Gigacasting & Large-Scale Die Casting
- Exponential Industry
- Technology Area
- 10 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.
Hidden Factory
Gigacasting & Large-Scale Die Casting
Ford Louisville 9,000-ton Bühler gigacast install underway
Luca Greco (Aug 21, 2026) reported that installation of Tesla-style 9,000-ton Bühler gigacasting machines was underway at Ford Louisville (he wrote Louiseville) as part of a $2 billion overhaul. Machines are for large single-piece aluminum Unicastings that form the Fathom front and rear structure. Fathom is the first Universal EV platform vehicle, priced under $30,000; prototype builds with production-qualified tooling targeted Q1 2027. Greco is a gigacasting analyst, not Ford first-party /X/.
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 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/.
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/.