The plant employs more than 700 robots
Xiaomi detailed the innovations it uses in its manufacturing process. Previously, Tesla became famous for its use of gigacasting, which Xiaomi also uses. In addition, the company uses stamping to produce SU7.
Xiaomi claims to be the only Chinese car company to use two technologies. Tesla was a pioneer in the use of large-scale injection molding, the use of which can replace many individual components that can be assembled into a larger component using a single casting. From a production point of view, this means that the plant requires less floor space and the vehicle is safer because the vehicle is more rigid. In addition, cast parts are typically lighter, which helps increase the vehicle's range. Subsequently, a number of Chinese manufacturers, including XPeng and Nio, began to use injection molding technology.
The Xiaomi system was developed jointly with Haitian. The area is comparable in size to two basketball courts. The machine is designated Xiaomi Super Die Casting 9100T, which indicates the clamping force. The machine creates the Xiaomi SU7 bottom assembly, which previously consisted of 72 parts and required stamping and welding. Now this is one injection molded part that can be made in 100 seconds. This means a reduction of 840 welding points and a reduction in production time of 45%. The total part is 17% lighter and has an expected lifespan of over 2 million km, more than 10 times the expected lifespan of a traditional floor panel.
Xiaomi claims that in the event of a low to medium speed collision, only the anti-collision beam and crumple zone need to be replaced. Xiaomi has developed a whole group system of injection molding machines, consisting of 60 devices and 433 processes. The Xiaomi team's research and development has resulted in 11 patented innovations and improvements to the industry's existing injection molding technology, including an active injection parameter optimization system using artificial intelligence.
The Xiaomi car production plant is highly automated and, when at full capacity, will be able to produce 40 cars per hour, or one every 76 seconds. The plant employs more than 700 robots and 181 autonomous mobile robots (AMPs) delivering stamped parts. Every AMR uses lidar to navigate the factory floor. Machines are also used for quality control, the X-Eye inspection system has an accuracy of 99.9%, detecting defects instead of the human eye.