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Tesla's Cybertruck Approach on Auto Manufacturing and Engineering
- netfl0 7y agoThis was the most compelling explanation of the visuals. They are saying that Telsa put function radically over form to reduce manufacturing complexity and efficiency. This is a purely utilitarian approach that is not self-evident. I hope Telsa will put together a better presentation to explain this to the public. This is the sort of technical progress you'd like to see in other domains.
- new_realist 7y agoThese are mostly old manufacturing ideas which affect crash safety; repairability, an street legality.
- sschueller 7y agoIt reminds be a lot of the DeLorean.
- ziftface 7y agoCould you please explain how it affects those things? I'd be very interested in learning about that.
- tshannon 7y agoI can't speak towards repairablity and legality, but I know cars are safer now than they used to be back when they were made of steel, because they crumple which absorbs the impact of crashes. Rigid steel transfers the impact to it's occupants. I'm eager to see how this thing performs in crash tests.
- ziftface 7y agoAh that makes sense. I'm interested to see how it performs there too
- netfl0 7y agoYes they affect them, not all in a negative way.
- LoSboccacc 7y agounconvinced. long, precise, sharp angles are expensive to stamp on thick steel plates. so I've checked around the pictures, apparently the marketing material has seams along the angle, but the car in the presentation has angled plates. something doesn't add up https://imgur.com/a/HO1HnGC https://imgur.com/a/HO1HnGC
- fiter 7y agoI figured they would be using a brake[0] for the bends. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_(sheet_metal_bending) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_(sheet_metal_bending)
- LoSboccacc 7y agoyeah but that doesn't make really sharp angles and controlling the curve where it bends precisely is hard, fighting that is going against the claim it's about manufacturing efficiency
- fiter 7y agoPoint well taken. There are multiple dimensions to manufacturing efficiency, though, right? I have no appreciation for the cost of a couple dies and a machine for stamping versus the cost of a CNC break with one die, but it may play a part based on the number of units they think they will sell. (1,000? 10,000? 100,000?)
- double0jimb0 7y agoIf starting with super hard cold rolled steel, it’s most likely impossible to “stamp” using traditional progressive stamping dies. The deformation has to exceed the final shape and via springback the final shape is produced. Springback is possible on a press brake when folding along a single straight line. If panel needs a 30 deg bend, then bend it to 40, and it pops back 10 when off the press brake. As an example. That quickly gets impossible to do when you start bending around complicated 3D contours.
- 7y ago
- roland35 7y agoBasically: the stainless steel, hard edged design has quite a few cost-savings for manufacturing but may effect aerodynamics, weight, and durability (large flat sections of metal are more likely to dent than curved). It will be interesting to see how the pros/cons play out for Tesla with the cybertruck!
- mikepurvis 7y agoThe whole stainless steel thing is fascinating to me. The other really famous car made of stainless is of course the Delorean DMC-12.
- maxcan 7y agoWasn't that aluminum?
- VectorLock 7y agoBrushed stainless on the DMC-12. Although now Ford F-150s are getting aluminum bodies.
- jacquesm 7y agoDefinitely stainless. Unlike the rest of the chassis. https://www.deloreanguide.com/new-posts/frame-rustquite-possibly-the-1-value-killer-in-delorean-cars-today https://www.deloreanguide.com/new-posts/frame-rustquite-poss...
- interestica 7y ago"Well, if you're going to build a time machine, why not do it with some style? Besides, the stainless steel construction made the flux dispersal.....watch out!" I always wanted the rest of that line. As though the writers had thought up some way to make 'stainless steel' a necessary part of the the time machine construction.
- mikepurvis 7y agoBrilliant writing, though— hint that the reason is there without actually filling up the script with made-up gobbledygook. Author Sid Fleishman said that if you had a plot hole in your story, all you had to do was point to it and it would disappear: ---- For example, in McBroom’s Zoo I wanted to use the Hidebehind, a fabled frontier creature. No one knows what the Hidebehind looks like because every time you look, the animal hides behind you. I saw the hole at once. All McBroom needed to do was to hold up a mirror and he’d see the Hidebehind’s mug. I plugged the hole by pointing to it. Works like magic. “I even tried walking around with a hand mirror.” McBroom declares. “But the Hidebehind was too eternal clever for tricks like that.”
- ZenModeRy 7y agoThis is the truck Howard Roark would build. Function over form for good reason and to hell with the critics. I for one absolutely love it.
- Someone1234 7y agoHow is it function over form? They use electric motors on the door handles, bed cover, and ramp. They made the bed sides super high and hard to access the bed. It has no floor tie-downs. They gave it a glass roof where you'd lean stuff from the bed! This is absolutely form over function, they just picked a form which is controversial. PS - I actually like the Cybertruck. But I'm self aware to know it is due to all the impractical toys that will ultimately be a maintenance hazard. It is cool but impractical.
- retbull 7y agoUh it looks like there are at least holes where the tie downs can fit. The glass roof is kinda nuts for sure though. Those high walls are also annoying if you want to put tool boxes in your truck. It might be possible to still be practical by making some changes to how you might store things for easy access like on a normal truck but it probably can't use current existing solutions. :/
- Someone1234 7y agoIf there are re-enforced holes to add floor anchors then that definitely resolves that issue, just didn't see any on the limited press photos released so far (only wall anchor points). Kind of want someone to do a "truck bed review" of the Cybertruck, just loading, unloading, anchoring, etc.
- DennisP 7y agoThe high sides are for overall stiffness, compensating for the flat sheet steel, which is for cheap manufacturing.
- 7y ago
- sschueller 7y agoWhy would you need bulletproof glass?
- hobofan 7y agoWhy would you need an SUV in urban areas?
- throwaway5752 7y agoBecause station wagons aren't as profitable for Ford. I'm not even kidding. A lot of groups benefit from increased consumption from this. Auto companies get protection in the light truck segment from foreign competition. Gas companies sell more gas. There is more churn on the consumer loan market as people overextend themselves to buy them (instead of getting more practical coupes or sedans and renting pickups as needed).
- fdswefsad 7y agoBecause some of us are tall. I commute with a 2.5L Golf, I get 25 mpg in urban mountain driving. Stick shift, it's a blast to drive. However, it's also a massive pain in the ass to get in and out of. Especially since my recent abdominal surgery. When I slip into my SUV I really appreciate the extra space. When I load all the crap modern children have (car seats, strollers, pack and play, ect) and lug them 300 miles to their grandparents (which I used to do monthly, now once every two months), I also appreciate the extra room. Speaking of kids, I really appreciate having an extra 1000 lb of inertia (vs. the Golf) protecting them when some idiot on his phone crashes into me. Fellow millennials! Put the phone down! If (when, really) I move back to CND, I'll appreciate towing 5000 lb trailer worth of stuff to have while the moving companies does their thing. And you know the best part of the SUV? The Golf doesn't get much better millage! I save more money from the cheaper tires the Golf takes than I do on the gas!
- Jamwinner 7y agoStation wagons, being lower and not outfitted for 4wd, have taller cabins than most suvs. The physics are pretty clear cut. You have not done your due dilligence and are talking without knowledge of wagons.
- noir_lord 7y agoBlack and white in a work truck.. I think that they used pure white anywhere shows where they expect the market to be. Aesthetically I like it, it's different and looks like something you'd see bouncing around Mars.