Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One, developer of the Hyperloop structure to move passengers and cargo between two points, has announced it will open its first manufacturing plant, Hyperloop One Metalworks, in North Las Vegas, Nev. The 105,000-sq.-ft. tooling and fabrication plant will house engineers, machinists, and welders who will build and test many of the components going into DevLoop, the full-system prototype, which will be tested in early 2017. The site also will house a new Transponics test lab, which will continue to innovate on the propulsion system that launches a Hyperloop vehicle to high speeds.
The plant will include motor (stator) testing, two waterjet steel cutting machines, and a metrology room for measurements of many materials and subcomponents of the full system. Some of the parts to be produced at the plant include the joints between the Hyperloop tube and its supporting columns and the cradles that hold and protect the tubes before installation.