Tesla Giga Press supplier IDRA, which produces the contraptions that produce the Model Y’s front and rear megacasts, has teased what appears to be its newest creation. Named “Neo,” IDRA’s new flagship is dubbed by the company as a potential driver for the future of vehicle manufacturing.
IDRA’s video on Neo was posted on the company’s official LinkedIn page. The die-cast machine maker did not provide many details about its new creation, though the post included a hashtag that read “#gigapress,” which may suggest that Neo is a new line of Giga Press machines that the company would offer to its clients. A description on the video posted on LinkedIn also hints at some of Neo’s functions.
“NEO is driving the future of Vehicle manufacturing, offering the perfect solution for the production of aluminum parts of Hybrid – BEV (Structural, Battery box, Rotors) and Production of large scale aluminum parts complete with full automated HPDC cells (Blocks, Auto gears, Multi-cavity structural). #idragroup # Neo #die-casting #oem #gigapress,” IDRA Group wrote in its post.
Considering IDRA and Tesla’s partnership, it is no surprise to see the die-cast machine maker also pushing the boundaries of its technologies with new products that are better than its existing flagships. Tesla is very much the same, as evidenced by the company constantly improving its vehicles without waiting for new year models to launch.
IDRA’s drive for innovation was highlighted by Elon Musk during the Cyber Rodeo event last year. While discussing the Model Y’s 6,000-ton Giga Press, Musk explained that IDRA was really only die-cast machine maker that was willing to take a risk at creating a contraption that fits Tesla’s needs. Other die-cast machine makers were unwilling to even explore Tesla’s ideas.
“It’s a revolution in car manufacturing to basically make you car out of three major parts: a cast rear, a structural pack, and a cast front. So what you’re looking at are the biggest casting machines ever made… When we were trying to figure this out, there were six major casting manufacturers in the world. We called six. Five said ‘no,’ one said ‘maybe.’ I was like ‘that sounds like a yes.’ So with a lot of effort and great ideas from the team, we’ve made the world’s biggest casting machine work very efficiently to create and radically simplify the manufacturing of the car,” Musk said.
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