Aptera is making the PI solar panels 

@ApteraMotors What you should be doing is addressing everyone’s concerns about the hub motors. Also, if you’re serious about this thing, put up a dated milestone chart with the content and purpose of each of the PI’s. Walk the walk.

@@bobhellman8676 " everyone’s concerns" Really? I saw a few trolls trolling... most followers of Aptera are not concerned about the in-wheel motors fantasy mystery concern trolling.... but you keep it up. I'm sure you can convince someone there is a coverup of some sort. Panic time!

@BrokenWing Do you actually read other fan comments, or just admire your own? Tell us all where the PI and production motors are coming from and when they’re expected.

@@bobhellman8676 Correct, even though I wouldn't particularly approve of the wording of your initial post?

@adimchionyenadum2962 I didn’t particularly approve of my own wording. “everyone’s” could have been “significant”. As regards the dated milestone request, I could have said “I believe the fans would benefit from” etc.. My comment was less than cordial. Here’s the deal… When Aptera said in Nov./Dec. that they were going to complete PI’s “in the first few months of next year”, if that were remotely true, a January walkthrough should have taken place and you would have seen the majority of all parts for those PI’s on benches or shelves. That’s the absolute reality. Again, virtually every significant part would have had to have been in that factory or in transit in order to make good on that promise. And that includes enough hub motors to support the build. January… You also heard “crash data by mid-year.” Mid-year is 4th of July. Short version: I am suggesting that people stop letting Aptera tell them what to think, open their eyes, and look at what Aptera should be doing, based on their claims. They should have been driving PI’s since 1st qtr.. If not then, 2nd qtr. or at least you would have seen them finishing up. You’re basically in 3rd qtr. and the January parts are where exactly? Let me put it this way: It’s 6 months later and you actually “know” less now than you thought you did last year. I think fans deserve to see definitive plans and Aptera executing them reliably if they’re being asked for trust and money. Again, thanks for your feedback.

Exactly

or maybe a planishing hammer but only if it's vibrating

Sort of... this is more about pushing the metal into place. A cool process! I have seen die forming using an air chisel with a hammer head on it to gradually form the metal to a surface, but this is obviously better for large parts. The English Wheel generally stretches metal between the upper wheel and the lower anvil with different sized contact areas supplied by different lower anvils. I have used a small palm nailer with a carriage bolt in it to stretch sheet metal into a bag filled with sand... I show some of this on my channel under the titles CMB (Custom Metal Bodywork) 1-12, I believe it is.

You're right. Smarter Every Day had a tour of a shop that had a similar forming system. Their system had a tool on both sides of the sheet, backing the forming tool to control the shape and limit deformation of the sheet in the forming process. Interesting stuff.

It would appear that the wooden form that the process stretches the sheet metal over, stays in place as the filler.

Yes, I kind'a thought the same thing.

The support is like a "hammerform."

Ouch 😢

The process used here was not exactly that the one described in the smarter every day video as this shape is not very complex. The two oposing tools forming the shape is used when the shape is very complex. I believe they used a processed where only one tool is pressing the blank against a die mace out of material such as wood. The machine for this is much simpler and less costly.

yeah I was describing the other video, the process by which the sheet for the Aptera was made is clearly on a different machine with a different layout. The overall principle of how they are deforming the sheet looks similar though, all I was saying

Almost 50 years ago I was awarded a government scholarship to do a degree program in mechanical engineering/machine tools and die making. I didn't like the course because I hardly knew what it was. I switched and studied medicine instead. Wow! What did you remind me of.

I agree 100%. In fact as an accelerator I’m planning on having silver wraps made with Aptera and my QR code, so I can plaster them on the sides. Anyone who takes a photo of my Aptera can get $30 off their reservation. 🤓

I think it is a mistake not to have the name of the vehicle on it. Even the minimalistic Tesla has.

@@adimchionyenadum2962 The Cybertruck doesn't.

And a QR block people can scan on the passenger side Glowgo, at least on the Launch Editions when people will be getting their first IRL experiences with obtainable Apterae on our roads. That link can be constantly tweaked to draw new reservations and investors in. It might even give a brief walkaround tour of the vehicle they are looking at!

@@adimchionyenadum2962 The Cybertruck doesn't carry the Tesla name or logo.

Amino is the company that made that machine; it's not the company that owns that machine.

It's popular because it's intended for a very small production; not 48k vehicles.

@@Okurka. Sure, but Aptera only needs one of each of these forms to use in creating all of their their solar arrays/panels.

@@deanmcmanis9398 LOL

Small-scale? Don't Aptera have 48k "pre-orders"?

@@Okurka. This process is for making the molds. They don't need 48k molds. Each one is used many times. So making the molds is small scale even though when they get to volume production, making the Aptera won't be small scale.

@@henrikasfeldt2948 Where did I say they need 48k molds? You said this is great for small-scale production while 48k is far from small-scale.

@@Okurka. Small scale production of molds. I'm sure each mold can make many thousands of solar panels.

​@@Leonardokite I doubt these last as long as regular molds so why use them when you know you're going to use them tens of thousands times? Seems a waste of money to me, unless they don't intend to produce tens of thousands vehicles.

Steve's a Journalist?

@@johnreeves7261 One is as one does...

@@n.brucenelson5920 Steve "Journalists"?

@@johnreeves7261 A journalist is one who journals. Or do you have a different definition?

@@n.brucenelson5920 Nope.

Forming process looks analogous to ‘English Wheeling’, the process used for hand crafting all those gorgeous compound surfaces on the body panels of cars and aircraft. Persuading a dumb pile of code to replicate the selective stretching done by highly skilled craftspeople is quite the feat of machine and software engineering to my eyes.

@@Mike-pi6pu That is a good description.... very much the CNC version of that process. The video on their website makes it clearer that a wooden form is milled first, and then the CNC process works the sheet metal down over it.

basically it showed how that dieless part was made.

I'd love to see that video! I suspect, however, there's no "whole video" showing Aptera's solar lamination tray being made.

Let's see what Steve does with this one... Multiple stock opportunities, self-directed IRA option, US Capital, Aptera Italia, crypto option, very industrious. No wonder they forgot the PI's were due 1st quarter.

Aptera is "actually making" the solar panels.

Correct but that photo was from a long, long time ago. Aptera has substantially improved upon it's cell to cell spacing control. The glass-topped hood solar panel is a good example.

Hoping to explore & know more by Monday and wish an update, just post reply then (like "Huh?"). At this point, I see sales are down debt is up (lousy financials) but also importantly some of their extensive patent portfolio has been challenged (& preliminarily failed) in Europe. So POTENTIALLY… competition/bad for MAXN, good for Aptera.

Who would want to steal a mold? After all, steel is not hard to come by. 😁

@@wingsounds13 I don't know who would want to steal mold either. There can't be much profit for it on the black market.

Could also be that they were meaning to save it to post later for marketing reasons and pacing of information releases.

It's a scam! Run for your life! You are so smart. The rest of us suckers who can't see what a scam this is will just wait and see how it goes instead of whinging or way through the comments.

At least with the lamination trays, it's not "prototype tools".....

@@johnreeves7261 I didn't say "prototype tools"......

@@GullWingInnMoclips What are you babbling about?

@@johnreeves7261 Who said anything about "prototype tools"?

Picts are online again.