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Hyundai 9,000 T Giga Press Starts Production
Idra announced the start of production of the first 9,000 t Giga Press at the Hyundai Ulsan plant in South Korea.
๐ From delivery to start of production in under 10 months is a testament to the hard work and commitment of all involved ๐
A big #thankyou to the ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ข ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ and to all the FSA - Foundry Star Alliance professionals who made this project possible: IDRA GROUP and our partner in South Korea, SH Solution, who are always by our side to drive #innovation and #excellence, would also like to thank the important local suppliers without whom it would not have been possible to complete a Giga project like this .
"At Idra, we believe it is essential to be at the forefront of advanced technology. We're committed to pushing boundaries and constantly striving for the very best in innovation. The 9,000t GigaPress is a testament to our commitment to excellence in automotive manufacturing," said JOHN STOKES, General Manager of IDRA GROUP.
Back in April the Korean automaker and the Ulsan Metropolitan Government signed a memorandum of understanding committing to the construction of the plant on a 70,000 sq mt site at the company's manufacturing facility in Ulsan. The cost of the project is $700 million. Ground was broken in July, with mass-production slated for 2026.
"With the latest hypercasting facility, Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant will lead innovation in manufacturing to dominate the global EV market"
โข About Ulsan Plant
The Ulsan plant in South Korea is the world's largest automobile plant with 5 independent manufacturing plants and an export shipment dock. Its production capacity is over 1.1 million vehicles per year. The Ulsan EV plant will start operations in early 2026 with an annual capacity of 200,000 units.
BYD Invests in Gigacastings
After being quiet about the adoption of Gigacastings, BYD is now buying a 9,000 t Giga Press and evaluate Tesla style Gigacastings for its future platforms.
According to insiders, BYD has invested in the construction of an "integrated body" die casting project, aka Gigacasting, for the future platform of its vehicles.
The initial investment will consist in 390.5 million Yuan ($54 million) for the construction of a Gigacasting shop and the purchase of one 9,000 t Giga Press and its related supporting equipment.
Additional info reveals the plan is to adopt heat treatment free Al alloys and utilize both Front and Rear Underbody Gigacastings.
Obviously BYD, which could become the largest OEM in the world, can't make much out of a single machines and therefore I believe that this is for R&D purposes only.
BYD may already be in the process of designing Gigacasting production lines for millions of vehicles and if this is the case they'll be ordering dozens of Giga Presses. It's just a matter of time.
Image for illustrative purposes only
Baowu Magnesium New 3,600 T Thixomolding Machine
Baowu Magnesium started production with Haitian HMG3600 magnesium Thixomolding machine.
The new 3,600 t machine produced Cross Car Beams (CCB) with an injection weight of 6.1 kg and length of more than 1.4 meters. The final product weighs 3.8 kg which compared to the traditional steel product weighs 50% less, according to Baowu Magnesium. It should also be around 30% lighter than aluminum die casting.
Baowu started cooperating with Haitian for magnesium thixomolding machines in 2023 and successfully implemented a 1,300 t Thixomolding machine which is now in full production.
Haitian General Manager stated in July:
We plan to launch larger tonnage 3,600 and 5,000 ton Magnesium Thixomolding machines this year. We are developing disruptive thick-walled Magnesium (Mg) alloy Thixomolding technology
This Weekโs Gallery
Tesla Gigafactory Texas by Joe Tegtmeyer
Handtmann 6,200 t Bรผhler die casting island
