A Tesla employee who builds robots told us why production hell is actually a good thing
By Matthew DeBord
 | ||
| Sheena Patterson with one of Tesla's giant robots. Matthew DeBord/Business Insider |
Tesla turned out to be the perfect fit — and Patterson's decision to join the company was perfect timing.
She started just as Tesla was launching the Model X, a complicated vehicle to build. With her expertise in systems design and robotics, which dates to her undergraduate days, she could make an immediate contribution.
She designed a robot that now sits on the combined Model S-Model X assembly line where glass panels are glued and attached to the Model X.
Smaller than the massive orange robots at Fremont that can sling around entire vehicle bodies, Patterson's robot — named Gambit, for the superhero from the "X-Men" comics — is yellow, about as large as an adult, and encased in Plexiglas.
Its job is to apply adhesive — something formerly done by multiple workers, who had to use glue guns and work on tables set up next to the assembly line. Gambit draws adhesive from large barrels and can save Tesla time and money on this delicate phase of production.
It's a glimpse into Musk's plans for factories of the future: almost fully automated, with robots that can build cars so fast that air resistance becomes a problem.
Patterson is smack in the middle of that revolution. She's currently working on the new highly automated Model 3 assembly line.
http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-employee-explains-why-production-hell-is-good-2018-2?pt=385758&ct=Sailthru_BI_Newsletters&mt=8&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email_article
No comments:
Post a Comment