Hyperloop One announced yesterday that they have opened Metalworks, a manufacturing plant in Northern Las Vegas, to start production on their revolutionary mode of transportation. The 105,000 square foot facility will be used to build components for the DevLoop, the first testbed for the Hyperloop platform. The building will also help Hyperloop One address some of the more pressing engineering issues that come with this kind of technological advancement. As the blog post puts it, they could not be more excited about the new facility. Not only because it means they are on their way to creating a new mode of transportation for the world, but also because Metalworks is a veritable “maker playground.” It has everything from CNC mills and lathes to welding machines and tables, components presumably necessary to this kind of manufacturing. It even has a state-of-the-art metrology room that will provide the accurate measuring necessary of something as complex as the Hyperloop system.
Hyperloop One is obviously quite excited about the new facility, but the implications go beyond the revolutionary company. Las Vegas has been exploding in the startup ecosystem game and this move will only bolster the already impressive slew of transportation companies that have called the desert state home. Hopefully this factory will usher in a new era of transportation that will see Hyperloop One and Las Vegas on the map before too long.
