7/4/14 - Jo Borras Article: Elio Motors Q&a With Paul Elio... The A Part

[goofyone]

Thanks G1. I was too lazy to clear that up. Comau will do the plasma lining and the block machining
I believe, I expect they remember how to do the engine work since they did it for GM @ the Shreveport
plant..............BTW 'Elio' doesn't manufacture anything. The entire vehicle is an exercise in Legodom &
a good one @ that & the casting work of Grainger & Worral is terriffic!
http://www.gwcast.com/en/castings/prototype-foundry-aluminium-castings/

View attachment 1858

Just to clarify a little bit, Elio will actually do some manufacturing of the large assemblies at the Shreveport facility but most components will be shipped in by suppliers as is standard in the auto industry. Nearly all the required manufacturing equipment is already in the facility and has been purchased by EM as it was used by GM. As far as I am aware of the only major pieces of equipment they need to acquire is for plasma lining of the engine cylinders.

Nearly all the personnel in the plant will be Elio Motors employees with the exception of engineers from Comau and Plastics Research Corporation. Comau engineers will be on hand as they are providing and supporting all the automation and equipment used for engine machining and assembly, frame assembly and welding, robotic assembly stations, and general assembly line automation. Plastics Research Corporation will support the stamping of the composite panels and this equipment was also included in the GM equipment purchase as GM actually did stamp SMC composites at this plant.

 

[Kuda]

Snipped: Just to clarify a little bit, Elio will actually do some manufacturing.

So PRC is supporting the Panel work but Elio employees are running the equipment? Same for the other major functions?

 

[goofyone]

So PRC is supporting the Panel work but Elio employees are running the equipment? Same for the other major functions?

Yes, that is my understanding.

I am sure PRC, Comau, and others are already involved in the plant layout design process and will be involved in setting up the plant, training the new workers, and ensuring everything goes smoothly as the plant ramps up to full scale production so there should be plenty of extra people on site to guide the new Elio employees as things get moving.

An interesting detail I have now heard from more than one person is that there will be another batch of pre-production vehicles which will be produced as part of the plant commissioning and worker training process. This makes a lot of sense to me as the entire process must be tested and employees need a chance to go through all the steps on real vehicles. My guess is these final pre-production vehicles will end up as part of the marketing fleet for things such as test drive events and media appearances.

 

[goofyone]

If they don't destroy all 25 pre-production cars (not prototypes; the language is hanging us up here), I'll buy one!

The ones not destroyed will be used extensively for road testing and systems programming/tuning so they will not be readily available for sale right away but who knows some of them may end up for sale to Elio fans eventually. EM must still evaluate and make final decisions on quite a number of components which will be offered as both standard equipment and optional items. These items include things such as exactly what springs, shocks, and brake pads they should use along with countless other details. EM must also complete programming on the ABS, ESC, ECU, TCU and who knows what else must be programmed. All this work is the reason why they raised $30 million to complete this process.

 

[Jeff Porter]

The ones not destroyed will be used extensively for road testing and systems programming/tuning so they will not be readily available for sale right away but who knows some of them may end up for sale to Elio fans eventually. EM must still evaluate and make final decisions on quite a number of components which will be offered as both standard equipment and optional items. These items include things such as exactly what springs, shocks, and brake pads they should use along with countless other details. EM must also complete programming on the ABS, ESC, ECU, TCU and who knows what else must be programmed. All this work is the reason why they raised $30 million to complete this process.

Help us with the acronyms please, G1... ABS = Anti-lock Braking System, yes? I need help on ESC, ECU and TCU.

I know what EM is! *doing a chair dance*

 

[Kuda]

Yes, that is my understanding.

I am sure PRC, Comau, and others are already involved in the plant layout design process and will be involved in setting up the plant, training the new workers, and ensuring everything goes smoothly as the plant ramps up to full scale production so there should be plenty of extra people on site to guide the new Elio employees as things get moving.

An interesting detail I have now heard from more than one person is that there will be another batch of pre-production vehicles which will be produced as part of the plant commissioning and worker training process. This makes a lot of sense to me as the entire process must be tested and employees need a chance to go through all the steps on real vehicles. My guess is these final pre-production vehicles will end up as part of the marketing fleet for things such as test drive events and media appearances.

Very likely. I recall Ty saying something about "Timing the Line". Makes sense....

http://www.elioowners.com/threads/anyone-else-notice.1274/#post-16926

 

[Dustoff]

Help us with the acronyms please, G1... ABS = Anti-lock Braking System, yes? I need help on ESC, ECU and TCU.

I know what EM is! *doing a chair dance*

Electronic stability control (ESC) is a safety feature that can help prevent the driver from losing control of the car.

From Wikipedia

An engine control unit (ECU), now called the powertrain control module (PCM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by reading values from a multitude of sensors within the engine bay, interpreting the data using multidimensional performance maps (called lookup tables), and adjusting the engine actuators accordingly

cars.blurtit.com › Cars
TCU stands for Transmission control unit. A transmission control unit is a device that controls modern electronic automatic transmissions.

What does "chair dance" refer to?

 

[Jeff Porter]

Electronic stability control (ESC) is a safety feature that can help prevent the driver from losing control of the car.

From Wikipedia

An engine control unit (ECU), now called the powertrain control module (PCM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by reading values from a multitude of sensors within the engine bay, interpreting the data using multidimensional performance maps (called lookup tables), and adjusting the engine actuators accordingly

cars.blurtit.com › Cars
TCU stands for Transmission control unit. A transmission control unit is a device that controls modern electronic automatic transmissions.

What does "chair dance" refer to?

Chair dance is instead of dancing while standing, you dance while sitting. Indicates an emotion of happiness.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Electronic stability control (ESC) is a safety feature that can help prevent the driver from losing control of the car.

From Wikipedia

An engine control unit (ECU), now called the powertrain control module (PCM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by reading values from a multitude of sensors within the engine bay, interpreting the data using multidimensional performance maps (called lookup tables), and adjusting the engine actuators accordingly

cars.blurtit.com › Cars
TCU stands for Transmission control unit. A transmission control unit is a device that controls modern electronic automatic transmissions.

What does "chair dance" refer to?

Thanks much, for all of the above. Good stuff.

 

[RogWild]

...My guess is these final pre-production vehicles will end up as part of the marketing fleet for things such as test drive events and media appearances.

And probably some of the 120 'test drive' units available (one standard trans. and one AMT) at the 60 Elio Stores.