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Intel's new CEO is facing the same old challenges
After seven months as interim CEO, Robert "Bob" Holmes Swan has been appointed as Intel's seventh full-time leader. Swan started life at General Electric, spending 15 years there before leaving to become vice president (and later CEO) of the doomed online grocery business Webvan. In 2006, he returned to the technology industry as eBay's CFO, a position he held for nearly a decade. In 2016, he joined Intel as CFO, one of a handful of "outside hires" the notoriously inward-looking company placed in leadership roles. And he takes the helm at a crucial time for the chipmaker as it looks to revitalize itself in a world that may no longer need the technologies the giant offers.
Foxconn may not manufacture anything in Wisconsin after all
In 2017, Foxconn revealed plans to build a Wisconsin campus as part of a $10 billion investment that would create up to 13,000 jobs in the state. It pledged to build large-screen LCD displays there, and President Trump touted the project as a victory for his goal of reviving US manufacturing fortunes. Fast forward to 2019, and Foxconn says around three-quarters of jobs at the campus will be in design and research and development -- and it may not manufacture displays there at all.
Waymo will build self-driving cars in Michigan
Waymo just took another major step toward bringing self-driving cars into the mainstream. The Alphabet-owned brand has received approval to establish a factory for its driverless vehicles in Michigan. This will be the first factory in the world to be completely devoted to mass-producing Level 4 autonomous vehicles, the company said.
Porsche claims its EV factory will be as green as the cars it builds
Porsche wants production for the Taycan to be as ecologically responsible as the electric car itself. The automaker has revealed that the Taycan factory under construction at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen will use nitrogen oxide-absorbing facades on some parts of the building, reducing the plant's pollution. The surfaces are relatively simple constructions made from aluminum coated in titanium dioxide, but the results so far appear to be strong. In a test on a 126 square meter (roughly 1,356 square feet) area, it absorbed nitrogen oxide as well as ten trees.
Toyota and Panasonic may team up to make EV batteries
Toyota and Panasonic have explored electric car batteries before, but they're now poised to get particularly cozy. Nikkei sources claim the two will set up a joint venture for manufacturing EV batteries sometime in 2020. Reportedly, they intend to reduce the costs of the power packs through sheer economies of scale, and would supply both Toyota's Daihatsu brand as well as outside companies like Mazda and Subaru. They're also hoping to court Honda as it dives into EVs, according to the sources.
VW and Ford may work together on EVs and autonomous vehicles
In the latest instance of major automakers teaming up, Volkswagen and Ford will work together on commercial vans and pickups, and they could start selling such vehicles by 2022. The companies are also exploring potential collaboration on electric vehicles, self-driving cars and transportation services.
VW will build its US electric cars in Tennessee
Volkswagen just made a major commitment to electric car production in the US. The company has revealed that it will open its first dedicated EV factory for North America at its existing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Production won't start until 2022, but VW claimed the new plant will create 1,000 jobs. The first vehicle out of the gate will be the ID Crozz SUV, which will go on sale in the country in 2020 -- in other words, those initial models will likely come from outside the country.
Tile partners with chip makers to bring stuff-finding power to everything
Tile's Bluetooth trackers have been a godsend for forgetful types. Many a lost wallet or set of keys have been located using the Tile Platform, which last year expanded beyond a mobile app to voice and video controls. The company had also previously announced partnerships with a number of companies, including Bose and Samsonite, to help you keep tabs on other things, too. Now, the company has revealed it's teaming up with major BLE (Bluetooth low energy) chip companies, so Tile's stuff-finding power could feasibly be integrated into almost anything.
MIT can shrink 3D objects down to nanoscale versions
It's difficult to create nanoscale 3D objects. The techniques either tend to be slow (such as stacking layers of 2D etchings) or are limited to specific materials and shapes. MIT researchers might have a better way -- they've devised a technique for making nanoscale versions of 3D objects using a wide variety of materials and shapes. The team ultimately reversed a process for imaging brain tissue, whittling a relatively large object down to a creation one thousandth its original size.
Toyota will use hydrogen burners to reduce factory emissions
As clean as fuel cell cars and EVs may be, they're still made using pollution-producing factories -- and Toyota wants to help solve this. The company has introduced what it says is the first-ever general-purpose hydrogen burner built for use at factories and other industrial plants. While hydrogen burners have already existed, they've typically pumped out dangerous levels of nitrous oxide due to rapid reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. The new burner keeps the two elements relatively separate and lowers the oxygen concentration, leading to a system with "greatly reduced" nitrous oxygen emissions and the zero carbon dioxide emissions you already get with hydrogen burners.
Foxconn says it won't staff Wisconsin plant with workers from China
Last year, Foxconn, a supplier to companies like Apple and Microsoft, announced plans for a factory in Racine, Wisconsin, a deal that promised to bring a $10 billion investment and 13,000 jobs to the area. But the details of that plan have changed in the past months, and now the Wall Street Journal reports that the company is looking to bring employees over from China in order to staff the facility. Foxconn, however, has denied those reports.
SEC subpoenas Tesla over Model 3 production claims
The investigation into Tesla's Model 3 production forecasts appears to be intensifying. Tesla has confirmed receiving an SEC subpoena requesting data for "certain projections" the automaker made for Model 3 manufacturing in 2017, as well as additional public statements on production and Musk's statements on taking the company private. The company stressed that there hadn't been any conclusion of "wrongdoing" in ongoing government investigations, but the subpoena suggested that financial regulators were concerned enough to look into the matter.
Dyson will build its electric cars in Singapore
Dyson will build a two-story factory in Singapore to assemble its highly anticipated electric cars. In a letter to employees, chief executive Jim Rowan said construction would start in December and be completed sometime in 2020. The nation was selected, he explained, because of its "significant advanced manufacturing expertise," supply chain benefits and access to high-growth markets. It also helps that Dyson has been building a workforce and facilities, including a research-focused Technology Centre, in the area since 2007. "We now employ 1,100 people and have made over 50 million high-speed Dyson digital motors in Singapore," Rowan said.
Tesla reportedly made its 100,000th Model 3
Tesla may have just hit a symbolic milestone in its quest to speed up Model 3 production: according to an Electrek source, the company has produced its 100,000th Model 3. It technically reached the mark earlier in the week if you count engineering and release candidate cars, according to the tipster, but regular manufacturing also reached the figure on October 13th. Tesla declined to comment, although it typically only provides production numbers after every quarter (like it did on October 2nd).
Tesla reportedly met its ambitious quarterly Model 3 production goal
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is having a lousy week, but the company might have something to crow about. A source speaking to Electrek (historically accurate with these rumors) has reported that Tesla met its lofty target of building at least 50,000 Model 3 cars over its summer quarter, producing about 51,000 examples of the 'entry-level' EV by September 28th. The company had been struggling with manufacturing earlier in the period, but apparently ramped back up to 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the quarter.
Fire at Tesla's Gigafactory briefly disrupts production
Tesla just had to contend with another fire at one of its facilities. The electric car maker and county emergency staff have reported that a fire broke out in the Gigafactory in Nevada late on Saturday, leading to a halt in production as the company evacuated the building. The company thankfully faced no injuries and resumed operations early on Sunday, but it's not clear what damage was done or how much this might affect the plant's battery and motor output.
Chip giant TSMC struggles with virus infections at its factories
Many of the tech products launching this fall might have just run into production setbacks. Giant chip manufacturer TSMC has warned that several of its fabrication plants suffered virus infections on August 3rd, disrupting production. Some of these plants recovered in a "short period of time," it said, but others wouldn't resume business as usual for "one day." The company dismissed claims that this was a hack, but didn't initially provide details about the virus or the potential infection path.
Tesla built Model 3 assembly 'tents' to meet production goals
Remember how Elon Musk casually mentioned that Tesla had built a new assembly line in just three weeks to help it meet its lofty Model 3 production goals? It was more audacious than you might have thought. A combination of follow-up tweets from Musk, first-hand observations and Fremont's own approval process has made clear that Tesla built new manufacturing inside a group of several giant tents (or rather, tent-like Sprung structures) to boost output of its high-volume EV. If you think that sounds audacious, you'd be right. Ars Technica learned that each 'tent' is 150 feet long and 53 feet high, and there's no known instance of other car manufacturers doing this before.
Foxconn establishes its North American headquarters in Milwaukee
Foxconn is extending its fledgling American footprint beyond its planned display factory in Wisconsin. The tech manufacturing behemoth is establishing its North American headquarters in Milwaukee, 30 miles north of the upcoming factory. It's buying a seven-story building from Northwestern Mutual and expects 500 people to work at the facility, which will include an innovation hub to help startups create apps using its display tech. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the intend 13,000 jobs at the screen facility, but it's symbolic of the company's US presence -- it's not just dabbling this time around.
General Motors is 3D printing parts to make EVs more efficient
The virtues of 3D printing have long been touted by a vast range of manufacturers, so it was only a matter of time before the EV industry got in on the action. General Motors has announced that, alongside design software company Autodesk Inc, it's creating lightweight 3D parts that'll help it meet its ambitious plan to add 20 new electric battery and fuel cell batteries to its global lineup by 2023.
