Tesla Model Y 1 piece frame from GigaPress
- Thread starter JeffKeryk
- Start date
No worries, OTA software update will fix it. Brick the car, cracks not a problem.
Yeah and the model y owners finding large cracks on brand new vehicles.
"Tesla Model Y Owner Finds Scary Cracks in Gigacast Front End
The crack is big enough that you can shine line through it."Tesla giga cracks
That doesn't look good. It's not surprising that a casting cracked. You might even expect a few to crack as you're working the bugs out of the process. It's an engineering problem that will have an engineering solution - for example some change in the casting shape or thickness, slow cooling after fabrication, or possibly an annealing process to relieve internal stresses.
You wouldn't expect a cracked part to end up in a vehicle. And perhaps it cracked after assembly. If it was my vehicle, I'd want the casting replaced and if that's not possible, the vehicle replaced.
The advantage/disadvantage of a single large piece is it's a single large piece.
The castings are designed to be replaced in sections in case of accidents. A new section can be welded in, depending on the severity of the damage.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Is it a serious problem, a one off or clickbait? I would like to know as I am likely a Highland buyer.
@JeffKeryk , a serious question. I thought the GigaPress was a giant stamping machine but I keep seeing GigaCast and GigaPress being used interchangeably. My old education taught me that casting was pouring of molten metals into casts.
So are these terms being used interchangeably or is this a mistake in reporting?
So are these terms being used interchangeably or is this a mistake in reporting?
Where did you hear this? Just sections of the casting? I’d like to see more info on that. There’s replaceable crush cans in the front, just like any other vehicle, but once you get into the main casting?
Munro and Associates removed a full casting and they addressed replacing a casting due to crash damage. The answer: “I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Absolutely not”. They had to basically destroy the steel body to get it out.
Skip to 10:20.
Last edited:
My understanding is the Giga Press is a high pressure aluminum die casting machine. It is not a stamping machine.
Here is a Youtube video that helps; go to the 5 minute 45 second point to get past the fluff.
Perhaps do a little research.
The castings are stronger than individual pieces that are welded, bolted or glued together. One of the design goals was if an accident was that bad the vehicle would be destroyed anyway. In a lessor crash, the crash absorption rails can be cut and replaced with a bolted part for collision repair.
That’s literally the article I was looking at.
From Elon in 2020:
“The crash absorption rails can be cut off & replaced with a bolted part for collision repair”
BUT, by the time the car was actually in production in 2022 the car clearly does NOT have crash absorption rails as part of the casting. They’re “standard” extruded aluminum crash rails that just bolt TO the casting. The Munro video talks about them and shows them.
There’s still no evidence I’ve seen of any official repairability to the castings themselves.
Last edited:
That all sounds well and good, except that the entire casting is going to get warped in a crash of any severity that would deform any of it. Structures like this don't just bend the leading edge or something. The entire thing gets tweaked.
If Elon and Tesla were smart they'd have used a monocoque in sections like Koenigsegg. This is how they can pass US crash certifications as a small manufacturer for the US market. They can replace the front damaged section and re-attach it back together. This is why many small niche European auto manufacturers don't sell here. It takes between four to six vehicles to test enough to earn a certification if it passes. It costs roughly a million dollars per crash test. I'm willing to bet that the giga casting will make future Teslas complete throw-aways after an accident. So much for "saving the planet. "
I think it’s supposed to be recycled. The question is who does that and is that the weak link in the
chain?It really depends on your definition of "saving the planet". The priority of today's car is really not to save the repair cost but to save lives. Look at the older cars with no crumble zone, they are way more of a death trap than the newer "disposable after a crash" car we have today. If you look at how much people were relying on weight in the past vs today's people using crash test result to decide what is safe, they would likely be better off anyways. Losing a life that cost a lot of energy to raise and educate is also not good for the environment, if you think about it. If you look at the labor output to make or repair something, and use that to calculate what is good for the environment, each repair hour has a "environmental" cost as well. Taking back a piece of warp aluminum and replace it with another is actually not the worst you can do vs taking apart some steel and then reapply it back with whatever method. Those aluminum can be melted and cast back into other parts as well.
For EV that has a finite battery life, you will likely see way more salvage vehicles due to collision but has functional batteries, and vehicles with worn out batteries but perfectly functional body, you will see a lot of swapping in between in EV compare to gasoline vehicles.
Tesla is going to have to go 100% in-house to be sensible to own, IMO. Their insurance, their shops, their product.I think it’s supposed to be recycled. The question is who does that and is that the weak link in the
Absolutely vehicles have been developed to give in an accident to make surviving a crash much more likely. I remember a few years ago Chevy ceashed a brand new 2017 impala against a 1957 impala and the results speak for themselves.
Found some repair info. Looks like crack welding is approved in certain areas. Most areas the cracks can only be 30mm or less to allow welding. Some are 50mm max and some areas require reinforcement plates welded in.
Can bend or weld broken tabs. Do not heat stiffening ribs.
Can bend or weld broken tabs. Do not heat stiffening ribs.
