Dongfeng's 16,000-ton Gigacasting machine just entered production - the largest die casting machine ever built 🏭
It is now producing battery trays.
For scale: before 2018, a "large" die casting machine was 4,000 tons.
Tesla raised the bar to 6,000 tons for the Model Y in 2020. Then 9,000 tons for the Cybertruck.
Now Dongfeng is producing at 16,000 tons. Four times the pre-Gigacasting standard.
At this tonnage, Dongfeng can cast integrated chassis and battery tray structures in a single shot - components that require multiple machines and assembly steps at any other OEM.
The evolution in 7 years:
-> Pre-2018: 4,000T (industry ceiling)
-> 2020: 6,000T (Tesla Model Y)
-> 2023: 9,000T (Tesla Cybertruck)
-> 2026: 16,000T (Dongfeng, in production)
No Western machine is operating above 9,000 tons today.
March 25-28th I will be in Wuhan, China where I will see this 16,000 T machine
If you want to follow my trip, foIIow me on Instagram, I’ll post stories of the factory and event
instagram.com/lucagrecoita/