers would use gigapresses on new BEV platforms by 2035. Toyota, GM, Hyundai, Volvo, and Nio were turning to the process; VW had backtracked on Trinity and BMW had shown no interest. Tesla ran gigapresses at all plants, including Grünheide, and Musk had said the first 9,000-ton press was for Cybertruck /Reuters/.
Tesla Cybertruck 9,000-ton Giga Press (IDRA)
InsideEVs reported IDRA assembling a 9,000-ton Giga Press and Musk confirming it for the Cybertruck body, versus a 6,000-ton press on Model Y. Reuters later said IDRA had shipped 14 presses to Tesla, including two 9,000-ton machines for Cybertruck at Austin /InsideEVs/ /Reuters/.
Giga Texas Model Y deliveries and Cyber Rodeo
Tesla's Q1 2022 update said Model Y deliveries from Austin began in April 2022 and that the Cyber Rodeo opening party delivered the first vehicles with in-house 4680 cells, single-piece front body castings, and structural battery packs /Tesla / U.S. SEC Exhibit 99.1 (8-K 2022-04-20)/.
Musk tells the five-no, one-maybe origin story
At Cyber Rodeo Musk recounted that Tesla called six major casting manufacturers, five said no, and one said maybe — “that sounds like a yes.” Teslarati identified the maybe as IDRA and parent LK. Liu Siong Song said Tesla had worked side by side with LK and IDRA for over a year. This card is the later telling; the purchase and first Fremont pour already sat on the timeline in 2020 /Teslarati/ /Tesla/.
Musk presents Model Y single-piece castings at Battery Day
Tesla held Battery Day on 22 September 2020 after the annual shareholder meeting. Tesmanian reported Tesla showed a giant casting machine making the Model Y rear underbody in one piece, cutting parts and manufacturing cost about 40 percent, plus a front one-piece casting and a high-strength alloy that does not need coating or heat treatment /Tesla/ /Tesmanian/.
First Fremont IDRA Giga Press already pouring parts
Electrek reported Tesla’s first IDRA Giga Press at Fremont had been put into operation late August 2020 and had already produced several parts, with a second press going in behind it. That is live hardware thirteen days before Battery Day presented the same machine on stage /Electrek/.
SAE — Tesla is first customer for IDRA OL6100 CS
SAE Automotive Engineering reported Tesla as the first customer for IDRA’s OL6100 CS Giga Press (64 ft, 410 tons, 104.6 kg shot), headed to Fremont and Shanghai. Foundry Planet, citing IDRA on 23 July 2020, repeated that Tesla was first customer. The single-piece Model Y rear would replace about 70 Model 3 parts and, Musk said, cut body-shop size about 30 percent /SAE/ /Foundry Planet/.
Musk confirms Tesla has bought the world’s biggest casting machines
On the Third Row Tesla podcast recorded 9 April 2020, Musk said Model Y would move later that year to a single-piece rear underbody casting with no CNC datums. SAE (2 June 2020) named IDRA as supplier and Tesla as first customer for the OL6100 CS Giga Press, for Fremont and Shanghai. Liu later said co-design lasted over a year, so the first OEM calls were earlier; this is the first sourced day the commercial relationship is already closed /Third Row Tesla/ /Teslarati/ /SAE/.
IDRA announces first worldwide Giga Press order (North American OEM)
Foundry Planet published IDRA’s notice that the first Giga Press order worldwide had come in May 2019 from a North American auto manufacturer, with the first machine due for pre-acceptance in Italy by February 2020. A second contract (OL 5500 CS and OL 4200 CS) was signed at GIFA 2019 with a Chinese group. The May 2019 buyer is not named here; SAE and IDRA later name Tesla as first customer for the OL6100 CS /Foundry Planet/.
IDRA begins Giga Press development
Reuters, from its February 2023 interview at Travagliato, said IDRA has been developing gigapresses since 2016. No calendar day is sourced for the start of that program. Tesla is later named first customer for the OL6100 CS (SAE, June 2020); the first worldwide order was May 2019 from a North American automaker (Foundry Planet) /Reuters/.