I think the answer is “You don’t”.

On 17 April 2025 at 21:53 Sonic Escape Said:

So that company from Italy was the only one in the world working in secret to reproduce something already done for more than 70 years? 🙂

Die casting press vs forging press. Two  different things. Both impressive in their own way. The die casting press is more of a hot liquid metal injection moulding machine. The forging press is just a brute force applied to solid metal.

Biggest press I ever worked on was 1,000 ton metal stamping press in a car body plant. It was a monster. 3 stories high with a giant crankshaft and clutch/brake on top. Built in 1923 and still banging out estate car roofs and floorpans in 1970s. But 50,000 tons would be something to see.

I worked briefly for a company that manufactured clutches and brakes to convert old mechanical clutched and braked presses in the motor industry from mechanical to pneumatic operation.

This was big stuff with bore and keyway dimensions for the hubs at 12 to 15 inches etc.

Wichita Clutch.

On 18 April 2025 at 00:11 howardb Said:

I worked briefly for a company that manufactured clutches and brakes to convert old mechanical clutched and braked presses in the motor industry from mechanical to pneumatic operation.

This was big stuff with bore and keyway dimensions for the hubs at 12 to 15 inches etc.

Wichita Clutch.

Yes I remember standing next to those clutches and their diameter was taller than a man. Multiplate like a motorcycle clutch,  with asbestos-based linings that were replaced regularly as they wore away, into the factory atmosphere. It’s a wonder we survived!

Cheapness of manufacture is the reason they are using castings. As it says in one of the Tesla videos, the one cast rear subframe component replaces 70 previous pressed sheet metal components that would have required 70 dies in 70 presses, then welding/ joining together.

Tesla does not care whether it can be crash repaired or not. They are not in the crash repair business. If they can cut manufacturing costs, they will.

Musk today announced he is transitioning out of his new government job in May and back to running Tesla, whose profits are down 71 per cent due to massive dive in sales. I hope the 50,000 ton press supplier got paid in advance.

Yes the Chinese EVs are forging ahead, both in quality and low prices, at the same time Musk’s political actions have created a “brand crisis” for Tesla. Not a good combo. Still, Tesla shares went up 5 per cent overnight after America U-turned on China tariffs. I don’t think I’ll be buying any though.

On 23 April 2025 at 17:26 Colin Bishop Said:

Whatever the manufacturing pros and cons, this is not going to repopulate the Detroit car factories with the thousands of grateful happy workers that Trump is triumphantly predicting!

Colin

It’s just a big fantasy the guy has. And folk over there believed him enough to vote him in.

I heard a piece on radio 4 today saying that all manufacturing will be done by robots within the very near future. So the question remains, what jobs will people have that generate enough income to maintain the lifestyle they currently enjoy?

Vance called the Chinese peasants, this radio piece said the US was heading for a period of poverty they had not seen for a long time, and China was heading toward being very rich.

But I’m sure Donald and Elon and Jeff et al will hang onto their fortunes no matter what ordinary Americans suffer.

Not quite what trump promised, but then he promised to end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours. Now he is just saying it’s too hard so we will go bother someone else.

Hi, when I went to Nissan’s in Sunderland, mid to late 90’s, on a visit with my company that I was working for then, they had one shop there with various machines, of which were three very big presses, the biggest one looked about the size of a Mansion, but that was only half of it, the other half was below ground level, and apparently cost 5 million pounds, we weren’t allowed to see what was going on inside that one, and all the windows were screened off, as at the time they were developing die’s and ways of pressing out the sides off the Primera in one piece. I can’t remember if they told us the tonnage of the press though, but it was one of only two of these at the time, the other one being in Europe somewhere. Another machine was a panel stamping machine, which they had just set up, and this chopped up one of those big rolls of sheet steel in about five minutes, which weren’t very big panels. The place was so clean and tidy, you could eat your sammy’s off the floor. They had daily targets for the number of cars to produce, and if they reached the target before their normal knocking off time, they all went home early. It was a very well organised place, and there were no saved spaces for anyone in the canteen, not even the for the management, and they even had to queue like everyone else, but there was one table reserved for us and our tour guide.

Regards Nick.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING ! 50,000 tons, where is it measured or how is it calculated. Is it per square inch or is a cubic yard ? A small hydraulic jack can be working 10,000 PSI, use this pressure on a piston of area 11,200 Sq”eg 120″dia and there’s your 50,000tons. The figures are rough but you get my drift.

Figures like this may impress the great unwashed but on here questions WILL be asked !  Noel.