The E-series Build.

[Kuda]

I'm that guy. While I saw the welding area, it was heavily shielded and outside what I was working on. I can honestly say I didn't see any stamping presses there. They could have been in another building but GM did some weird things. The Hobre hoods were shipped in from overseas. I don't know why the Hombre hood was so different from the S10 but they looked about the same to me. Anyway, they called it the GM Shreveport Vehicle Assembly Plant. Assembly vs. manufacturing. I would not be surprised one bit if stamped parts arrived via rail car from a different company. They could just assemble the Elio from parts made elsewhere. Well, the engine will be forged elsewhere. That much we know. It'll be milled and assembled in Shreveport though.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the
block is 'cast'. COMAU will machine it
@ do the plasma spray with equipment
they used before at the plant. The Elio
has been an off the shelf project from
the get go 'cept for the motor, even the
trans is a stock item.....hence the USA
parts & cost management.....

 

[Ty]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the
block is 'cast'. COMAU will machine it
@ do the plasma spray with equipment
they used before at the plant. The Elio
has been an off the shelf project from
the get go 'cept for the motor, even the
trans is a stock item.....hence the USA
parts & cost management.....

I misspoke about forging. You are correct. It will be cast elsewhere. Thanks

 

[Ty]

I think you are probably lonelier than the Maytag repairman.

Imagining a government employee watching out for the taxpayer just blows my mind.

Believe it or not, a lot of costs are driven by the process to ensure we get the right price for things/services. I can't just go to the local builder and tell him to build a building. I have to solicit bids and wait and select, and then rebid because there was a complaint by the losing bid, then select, etc. But, all this is done to protect the taxpayer's money. Believe me, if we didn't care, it'd be a lot more simple to get things done! Keep in mind that a lot of things are quite expensive... The more important programs especially. Think about it this way - If you want to make sure you have air superiority when you design a new fighter, you could keep it cheap and hope that you have the best aircraft because "You can only be wrong once".

 

[Kuda]

I misspoke about forging. You are correct. It will be cast elsewhere. Thanks

Worked in an investment cast foundry
'96-'98. The Elio pics of the IAV Motor
parts were very impressive. I don't
know if they will use the same foundry
for the production castings, I hope
they do....

 

[outsydthebox]

The magical part of this is that all those parts were obviously stamped.
Which means that they have existing dies (and the specs for quickly making additional ones) for the presses.
Unless there are modifications to those parts, EM won't have to spend time engineering the dies.
IMO, a major step DONE!

They might not have the actual dies. According to this :
"...CNC punching and forming equipment can make a vast array of parts with minimal or no investment in part-specific tooling...." *

Taken from the article posted by AriLea. (post #552)
It occurred to me that this might be a process that Roush Racing brings to the table, since they seem to do a bunch of "one-off/prototype" work.

 

[Ekh]

They might not have the actual dies. According to this :
"...CNC punching and forming equipment can make a vast array of parts with minimal or no investment in part-specific tooling...." *

Taken from the article posted by AriLea. (post #552)
It occurred to me that this might be a process that Roush Racing brings to the table, since they seem to do a bunch of "one-off/prototype" work.

If I had to guess, I think Linamar, which makes engines worldwide, would have a role in manufacturing the Elio engine.

From what we've seen, I think Linamar would develop the machinery and get it set up in Shreveport, where Elio employees would actually make the engine. Of course I could be completely wrong about this.

 

[Sethodine]

If I had to guess, I think Linamar, which makes engines worldwide, would have a role in manufacturing the Elio engine.

From what we've seen, I think Linamar would develop the machinery and get it set up in Shreveport, where Elio employees would actually make the engine. Of course I could be completely wrong about this.

That is how I understood it, with the additional caviat that Linamar will also be licensed to produce the engine themselves and to market it worldwide

 

[wizard of ahs]

That is how I understood it, with the additional caviat that Linamar will also be licensed to produce the engine themselves and to market it worldwide

All the more better for Elio

 

[Ekh]

That is how I understood it, with the additional caviat that Linamar will also be licensed to produce the engine themselves and to market it worldwide

We concur.

 

[Jambe]

If I had to guess, I think Linamar, which makes engines worldwide, would have a role in manufacturing the Elio engine.

From what we've seen, I think Linamar would develop the machinery and get it set up in Shreveport, where Elio employees would actually make the engine. Of course I could be completely wrong about this.

"Did anyone notice that Linamar just built an aluminum casting facility in the south east US? So Elio needs a supplier of 1-200,000 engine castings a year and GF Linamar needs work for a nice new plant. Seems like a really good move on both of their parts. http://foundrymag.com/meltpour/gf-linamar-linked-automotive-diecasting-venture "