Hey Friends,
This week we switch gears from focusing on consumer electronics to cars. Alot of the processes in IoT, med tech, and consumer hardware owe their origin to the vehicle product industry.
Frameworks like EVT, DVT, and PVT were first developed in the automotive space. Manufacturing technologies as well - such as stamping, injection molding, and laser welding have been refined through producing parts for cars.
These technologies then later trickled down into the hand held devices we carry.
The process I want to highlight below isn’t necessarily unique to Tesla, in fact many automotive companies have a similar flow but I thought it would be more engaging to use real examples from Tesla’s assembly process to make this article more relatable.
It is worth pointing however that Tesla’s differentiators vs traditional automotive companies are vertical integration, optimizing for automation, and having a flat org structure.
Now on to the the factory tour.
1. Stamping
We start in the stamping department where sheet metal is formed into shape by a giant press machine weighing thousands of pounds. This machine forces blanks through a die to create body panels.
2. Weld
Next these newly formed panels are fused together to create the overall vehicle structure via an array of multi axis welding robots. Weld is usually the most automated part of an auto factory due to tight design, safety, and handling requirements. Many structural pieces use MIG welding while other parts use laser welding due to varying part weights or thicknesses.
3. Paint
Now that we have a fully assembled body, we move on to the paint shop. This is where a series of sprays (manual and automated) are applied to clean, prep, corrosion proof, heat, seal, prime, and coat the vehicle.
4. Powertrain
Other companies have engine plants for this category but for Tesla that’s replaced by the production of batteries, inverters, and motors. The famous giga factories are where batteries and drive units are assembled (cells, structure, cooling elements, coil winding, and much more).
5. General Assembly
This is where everything comes together. General assembly is usually more manual than the previous nodes due to its (relatively) simpler nature and requirement for craftsmanship type activities. Automation does however exist for complex alignment and testing steps. New categories here include vehicle interiors, closures, and exteriors.
In closing
Keep in mind each of these 5 nodes has suppliers which manufacture parts, and those suppliers have sub suppliers, all the way down to the raw material.
A good example is vehicle seating where one supplier gets the raw steel, another then rolls it into structural tubes, another then welds it into a frame, another cuts and sows the textiles/leather, another assembles it into a final seat, while the final integration of that seat to the vehicle is then done at the OEM’s general assembly floor.
This is all just for one part - the seat. These supply chain nodes exist for every other part on a car. Thousands of materials, processes, designers, analysts, engineers, and PMs are involved in this journey.
Developing physical products is indeed a globally interconnected story.