Though both Ford and General Motors have recently scaled back planned EV investments amid weaker-than-expected demand, neither automaker is giving up on EVs by any means. Rather, the focus remains on reducing costs and making EVs profitable to produce and sell at competitive prices, which Ford fully expects to happen when its second-generation all-electric models debut in a couple of years. In the meantime, Ford is exploring the idea of using a gigapress machine to help in that process, which Tesla already employs. Now, GM has acquired its own gigacasting supplier – TEI – according to GM Authority.
Up until this point, TEI (Tooling & Equipment International) has produced gigacastings for Tesla models, interestingly enough, though it’s unclear what will happen now that GM has acquired the company for a reported cost of somewhere between $80 million and $100 million. The idea here is that such an acquisition will enable GM to speed up the development of EVs, cutting that process from 3-4 years down to 1.5-2 years, as well as saving a significant amount of money to boot.
TEI currently combines the use of both 3D printing and sand casting to produce one-piece automotive castings. In many cases, this involves combining the subframes and platform of vehicles into one gigantic piece, after which the remaining components can be added to complete the production process.
That process is underway, as TEI has already supplied six gigacastings for use in the new Cadillac Celestiq, which helped reduce the number of components needed for assembly by between 180-240 pieces. TEI will now build a production line for the $340k flagship model at its plant in Livonia, Michigan, which will presumably give GM “a competitive advantage with strategic castings for future low volume products like the Cadillac Celestiq,” according to the automaker.
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