The Illinois-based Rivian facility is a robotic wonderland producing the R1T , R1S and delivery vans.
The Irvine, California-based Rivian Automotive, Inc. produces electric cars at a pricey facility in Normal, Illinois that was once used by Mitsubishi. The factory has the capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles annually.
Monday, July 18, 2022 | Chimniii Desk
Rivian produces its R1T and R1S models on a single assembly line while producing its EDV500 and EDV700 commercial vans on a different line. In all production stages—from stamping and body assembly to painting, propulsion, general assembly, and end-of-line inspection—the high-tech factory is almost entirely robotic.
The company uses six presses to stamp out Class A-sized panels, including body sides, to smaller structural panels during the initial step of production, which is the stamping out of body panels. The car bodies are made of a combination of materials, with steel serving as the main structural element and aluminium being pressed into the inside panels.
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Components are transferred from the stamping area into the body shop area, where they are assembled utilising a robotic and extremely sophisticated spot welding technique to create the bodywork of the R1T and R1S models. To make room for the EDV500 and EDV700 production lines, a section of the plant carpark was converted into an extension. Huge dinosaur-like robots the size of dinosaurs are needed during the production process because of how big the vans are.
The structures then proceed to a state-of-the-art paint shop after the bodies have taken shape. The paint department also applies an electro-static coating on the "skateboard" chassis and battery enclosures in addition to painting the bodies as they come off the assembly line. A canister-based paint process in the high-volume shop enables the operator to switch colours without having to completely cleanse the system. The procedure works like a vending machine for painted automobiles and is extremely effective at reducing waste.
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After that, a "whole-build" combination associated with a customer is allocated to the painted bodies.
The drive unit assembly stage of production is where the business constructs complete drive units, puts gearboxes and inverters together, and connects motors to them. Two motors per axle and one motor per wheel make up the quad-motor configuration that powers the vehicles. The design gives the cars a unique feel in terms of how they handle and drive.
The battery business creates sub-modules for modules, which are then packaged into packs with 7776 cylindrical cells.
According to CEO RJ Scaringe, it took a great deal of fine-tuning and training of the personnel to reach a production and output point that might be considered an inflection point. He is quite confident about the road ahead because of the Rivian workforce's attitude, skills, and willingness to push one another.
In the general assembly section, where the final vehicles take shape, painted and assembled bodies, finished drive and motor units, batteries, and more than 2000 components from 400 suppliers come together. The Normal factory has two distinct production lines, one for the R1T/R1S models and the other for the EDV500 and EDV700 commercial vans. Both lines run concurrently throughout the plant.
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After assembly, the vehicles undergo a series of tests to make sure everything is operating as it should, including wheel alignment, headlamp aiming, and dynamometer cycles. Before the finished vehicles are put through a water test, all of the various sensors inside are calibrated.
The last inspection process searches for problems with overall quality and body fit.
RJ Scaringe established the business in 2009 under the name Mainstream Motors. Later, it changed its name to Avera Motors and then, in 2011, to Rivian (a play on the name of the Indian River in Florida, where Scaringe grew up).
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