For years, Tesla talked about throwing the typical car-making playbook out the window with its radical "unboxed" process for new cars. Now it's putting that idea to work at the Texas factory where it cranks out the Cybercab—and releasing new details about how it all works.
In a new video from the engineering firm Munro & Associates, Tesla engineering chief Lars Moravy and Cybercab lead Eric Earley tour the cab's production line and dive deep into its design and assembly process. Here's what we learned.
Traditional car production generally starts by putting together a body, painting it, then installing its mechanical parts, wiring, and interior as the partially-built vehicle transverses a long sequence of assembly stations. Tesla’s “unboxed” process instead uses separate lines to build and equip the front, rear, sides, and floor before joining them at the end. The idea is that instead of reaching inside a car to install things, workers and robots tackle smaller, more accessible assemblies, working faster and more efficiently. Tesla says the line is about 78% automated.
Ford is working on a similar process for its Universal Electric Vehicle platform, which kicks off with the $30,000 Fathom pickup. The company calls it an "assembly tree," rather than the typical assembly line.
Tesla says the front module contains roughly half the car’s parts and content. Its drive unit, suspension, and thermal hardware sit on a positioning pallet. The front structure, already carrying the dashboard, is lowered over them. Meanwhile, workers can assemble the side sections flat, install overhead components at a comfortable height, and attach seats and carpet to the battery pack, whose top cover doubles as the cabin floor.
Source link







