5 ms·
It's impressive to me that they can make running changes (like reducing the number of spot welds in the Model 3) without having to retest/recertify.
by chaboud 8y ago
It's impressive to me that they can make running changes (like reducing the number of spot welds in the Model 3) without having to retest/recertify.
- jacquesm 8y agoThat's not that impressive, in fact it tends to be a signal of poor design. The more changes to a model in a short time the worse it will be later to find parts and to keep the car running. It will also end up being more expensive. That's why it is generally good practice to avoid the first year of a new model (unless you are into collecting low serial number cars...). And if a manufacturer that is facing a financial issue would start to reduce the number of welds on the cars (which you would assume engineering put there for a reason) I would be very suspicious, especially if they did not retest and recertify.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoWelds are actually weak points as far as I'm aware. Perhaps reducing them and using another method (usually adhesive) is actually stronger overall. It can also reduce weight. It's why a lot of high end cars these days use bonded aluminium panels instead of spot welds.
- jacquesm 8y agoNowhere that I've seen did they say they were replacing welds with adhesives or other construction methods, it was just said that a number of welds were dropped for efficiency reasons. Usually the engineers that determine how many welds you will need to hold something together know what they are doing and you can't just replace welds with bonding without further cascading impact to the rest of the work.
- chaboud 8y agoRereading my original comment, what I meant was "it's impressive that they can get away with not retesting and recertifying when making material changes to safety-related elements of the vehicles."