Slate factory up and running - photos & video (A New Day in Warsaw)!! 👷‍♂️🎬

[sodamo]

Does the factory look a little small to anyone else?

Such great news and yet the very first comment goes negative -baffling.

 

[BobbyMcGee]

no paint booths.

I think this is paint booth/oven? They need to paint and cure the frame somewhere. I know asking for SS would be too much, but with plastic panels it would last forever.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

I wonder when we'll see a completed truck off the line? That would normally happen 6 to 12 months ahead of first delivery. Maybe they already have some, and are just not showing them to the public before the big announcement day? You gotta keep some "ooh" factor in reserve.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I wonder when we'll see a completed truck off the line? That would normally happen 6 to 12 months ahead of first delivery. Maybe they already have some, and are just not showing them to the public before the big announcement day? You gotta keep some "ooh" factor in reserve.

I suspect the great majority of builds (with the exception of maybe one or two rolling samples) for the next few months will be reserved for demolition on the Safety Course.

 

[cadblu]

Great video, narrated by Jeff Jablansky, head of PR and communications at Slate.

I still recall that famous line where he says,
“This is narrated by me, Jeff. I work at Slate and just happen to have a great voice.”

Chris Barnan: “He really does”

 

[Darnon]

Are these batteries?

Nah, those looks like carriers for some process of the assembly. Some have the Flexlift labelling visible which is a brand of lifting platforms. You can see several of them staged on the line in a later shot

 

[Kopsis]

I think this is paint booth/oven? They need to paint and cure the frame somewhere. I know asking for SS would be too much, but with plastic panels it would last forever.

The frame will be ED coated (dipped in a solution, electrically charged so the coating attaches, then baked to cure it on). They still won't have any conventional paint spraying booths.

 

[KJRaven]

I think this is paint booth/oven? They need to paint and cure the frame somewhere. I know asking for SS would be too much, but with plastic panels it would last forever.

You're right, sort of! The frame absolutely needs a coating applied, and that area definitely looks like the frame coating setup.
My guess is Slate will use an E-Coat process for the chassis, which is a much simpler than a traditional automotive paint shop. Instead of using spray guns to shoot 14 different cosmetic colors with metal flakes or matte finishes, an E-coat setup basically just dunks the metal parts into a liquid bath to bond a single, protective layer to the frame.
Because they don't need a massive, multi-stage cosmetic paint department, a single-color frame dipping line is way smaller, cheaper, and more space-efficient.

 

[LoneWolfo6]

Is that AI? LOL.

Are those Fanuc robots? Cool!

 

[EJensen]

Nah, those looks like carriers for some process of the assembly. Some have the Flexlift labelling visible which is a brand of lifting platforms. You can see several of them staged on the line in a later shot

Got it. Thanks for the insight.

 

[EJensen]

I suspect the great majority of builds (with the exception of maybe one or two rolling samples) for the next few months will be reserved for demolition on the Safety Course.

Wow, really? How many units need to go through that?

 

[BobbyMcGee]

Did anyone see any sheet metal stamping machines?

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

Wow, really? How many units need to go through that?

Admittedly my knowledge on this subject is solely based on heresay and google, which indicates between 30 and 50 units; but my gut tells me it might be more as this is a brand-new platform and may require more trials to get it right.

 

[Kerserker]

Does the factory look a little small to anyone else?

It looks perfectly adequate

 

[pfan760]

Did anyone see any sheet metal stamping machines?

From their interview with Munro, I believe they said all stampings would be shipped in from a supplier to be assembled and welded at the Slate factory.