Large component casting, also known as megacasting, or gigacasting if you’re Tesla, is hot right now, and a major milestone has just been reached. Chinese automaker Chery Auto has cast an entire underbody using a 13 000-ton dual-injection press, and while the result is nothing short of impressive, there are a few good reasons why you probably shouldn’t want a one-piece cast underbody on your car says Thomas Hundal – a writer and blogster – in an interview with The Autopian.

Photo credits: Chery Auto, The Autopian

“I don’t have anything against casting as a process, because it’s produced some incredible stuff. Most alloy wheels on production cars are cast, for example. Megacasting an entire underbody is an incredible feat of manufacturing, just an absolutely awe-inspiring flex of might. I also don’t have anything against the structural soundness of this part, as it’s likely perfectly fine. See, my beef lies in repairability, because large structural castings require a completely different approach to a structure made of stamped parts, one that flirts with disposability.”

Read the full story at The Autopian.