Well done Joe. 1. I had been telling people for months that the pits were likely for stamping and not casting. 2. You might want to consider a new question format. When you ask questions throughout the video like "what do you think is happening here" it may be useful to put Q1 for question 1 in front. So it would read "Q1 - what do you think is happening here". This way your viewers can respond with "Q1 - Pac Van could be an office for the demolition" as an example. Love your work.
Fascinating. Also, the clay subsoil is potentially subject to plastic deformation under vibration, so this risk is also mitigated by isolating and dampening the soil as well as the overall structure.
Great episode Joe! I really liked the explanation about the stamping machines and the need for vibration dampening. You get another A+ for doing your homework. You have me wondering how they are going to build those huge mass dampeners? Those are going to be big chunks of concrete! Thanks again for your efforts!
Another very informative video. Your research, commentary and graphics adds a lot to following construction progress. My guess is the old facility will be used a some type of pre-assembly or staging for internal assembly line components. Perhaps along the lines of the tents that have popped up around the buildings at Giga Berlin. Keep up the great work!
Your narrative on the foundations explains a lot here and even more with the Berlin site. I thought they were crazy over there. This explains it. Thanks again.
These foundations have been bugging me since Shanghai starting digging down almost a year ago, but as soon as Joe explained about active isolation I understood. In shaky New Zealand we grew up knowing about isolation blocks. They are a bit of a tourist attraction here, especially in our capital. Need to know the answers to the "but why?" Questions. Cheers.
My guess about why they're filling in part of the large hole: If you recall, when the large hole was first dug, it had a different shape than it does now. Some time after they "finished," they then came back in and dug out more parts and did Geopier work on them. My guess is that they reconfigured how the machines would be placed and consequentially had to change the shape of the hole. After doing that, part of the hole was not needed, so they're filling it back in. After they do that, they will probably have to do Geopier work on those areas.
Love these videos. I started following Tesla because I was working with self driving cars, now I get to learn about construction! I took one course on material science and one on strength theory, but that was so many years ago and we never really got to learn these things, so it’s nice to get a refresher and see how it relates to a project I care about!
Joe, Another steller video, there are others doing this, but in MHO, yours are the best. Just love how you focus on actual WORK PROGRESS. Keep up the good work!
Just to produce each body part continuously for the Model Y they need at least two dozen stamping machines. The Lone Isolation pit is probably just for the main frame only.
If they need 2 dozen stamping machines, then none of the active or future Tesla factories can make cars then. Shanghai, Freemont and Berlin only have one.
The same vibration damping technology is used in physics labs, but inversely. Extremely sensitive equipment (e.g. a high-precision laser) is isolated from tiny environmental vibrations (stemming e.g. from a vehicle passing by outside) by mounting the equipment on a heavy granite block, which rests on several large rubber tires from trucks.
Hey Joe thanks for going the extra mile. It really helps to have a detailed explanation of what the construction will actually be for. Also I picked up a couple of nice songs for my Spotify playlist. Images of tomorrow and beach walking by the unicorn heads. Nice!
the old batch plant had all doors wide open. the equipment around it is on the small size. so I think its to rip everything out of the bldg. the white dump trucks that were on the new pit were sitting idle by the offices. all the night lights are on the east side so it is possible to expand to the west ...... the stamping pits remind me of the bottom of the parking garage when building skyscrapers. you see they have rebar just above the first pour. now they are tieing the short pcs with another wall of rebar to go up 20 ft high. the ramp leading down is being filled in because its no longer needed. im predicting that red iron columns will be erected at a fast pace with in a week.
Maybe the material being brought in to the excavation for the casting presses is what they will use for future backfilling up against the isolation structures?
@@JoeTegtmeyer They definitely will need to backfill, but seeing what they are doing, I think I was wrong. They went back and excavated more from the original footprint, but now they are filling that same area. Why add that part to the excavation only to fill it (its not up against the isolation walls)? Also, they are working that soil and not just piling it up there and they are bringing it from that hill of dirt they made on the other side of the power lines. We'll have to wait and see...
Great explanation about the pit walls, inertia blocks and isolation dampers. Now I understand better what is going on with these huge foundation construction work. I wonder two things though, how they put the huge inertia block in, or build it up, but on what and how they would replace the vibration isolating materials in future?
The vibration material is installed first, then they pour a huge block. I don’t think the vibration material ever gets changed once everything is finished being constructed.
@@JoeTegtmeyer thanks for your quick response! Yes, I look forward to seeing the inertia block being prepared. It’s clear to me that it’s the same thing that Tesla did in Giga Berlin’s casting and stamping areas.
The amount of Soil anchoring/pining at the site and along with the add of fill (shown in bonus video), appears maybe the surcharge is causing subsidence. Lots of reds and orange in the soils so could be some settlement which they are accounting for.
I like your thinking about vibration isolation and the comparison to Berlin. Keeping that in mind, the Berlin casting area foundations were not as deep. More like the depth of the new dig area just north. My thought is that the design change on model Y to use bigger castings and less stamping, might be why the "pit" change was done.
Actually ... the Berlin Stamping machine foundations are as deep and are in a different area than the casting machine foundations you mention. At Giga Berlin, these are in the north just west of the paint shop. The casting machines are just south of the Paint shop there.
@@JoeTegtmeyer Yes, my point is that the new area being dug may be for casting machines. Since casting machines do not create a lot of vibration. Also the pit area appears that it is being back filled on the north end.
You are an amazing videographer and your explanations of the possibile uses of what the are building are very interesting and illuminating. Must figure out how to help you in this endevour. I will look for the “ donation” bucket.
Actually I think they just have done wood first there as they poured concrete walls and they are curing. Best bet is this is a cement truck washout pit.
Great info on footings Joe. I was thinking the single footing could be for the plastic molding tool. This is the info I found on them, they get pretty heavy? The company has been equipped and personnel trained to produce the highest quality Plastic Injection Molds and Die Cast Molds, from Customer Concept Definition , DFM and Moldflow, Mold design, Mold build to Plastic Part Mass Production, in sizes for press tonnage from 30 tons to 3500 tons. Has in house New Plastic Injection Machines for 80 tons, 120 tons, 160 tons and 360 tons which are used for New mold tryout and Production as well. Currently it has joined in ventures with Die casting company and Diemaking and Stamping company. Outsources product processes of Prototyping, 3D printing, laser scanning, paint, pad printing, silk screen printing, laser etching, Hot foil stamp, ultrasonic welding, high volume small metallic parts manufacturing, silicon rubber components production, plating, anodizing and assembly.
Hi Joe, many thanks for a really detailed explanation. I have a question for you, they are obviously producing and using huge amounts of concrete, are they bringing gravel and sand onto the site of are they excavating it on the site as I seem to remember reference to part of it being a gravel pit?
They bring it in from off site ... in early August I did a video that shows where it all comes from ... there is a Martin Marietta sand and gravel mine about 3 1/2 miles (as the crow flies) SE of Giga Texas.
The first step in demolition would be decontamination. That might have been why it took them so long to even get started. They had to make a proper evaluation of what the contaminants are in that building and how to deal with them / find contractors that have the expertise required to deal with them. If that building was contaminant free, they would likely have just used an excavator to tear it down.
They might be about to demolish that disused building but from a practical point of view, on any construction site it would be excellent for secure weathertight storage. Why knock it down until you absolutely have to? They may have to clear out some pre-existing equipment but then you're left with a perfectly good building suitable for heavy equipment storage etc. Possibly the original excavation size of big pit was because they may not have been sure of exact placement/orientation of the foundations/machines & how that would impact efficient production flows so it was simpler to just do it once to allow freedom of choice. My pick is that they no longer need that area so are reinstating original ground level.
The old building may not be useable but will watch and see what they do. I suspect we will see a different kind of machine foundation going in at the north part of the "Big Pit"
Geat informations about the foundations. A perfect shot :) In the Big Pit there will come stamping, at 13:50 the new excavation will be casting, I think 5-6 Giga Press in one line similar to Shanghai, but some more. Do I see it right, that it is ~4m (~13ft) deep? Thank you for the research, this is much work in background!
Thanks Daniel ... I'm not yet sure of the dimensions of the new pit, but also there is room in the north part of the "Big Pit" that could also have casting machine footers. I just don't know yet.
@@JoeTegtmeyer We will see, they fill the Big Pit up at this side, may be, they don't need this area for stamping. The footers only need 2-3m (depending on ground) depth to take the casting machines.
@@JoeTegtmeyer I'm not sure, the different shapes of the press lines together with the connection between them at line end and the additional rectangle are confusing me. 5 steps at eastern side, a smaller press in south-east, a larger line at west and all connected by a (may be) assembly line. For the west press the feeder will be in south, next to test press. You also see the edges/feet/base next to the connection way, where the press itself will be mounted, this is end. What's make sense, from west press the large body parts are coming, from east comes a lot of small parts, middle (the rectangle) could be scrap storage. The area in north of the pit could be a pre-assembly area for body in white. The dimensions are confusing and the layout isn't matching with Berlin or Shanghai. just hmm...take care :)
Thanks for the great work Joe....loving these updates. I see the 2 HUGE rebar columns on the corners of the large "isolation pit" and it appears they are in line with the footers on top grade between the 2 pits. Looking length-wise down those might be interesting to see where others might be needed. Also, the recessed areas on the second eastern most foundation might be in line with the column footers on that edge??? or maybe not... Are they just bringing the north edge of the pit back up to grade? Did they really just have all that dug out to have access for trucks to get to the foundation work-site? Maybe?
I think the hole they appear to be back filling was need ed for the original stamping machine design, before they tore that up, reexcavated and put more geopiers in the hole
The large columns you see may be for the cranes needed to move and place the stamping dyes. North end may well be for casting machine foundations which are not as deep as the stamping machine isolation foundations ... I'll keep watching so we can find out together.
Not unlike a heavy vibrating Hospital MRI equipment it must be built on a solid foundation going deep to mitigate vibrations from equipment operations. A Stamp mill without bedrock will need geopiers and copious amounts of reinforced concrete to set stamping mill on its piers and foundation to act as bedrock in a fill zone such as gigafactory, Austin Texas. More on this from engineers familiar with Austin Texas GEOform in the land mass. NO BEDROCK present at the site!
Hello Amazon. I am building a vibration damper and need 1,847 long tons of silly putty. You do offer free shipping, right? Seriously, thanks for all you do.
Ii think they will use the same brand and types of machines ... there are manufacturers for these (and also for the casting machines) that Tesla purchases them from. I will run information on these in a future video when we get a bit farther along.
From experience and from comparison to the other Tesla factories. I’ve been in several automotive factories and watching (and feeling the vibrations) of these machines is incredible
The foundations in the large pit appear to include column bases that line up with the grid of footers outside. But not the small pit, where the distance between footers and the isolation block foundation is several times column spacing. Do they plan to add footers after back-filling the pit?
They use a large gantry crane in order to change out the different stamping molds. The room for stamping is usually really long and wide. Of courses this layout is different from GF-3 & GF-4 but so is the whole structure.
Will continue to watch, but I suspect we may see casting machine foundations going in here. Stamping and casting machines are needed to produce the Model Y and other vehicles, and they are both different designs and functions as well as need different kinds of foundations.
My thoughts...once they get the huge foundations for stamping, etc, adding column footers throughout the rest of the building will go fast. The longer timeline items are the major foundations being worked right now. Might be a few more of those to finish before finishing the east side column footers...hence the new excavation. Would be interesting to get a time for digging the footer, building the rebar, setting it and pouring the footer. Then calculate roughly how many footers are needed to complete the total area, etc. Looks like there are footers for maybe 1/8 (very rough estimate) of the east side already. Once they are far enough along to be able to keep steel work continuous to completion, then they will start that work and it will go fast, imo. No reason to start/stop that steel work, so they are getting the base work completed to be ready for the steel work. Remember, the foundation of the full building will be done after the dry-in is complete, so the flow will be footers, steel work and dry in. Might not be by end of the year, but might not be too far off if not. We'll see.... :)
they erected the 4 steel columns in a half a day ... an there are 180 footers more ... they need several teams at the same time to build the forrest of steel columns within 58 days. Finally put a roof on top and you have your 'dry in' ... :)
Great video. Thanx for the insight. So I'm guessing 2 massive Giga presses. One for model y and one for model 3. Each press will make both front and back of the car. The big fit is the factory making most of the car!
No ... these are stamping machines ... for body panels and so forth. You are thinking of casting machines and these are different. We haven’t yet seen for sure where these will go and it’s likely there will be perhaps 8 of these similar to Giga Berlin, but that is just a guess at this point.
Loved the intro info Joe, can we figure out what the pit is by the paint shop block they have put up LOL... Still say it is a dipping paint pit :) Thinking that they took too much out of that pit, or they decided to move the other stamp to anther building, (Cyber Truck)/(Semi)
Joe, Anyone: Somewhere on the gigatexas site Tesla will produce the new 4680 cells, correct? Where? Is there a battery line inside the main emerald-shaped construction footprint, or somewhere else on the Tesla gigatexas campus?
I think batteries will get a separate building. Lithium gets a building as well. Lots of buildings: HQ, Research and design (maybe separate buildings?), Cybertruck, maybe Semi.
At this time I don't know, but I suspect they may need another building for batteries and a lithium hydroxide plant as well. This information was not on the original site plan I covered in September, so at this point I don't have any further info to go on.
Little trouble with focus today. Noticeably when viewed on my big Hi Rez TV. Keeps going great some of the time, gets fuzzy some of the time too. Great work documenting this enormous project in any event.
@@JoeTegtmeyer i have a son & 2 brothers that live in Austin Tx & near too..i may go ask for a job so i can see my cybertruck get built & pick it up..lol
In the video I point it out in an overlay ... it’s where all the foundations are being built by the four posted structure. Model Y us first followed later by a Cyber Truck
@@JoeTegtmeyer isn’t MY being made in Austin? They would need more casting for front and rear parts but like you said we will have to wait! Thanks for all your efforts. Love the technical overview
MY will be first to be built and there will be casting machines ... they just haven’t made it clear where yet but I think we will see where they are going to go soon.
So how do the workers get in and out of the concrete box they are building in the small pit? How will they get ready mix trucks in the finish the inside area
Just for fun I will post about early concrete pumping in the 1960's. I started as a construction laborer then in northern California. It is hilly there and CA was a place of construction innovation then. It was there I encountered my first concrete pump on a hillside project. The pump truck arrived but it had no boom like the ones you see now. There was a reel of heavy 8" OD reinforced hose that we unwound like a garden hose and dragged up the hill. Guys were placed every 10 feet or so apart during the pour to move the hose or to keep it stable. Holding that hose you could feel the powerful pulses of the pump. The point of my story is that once in a while, when moving the hose, as you see the guys doing at the end of the boom in the videos to fill forms, the hose would kink. When that happened the power of the pump would straighten the hose on the next surge of the pump. Ten guys holding the hose would be knocked over and the hose went wild. The pump operator would scramble to shut off the pump. What a mess. Guys went to the ER. I watch the video pours with two or three pumpers with booms and think they have no idea how it all began, which is not to say it is totally safe now.
@@JoeTegtmeyer @Tobiaslindh replied that GF-4 “There will be no production of plastic parts in phase 1.” So maybe Austin factory might not need it on first phase also, it is fun to speculate though. Thanks agin for you Jeff and Randy sharing this with all of us.
I’m wondering, whether these foundations might instead be necessary for the new, heavy “Giga Press” dye casting machines. They are using extremely high pressure. When 80 kg of molten Aluminium is shot into the chamber (see below) that shock should create considerable vibrations, don’t you think so? On the other hand, I’m not aware of any new manufacturing technique at Tesla that requires gigantic stamping machines, are you? “Shots of molten aluminium weighing 80 kilograms (180 lb) are injected into the cold-chamber casting mold with a velocity of 10 metres per second (22 mph; 36 km/h).[7] The cycle time is ~80‒90 seconds,[2] allowing an output rate of 40‒45 completed castings per hour, or ~1,000 castings per day.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giga_Press
The stamping machines are for the body panels and the casting machines are for the body structure ... they need both and employ both in all of The factories Tesla has and are building. Giga Berlin is installing both as well ... you can check out a number of videos where they point out both areas and the very different types of foundations they use. We should see a different set of foundations in another area soon for the casting machines.
@@JoeTegtmeyer I agree. However, producing body panels via stamping is an established manufacturing technology. Why would Tesla’s stamping machines all of a sudden need shock-absorbing mounts?
I’ll give it a few weeks and we will see what they actually do ... then there should not be any conjecture. However, why are they installing vibration dampers and isolated foundations at Giga Berlin right now? It’s easy to look at current videos and see as these are not much farther along than the ones at Giga Texas. I’d recommend you take a look.
Tesla has proven it is leading a paradigm shift no one outside their inner circle fully understands. We just don't know what we don't know. It has occurred to me that the Quad drone guys should make an arrangement with one of the internet betting sites to take wagers on all our guesses (with them getting a cut of the take ;) ). Guessing is the fun of it along with being present as history is being made.
Perhaps but in a different area. Stamping machines are to make body panels and such. Casting machines (at least for now) will make the body sub structure
@@JoeTegtmeyer It could be 1 stamping and a bush of casting in the larger pit. But based on what they are building at Fremont for the 2 casting machines there, they will need a lot of room.
Well done Joe.
1. I had been telling people for months that the pits were likely for stamping and not casting.
2. You might want to consider a new question format. When you ask questions throughout the video like "what do you think is happening here" it may be useful to put Q1 for question 1 in front. So it would read "Q1 - what do you think is happening here". This way your viewers can respond with "Q1 - Pac Van could be an office for the demolition" as an example.
Love your work.
Good idea ... thanks!
Fascinating. Also, the clay subsoil is potentially subject to plastic deformation under vibration, so this risk is also mitigated by isolating and dampening the soil as well as the overall structure.
Thanks Larry! It is fun to watch and learn about what they are doing!
Great episode Joe! I really liked the explanation about the stamping machines and the need for vibration dampening. You get another A+ for doing your homework. You have me wondering how they are going to build those huge mass dampeners? Those are going to be big chunks of concrete! Thanks again for your efforts!
Most likely after the vibration materials are installed there will be a huge pour to make the blocks. I’m curious to see as well.
@@JoeTegtmeyer Yes but how will they stop the concrete from flowing out into the gaps between the dampening materials?
They’ll likely use a membrane for the pour
@@JoeTegtmeyer What they use will be interesting . . . how they get it out afterwards will be even more interesting!
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Great summary, I was wondering what was going on in those swimming pools!
Thanks ... I hope this helps answer those kinds of questions
I would say that they are more like arenas.
Another very informative video. Your research, commentary and graphics adds a lot to following construction progress. My guess is the old facility will be used a some type of pre-assembly or staging for internal assembly line components. Perhaps along the lines of the tents that have popped up around the buildings at Giga Berlin. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
It looks like the old facility is losing some inner walls.
Could be ... perhaps initial clean out for demo? I’m not sure but will keep watching to see
Great info Joe, thank you for another amazing video!👍👍👍
Thanks Joe! (Great name, BTW) 😎
WOW! Hi Joe... So glad I found your YT page! Finally someone that explains what is going on with different things on the site!!! Awesome...
Welcome aboard! I appreciate it!
Your narrative on the foundations explains a lot here and even more with the Berlin site. I thought they were crazy over there. This explains it. Thanks again.
Thanks Randy!
Excellent work today Joe - and thanks for all of the insights!
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Terrific video Joe, thanks for the explanation - great info! and thanks for doing this its somethign to look forward to each time.
Thank you David!
These foundations have been bugging me since Shanghai starting digging down almost a year ago, but as soon as Joe explained about active isolation I understood. In shaky New Zealand we grew up knowing about isolation blocks. They are a bit of a tourist attraction here, especially in our capital.
Need to know the answers to the "but why?" Questions. Cheers.
Glad this helped answer your long-standing question! 🤗👍
This is truly superb. The explanations are excellent and the drone footage is art in motion.
Thank you Nan!
In fremont they recently put casting machine outside of the factory without of all this concrete platform i guess
That and the height of the machines
My guess about why they're filling in part of the large hole: If you recall, when the large hole was first dug, it had a different shape than it does now. Some time after they "finished," they then came back in and dug out more parts and did Geopier work on them. My guess is that they reconfigured how the machines would be placed and consequentially had to change the shape of the hole. After doing that, part of the hole was not needed, so they're filling it back in. After they do that, they will probably have to do Geopier work on those areas.
You may be right ... I'll keep watching!
Love these videos. I started following Tesla because I was working with self driving cars, now I get to learn about construction! I took one course on material science and one on strength theory, but that was so many years ago and we never really got to learn these things, so it’s nice to get a refresher and see how it relates to a project I care about!
Glad this is a good refresher!
Joe - Thank-you. You do such good work analyzing and explaining the goings on.
Very welcome
Oh i love that sound starting at 20:56 nice and loud in front of my big screen about 3 feet away and just soak into that rhythm. thank you Joe👌👍❤
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Joe, Another steller video, there are others doing this, but in MHO, yours are the best. Just love how you focus on actual WORK PROGRESS. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jon!
Soooooo appreciate the extra explanations, info and graphics! Great work out there Joe!
Glad you like them!
Thanks for all the information it’s very helpful and appreciated to give us insight as to what is going on
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Great explanation, I feel so much more informed watching the flyover video now 😍
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Outstanding information. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks for the explanation!!
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Awesome explanation. Thank you
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I love the detailed information.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the detailed information. I was looking for information about the stamping presses before, but I didn't find much about it.
No problem Tobias! Love the work you are doing at Giga Berlin!
Love the detailed info on isolated foundations!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent Joe!! Your video's are so informative and the best out there!!
Glad you like them!
Just to produce each body part continuously for the Model Y they need at least two dozen stamping machines. The Lone Isolation pit is probably just for the main frame only.
If they need 2 dozen stamping machines, then none of the active or future Tesla factories can make cars then. Shanghai, Freemont and Berlin only have one.
Great research 👍🏼
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The same vibration damping technology is used in physics labs, but inversely.
Extremely sensitive equipment (e.g. a high-precision laser) is isolated from tiny environmental vibrations (stemming e.g. from a vehicle passing by outside) by mounting the equipment on a heavy granite block, which rests on several large rubber tires from trucks.
Thanks Hans!
Hey Joe thanks for going the extra mile. It really helps to have a detailed explanation of what the construction will actually be for. Also I picked up a couple of nice songs for my Spotify playlist. Images of tomorrow and beach walking by the unicorn heads. Nice!
Thanks!
Can’t wait to see what this site looks like at the end of the year so exciting😁
Me too! Will keep trying to get more video of the progress!
Wow great channel for nerds !! Very good information about the inner workings...
Thanks ... I’ll take the nerd compliment 🤓🤗
Excellent informative footage, thanks Joe!!
Thanks Tom!
Thanks Joe, very nice explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
shock mounted giga-stamper WILD!
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Like the academics, appreciate the extra effort...Thanks a lot
You’re welcome Ryan! 🤗
the old batch plant had all doors wide open. the equipment around it is on the small size.
so I think its to rip everything out of the bldg.
the white dump trucks that were on the new pit were sitting idle by the offices.
all the night lights are on the east side so it is possible to expand to the west ......
the stamping pits remind me of the bottom of the parking garage when building skyscrapers.
you see they have rebar just above the first pour.
now they are tieing the short pcs with another wall of rebar to go up 20 ft high.
the ramp leading down is being filled in because its no longer needed.
im predicting that red iron columns will be erected at a fast pace with in a week.
Thanks for the thoughts and observations Tom. I’ll keep trying to get video so we all see what they do in all of these areas.
Maybe the material being brought in to the excavation for the casting presses is what they will use for future backfilling up against the isolation structures?
I think you may well be correct
@@JoeTegtmeyer They definitely will need to backfill, but seeing what they are doing, I think I was wrong. They went back and excavated more from the original footprint, but now they are filling that same area. Why add that part to the excavation only to fill it (its not up against the isolation walls)? Also, they are working that soil and not just piling it up there and they are bringing it from that hill of dirt they made on the other side of the power lines. We'll have to wait and see...
Great explanation about the pit walls, inertia blocks and isolation dampers. Now I understand better what is going on with these huge foundation construction work. I wonder two things though, how they put the huge inertia block in, or build it up, but on what and how they would replace the vibration isolating materials in future?
The vibration material is installed first, then they pour a huge block. I don’t think the vibration material ever gets changed once everything is finished being constructed.
@@JoeTegtmeyer thanks for your quick response! Yes, I look forward to seeing the inertia block being prepared. It’s clear to me that it’s the same thing that Tesla did in Giga Berlin’s casting and stamping areas.
The amount of Soil anchoring/pining at the site and along with the add of fill (shown in bonus video), appears maybe the surcharge is causing subsidence. Lots of reds and orange in the soils so could be some settlement which they are accounting for.
Possibly ... there has been a lot of fill applied to get it level over the past few months.
I like your thinking about vibration isolation and the comparison to Berlin. Keeping that in mind, the Berlin casting area foundations were not as deep. More like the depth of the new dig area just north. My thought is that the design change on model Y to use bigger castings and less stamping, might be why the "pit" change was done.
Actually ... the Berlin Stamping machine foundations are as deep and are in a different area than the casting machine foundations you mention. At Giga Berlin, these are in the north just west of the paint shop. The casting machines are just south of the Paint shop there.
@@JoeTegtmeyer Yes, my point is that the new area being dug may be for casting machines. Since casting machines do not create a lot of vibration. Also the pit area appears that it is being back filled on the north end.
Love the music people x
thx
Thank you!
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Super video once more, great intro. Keep well.
Thanks!
Learned a new thing today, thank you
Great! That’s why aim doing this!
You are an amazing videographer and your explanations of the possibile uses of what the are building are very interesting and illuminating. Must figure out how to help you in this endevour. I will look for the “ donation” bucket.
Thank you Eros!
Patreon
Very interesting. Many thanks
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4:08 The filled in the ramp going into the hole next to the bag plant.
Actually I think they just have done wood first there as they poured concrete walls and they are curing. Best bet is this is a cement truck washout pit.
@@JoeTegtmeyer I think Harold meant the ramp that did lead in to the huge hole next to the bag plant at the timestamp.
Ah ... OK. Thx!
Great info on footings Joe.
I was thinking the single footing could be for the plastic molding tool. This is the info I found on them, they get pretty heavy?
The company has been equipped and personnel trained to produce the highest quality Plastic Injection Molds and Die Cast Molds, from Customer Concept Definition , DFM and Moldflow, Mold design, Mold build to Plastic Part Mass Production, in sizes for press tonnage from 30 tons to 3500 tons.
Has in house New Plastic Injection Machines for 80 tons, 120 tons, 160 tons and 360 tons which are used for New mold tryout and Production as well.
Currently it has joined in ventures with Die casting company and Diemaking and Stamping company.
Outsources product processes of Prototyping, 3D printing, laser scanning, paint, pad printing, silk screen printing, laser etching, Hot foil stamp, ultrasonic welding, high volume small metallic parts manufacturing, silicon rubber components production, plating, anodizing and assembly.
Thanks SuperH for the info!
Hi Joe, many thanks for a really detailed explanation. I have a question for you, they are obviously producing and using huge amounts of concrete, are they bringing gravel and sand onto the site of are they excavating it on the site as I seem to remember reference to part of it being a gravel pit?
They bring it in from off site ... in early August I did a video that shows where it all comes from ... there is a Martin Marietta sand and gravel mine about 3 1/2 miles (as the crow flies) SE of Giga Texas.
That big black motor home was gone at the start of the report. Now it's back at the end.
I noticed that too ... I had thought it might have headed south to Boca Chica, but I guess not
Sloping west wall in the new long pit? Keep the access track clean of infill until the new footprint complete?
That’s my thought and since the east side isn’t like that perhaps that means they will excavate on this side next?
The first step in demolition would be decontamination. That might have been why it took them so long to even get started. They had to make a proper evaluation of what the contaminants are in that building and how to deal with them / find contractors that have the expertise required to deal with them. If that building was contaminant free, they would likely have just used an excavator to tear it down.
That sounds like a plausible explaination
There was a decontamination company truck parked at the old plant a few months ago, it was there for several weeks.
Thanks Joe
👍
They might be about to demolish that disused building but from a practical point of view, on any construction site it would be excellent for secure weathertight storage. Why knock it down until you absolutely have to? They may have to clear out some pre-existing equipment but then you're left with a perfectly good building suitable for heavy equipment storage etc.
Possibly the original excavation size of big pit was because they may not have been sure of exact placement/orientation of the foundations/machines & how that would impact efficient production flows so it was simpler to just do it once to allow freedom of choice. My pick is that they no longer need that area so are reinstating original ground level.
The old building may not be useable but will watch and see what they do. I suspect we will see a different kind of machine foundation going in at the north part of the "Big Pit"
Thanks, Professor Joe!
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Why is part of the structure concrete and the other part steel?
Any clues as to the location for the *brake* which will be used to bend the stainless steel for Cybertruck? The small pit, perhaps?
Not yet ... I'm hoping we'll get some info form Tesla on this and other details. I'll keep watch out on the site too!
The margarita truck is back.
Yep! 😎
I wonder what one will be the truck body folding machine?
I don’t know yet but hope to find out soon! 🤞
Excellent
Thanks!
Geat informations about the foundations. A perfect shot :)
In the Big Pit there will come stamping, at 13:50 the new excavation will be casting, I think 5-6 Giga Press in one line similar to Shanghai, but some more.
Do I see it right, that it is ~4m (~13ft) deep?
Thank you for the research, this is much work in background!
Thanks Daniel ... I'm not yet sure of the dimensions of the new pit, but also there is room in the north part of the "Big Pit" that could also have casting machine footers. I just don't know yet.
@@JoeTegtmeyer We will see, they fill the Big Pit up at this side, may be, they don't need this area for stamping. The footers only need 2-3m (depending on ground) depth to take the casting machines.
I’ll try to get some video tomorrow and perhaps there will be more clues then? 😎
@@JoeTegtmeyer I'm not sure, the different shapes of the press lines together with the connection between them at line end and the additional rectangle are confusing me. 5 steps at eastern side, a smaller press in south-east, a larger line at west and all connected by a (may be) assembly line. For the west press the feeder will be in south, next to test press. You also see the edges/feet/base next to the connection way, where the press itself will be mounted, this is end.
What's make sense, from west press the large body parts are coming, from east comes a lot of small parts, middle (the rectangle) could be scrap storage. The area in north of the pit could be a pre-assembly area for body in white.
The dimensions are confusing and the layout isn't matching with Berlin or Shanghai.
just hmm...take care :)
Thanks for the great work Joe....loving these updates.
I see the 2 HUGE rebar columns on the corners of the large "isolation pit" and it appears they are in line with the footers on top grade between the 2 pits. Looking length-wise down those might be interesting to see where others might be needed.
Also, the recessed areas on the second eastern most foundation might be in line with the column footers on that edge??? or maybe not...
Are they just bringing the north edge of the pit back up to grade? Did they really just have all that dug out to have access for trucks to get to the foundation work-site? Maybe?
I think the hole they appear to be back filling was need ed for the original stamping machine design, before they tore that up, reexcavated and put more geopiers in the hole
The large columns you see may be for the cranes needed to move and place the stamping dyes. North end may well be for casting machine foundations which are not as deep as the stamping machine isolation foundations ... I'll keep watching so we can find out together.
Thanks for the info, very helpful!
Glad you liked it!
Not unlike a heavy vibrating Hospital MRI equipment it must be built on a solid foundation going deep to mitigate vibrations from equipment operations. A Stamp mill without bedrock will need geopiers and copious amounts of reinforced concrete to set stamping mill on its piers and foundation to act as bedrock in a fill zone such as gigafactory, Austin Texas. More on this from engineers familiar with Austin Texas GEOform in the land mass. NO BEDROCK present at the site!
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Hello Amazon. I am building a vibration damper and need 1,847 long tons of silly putty. You do offer free shipping, right?
Seriously, thanks for all you do.
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It is confirmed the foundations are at every Gigafactory but the ones at TeraTexas are way bigger?
Seems to be about the same size as Berlin for sure.
Ii think they will use the same brand and types of machines ... there are manufacturers for these (and also for the casting machines) that Tesla purchases them from. I will run information on these in a future video when we get a bit farther along.
That Geopier ram is still stuck and they are working around it.
Looks like it might be part of the foundation now... :)
I think eventually it will be removed.
BTW, how do you know that the foundations are meant for stamping machines?
From experience and from comparison to the other Tesla factories. I’ve been in several automotive factories and watching (and feeling the vibrations) of these machines is incredible
The foundations in the large pit appear to include column bases that line up with the grid of footers outside. But not the small pit, where the distance between footers and the isolation block foundation is several times column spacing. Do they plan to add footers after back-filling the pit?
They use a large gantry crane in order to change out the different stamping molds. The room for stamping is usually really long and wide. Of courses this layout is different from GF-3 & GF-4 but so is the whole structure.
Believe these may be for cranes to move the huge stamping machine dyes
demo time on the old plant it seems!
If true, I hope to capture some footage of it going down!
Question: Will there be BOTH a rolled aluminum STAMPING machine AND a molten aluminum CASTING machine? Or Only STAMPING machines? Anyone?
Yes ... likely several of them. I think Giga Berlin has two stamping machines and 8 casting machines. I'd expect something similar at Giga Texas.
I wonder if the big pit was enlarged only for a reorientation of the machines and they really won't use the north side of the pit.
Or they might put casting machines in this area as they don’t need as deep of foundations. I’m really not sure but will keep watch!
Kinda curious why they excavated so much of the north end of the large pit, only to fill it in again?
I wondered the same. Sure looks like they had a change of plans for where the isolation foundations would go.
Will continue to watch, but I suspect we may see casting machine foundations going in here. Stamping and casting machines are needed to produce the Model Y and other vehicles, and they are both different designs and functions as well as need different kinds of foundations.
Footers, footers everywhere.
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There is good news for these troubled times is JESUS LOVES YOU ALL.
i hope for the workers they make a big underground car parking
Or covered parking at least!
Demo that baby!
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i have a son & 2 brothers that live in Austin Tx & near too..i may go ask for a job so i can see my cybertruck get built & pick it up..lol
Go for it!
How will this factory be a "dry structure" by 30 December? Seems impossible to me. Any thoughts?
They have 58 days ... they need columns, roof and basic walls in some portions of the facility to meet this target ... let’s see how they do
My thoughts...once they get the huge foundations for stamping, etc, adding column footers throughout the rest of the building will go fast. The longer timeline items are the major foundations being worked right now. Might be a few more of those to finish before finishing the east side column footers...hence the new excavation.
Would be interesting to get a time for digging the footer, building the rebar, setting it and pouring the footer. Then calculate roughly how many footers are needed to complete the total area, etc. Looks like there are footers for maybe 1/8 (very rough estimate) of the east side already. Once they are far enough along to be able to keep steel work continuous to completion, then they will start that work and it will go fast, imo. No reason to start/stop that steel work, so they are getting the base work completed to be ready for the steel work.
Remember, the foundation of the full building will be done after the dry-in is complete, so the flow will be footers, steel work and dry in. Might not be by end of the year, but might not be too far off if not.
We'll see.... :)
they said "first" dry in not the final dry in.
just means one part with be dry.
Comparing to Berlin it looks like theynare about a month or two behind schedule for dry-in.
they erected the 4 steel columns in a half a day ... an there are 180 footers more ... they need several teams at the same time to build the forrest of steel columns within 58 days. Finally put a roof on top and you have your 'dry in' ... :)
Joe, what ever happened to that stuck GeoPier tool?
I think they eventually got it out
Typically steel stuck in the ground on a construction site, like a piling, gets torched off.
Inside open area if the big pit?
🤔 ?
Great video. Thanx for the insight.
So I'm guessing 2 massive Giga presses. One for model y and one for model 3.
Each press will make both front and back of the car.
The big fit is the factory making most of the car!
No ... these are stamping machines ... for body panels and so forth. You are thinking of casting machines and these are different. We haven’t yet seen for sure where these will go and it’s likely there will be perhaps 8 of these similar to Giga Berlin, but that is just a guess at this point.
Loved the intro info Joe, can we figure out what the pit is by the paint shop block they have put up LOL... Still say it is a dipping paint pit :) Thinking that they took too much out of that pit, or they decided to move the other stamp to anther building, (Cyber Truck)/(Semi)
Thanks Ac Black ... I’ll keep trying to figure out what that pit is for!
Joe, Anyone: Somewhere on the gigatexas site Tesla will produce the new 4680 cells, correct? Where? Is there a battery line inside the main emerald-shaped construction footprint, or somewhere else on the Tesla gigatexas campus?
I think batteries will get a separate building. Lithium gets a building as well. Lots of buildings: HQ, Research and design (maybe separate buildings?), Cybertruck, maybe Semi.
At this time I don't know, but I suspect they may need another building for batteries and a lithium hydroxide plant as well. This information was not on the original site plan I covered in September, so at this point I don't have any further info to go on.
Little trouble with focus today. Noticeably when viewed on my big Hi Rez TV. Keeps going great some of the time, gets fuzzy some of the time too. Great work documenting this enormous project in any event.
Thx
I'VE ORDERED THE TRI MOTOR CYBERTRUCK FSD...!!NO ONE CAN DO WHAT TESLA CAN...
Hope to see it coming off the production line next year!
@@JoeTegtmeyer i have a son & 2 brothers that live in Austin Tx & near too..i may go ask for a job so i can see my cybertruck get built & pick it up..lol
Where do we think the giga press machines will go? Next to the stamping?
Not sure yet but hopefully we will see soon.
I'll speculate and say the new rectangular hole, 26:20, will be for some of the new casting machines, the new giga presses.
Could be ... I’m very curious too!
Has Mr, Joe Tegtmeyer......see below ...sorry!
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The building at 5:24 is where the Cybertruck will be built. Trucks will start rolling out next week
:)
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Where is the enormous paint shop we see in Berlin. Arent Texas getting those too? Or they are building the Cybertruck first before Model Y?
In the video I point it out in an overlay ... it’s where all the foundations are being built by the four posted structure. Model Y us first followed later by a Cyber Truck
@@JoeTegtmeyer Yeah, that’s what i was referring to. It doesn’t look like the “Most advanced paint shop in the world” massive like in Berlin.
At least not yet ... let’s see what they build
Here is a link to the installation of a car body transfer press line at Nissan’s plant in England.
th-cam.com/video/t1WLO_OWrLE/w-d-xo.html
Actually I think the small pot is the stamping machine and the big pit will hold 6-8 casting machines like in Berlin.
I don’t think so, but will keep watching and we shall see
@@JoeTegtmeyer isn’t MY being made in Austin? They would need more casting for front and rear parts but like you said we will have to wait! Thanks for all your efforts. Love the technical overview
MY will be first to be built and there will be casting machines ... they just haven’t made it clear where yet but I think we will see where they are going to go soon.
So how do the workers get in and out of the concrete box they are building in the small pit? How will they get ready mix trucks in the finish the inside area
Concrete pump truck. Same way they are placing the concrete for those isolation footings
Correct!
Just for fun I will post about early concrete pumping in the 1960's. I started as a construction laborer then in northern California. It is hilly there and CA was a place of construction innovation then. It was there I encountered my first concrete pump on a hillside project.
The pump truck arrived but it had no boom like the ones you see now. There was a reel of heavy 8" OD reinforced hose that we unwound like a garden hose and dragged up the hill. Guys were placed every 10 feet or so apart during the pour to move the hose or to keep it stable. Holding that hose you could feel the powerful pulses of the pump.
The point of my story is that once in a while, when moving the hose, as you see the guys doing at the end of the boom in the videos to fill forms, the hose would kink. When that happened the power of the pump would straighten the hose on the next surge of the pump. Ten guys holding the hose would be knocked over and the hose went wild. The pump operator would scramble to shut off the pump. What a mess. Guys went to the ER. I watch the video pours with two or three pumpers with booms and think they have no idea how it all began, which is not to say it is totally safe now.
Thanks for the story Bob!
2:20 Why are they re-filling the northwest corner of the big pit? Why dig that part out in the first place?
I think they had change of plan, they dug out more to south that made second footing fit there. Just a guess of course.
@@howards9093 That's my guess.
I think we may see casting machine foundations going in here, but will keep watch to find out
@@JoeTegtmeyer @Tobiaslindh replied that GF-4 “There will be no production of plastic parts in phase 1.” So maybe Austin factory might not need it on first phase also, it is fun to speculate though. Thanks agin for you Jeff and Randy sharing this with all of us.
Thanks
I’m wondering, whether these foundations might instead be necessary for the new, heavy “Giga Press” dye casting machines. They are using extremely high pressure. When 80 kg of molten Aluminium is shot into the chamber (see below) that shock should create considerable vibrations, don’t you think so?
On the other hand, I’m not aware of any new manufacturing technique at Tesla that requires gigantic stamping machines, are you?
“Shots of molten aluminium weighing 80 kilograms (180 lb) are injected into the cold-chamber casting mold with a velocity of 10 metres per second (22 mph; 36 km/h).[7] The cycle time is ~80‒90 seconds,[2] allowing an output rate of 40‒45 completed castings per hour, or ~1,000 castings per day.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giga_Press
Yes, and the molten metal (175 in lbs.) is shot at 22mph or 35 km/h into a cold mold. The cycle time can be every 90 seconds.
The stamping machines are for the body panels and the casting machines are for the body structure ... they need both and employ both in all of The factories Tesla has and are building. Giga Berlin is installing both as well ... you can check out a number of videos where they point out both areas and the very different types of foundations they use. We should see a different set of foundations in another area soon for the casting machines.
@@JoeTegtmeyer I agree. However, producing body panels via stamping is an established manufacturing technology. Why would Tesla’s stamping machines all of a sudden need shock-absorbing mounts?
I’ll give it a few weeks and we will see what they actually do ... then there should not be any conjecture. However, why are they installing vibration dampers and isolated foundations at Giga Berlin right now? It’s easy to look at current videos and see as these are not much farther along than the ones at Giga Texas. I’d recommend you take a look.
Tesla has proven it is leading a paradigm shift no one outside their inner circle fully understands. We just don't know what we don't know. It has occurred to me that the Quad drone guys should make an arrangement with one of the internet betting sites to take wagers on all our guesses (with them getting a cut of the take ;) ). Guessing is the fun of it along with being present as history is being made.
Instead of 2 huge stamping machines I bet there are going to be at least 8 of the aluminum casting machines.
Perhaps but in a different area. Stamping machines are to make body panels and such. Casting machines (at least for now) will make the body sub structure
@@JoeTegtmeyer It could be 1 stamping and a bush of casting in the larger pit. But based on what they are building at Fremont for the 2 casting machines there, they will need a lot of room.
Thank James ... I’ll keep watch on what they build to get clues and hopefully, Tesla will release some info as well.