3 ms·

What's the problem with using trim? It doesn't seem like it'd have any impact at all, aside from being funny.

llamaimperative 3y ago
Would you be okay with your child driving a car where critical systems were assembled with whatever ad-hoc materials were available in local home renovation stores?
- _ea1k 3y ago
  Given that I've never heard of an issue with that particular part after years of extended use... Yes.
  - bastawhiz 3y ago
    Are you willing to bet the safety of your family on the efficacy of some wood trim that someone bought at Home Depot to meet their manufacturing quota just because none of them have spectacularly failed yet? Really?
    - _ea1k 3y ago
      Given my knowledge of the part involved and the materials used, absolutely. I'd be doing it in the same way that I'm betting "the safety of [my] family on the efficacy" of the cheap little shim that I bought to make water bottles fit in the cup holders better. Despite the high language involved here, there is no risk. Although if you want to take up a career as a service advisor at a dealer, you might make good commissions from that style of rhetoric.
  - llamaimperative 3y ago
    "Given the benefit of hindsight, I sure would!" Gee good point. How confident are you that you not hearing about such a failure means they haven't happened? How confident are you that this is the only component that's been hacked together like this?
    - _ea1k 3y ago
      Oh, there's plenty of cobbled together stuff. But we were talking about strain relief. That's boring compared to some of the dumb stuff that I've seen come out of that factory. :-)
- shepherdjerred 3y ago
  My question was literally asking if/why this was unsafe. > The trim appears to be providing some strain relief for the strap holding the LCC in place, perhaps to keep the tension from providing unnecessary stress on the condenser during vibration or flexing, or to prevent any sharp corners from severing the strap itself. Can you explain to me why wood trim would be less safe than plastic for this?
  - llamaimperative 3y ago
    Are the performance characteristics of that (presumably) random piece of wood well-established for a usecase like this? If so: Sure, no problem! If no: Then that's why. A key part of engineering pretty much anything is understanding the characteristics of the materials. Plastics are extremely highly-engineered and well-understood (which is why they're everywhere now). Wood can be the same, but by default is not, especially in mass-production contexts where performance can vary dramatically between individual pieces of wood, which is one of many reasons you don't see it used in these contexts. This could be totally fine, but there's absolutely no reason that should be the default assumption, especially when we know for a fact that was not the typical assembly plan and this is a company and culture known for cutting corners.
gamblor956 3y ago
Trim has different heat tolerances than automotive-grade plastics, especially those physically attached to heat sources. Also, the glue used in wood trim has a fairly low combustion temperature...
bastawhiz 3y ago
Whether or not you're comfortable with it, it shows that they bent their own manufacturing standards by using nonstandard parts that weren't purpose-built. When I buy a new Dell computer I don't expect to open it up to find parts taped together with electrical tape and wire nuts on connections. I similarly don't expect parts in my new Model Y to be made from materials that someone bought at Home Depot.

Would you be okay with your child driving a car where critical systems were assembled with whatever ad-hoc materials were available in local home renovation stores?

_ea1k 3y ago
Given that I've never heard of an issue with that particular part after years of extended use... Yes.
- bastawhiz 3y ago
  Are you willing to bet the safety of your family on the efficacy of some wood trim that someone bought at Home Depot to meet their manufacturing quota just because none of them have spectacularly failed yet? Really?
  - _ea1k 3y ago
    Given my knowledge of the part involved and the materials used, absolutely. I'd be doing it in the same way that I'm betting "the safety of [my] family on the efficacy" of the cheap little shim that I bought to make water bottles fit in the cup holders better. Despite the high language involved here, there is no risk. Although if you want to take up a career as a service advisor at a dealer, you might make good commissions from that style of rhetoric.
- llamaimperative 3y ago
  "Given the benefit of hindsight, I sure would!" Gee good point. How confident are you that you not hearing about such a failure means they haven't happened? How confident are you that this is the only component that's been hacked together like this?
  - _ea1k 3y ago
    Oh, there's plenty of cobbled together stuff. But we were talking about strain relief. That's boring compared to some of the dumb stuff that I've seen come out of that factory. :-)
shepherdjerred 3y ago
My question was literally asking if/why this was unsafe. > The trim appears to be providing some strain relief for the strap holding the LCC in place, perhaps to keep the tension from providing unnecessary stress on the condenser during vibration or flexing, or to prevent any sharp corners from severing the strap itself. Can you explain to me why wood trim would be less safe than plastic for this?
- llamaimperative 3y ago
  Are the performance characteristics of that (presumably) random piece of wood well-established for a usecase like this? If so: Sure, no problem! If no: Then that's why. A key part of engineering pretty much anything is understanding the characteristics of the materials. Plastics are extremely highly-engineered and well-understood (which is why they're everywhere now). Wood can be the same, but by default is not, especially in mass-production contexts where performance can vary dramatically between individual pieces of wood, which is one of many reasons you don't see it used in these contexts. This could be totally fine, but there's absolutely no reason that should be the default assumption, especially when we know for a fact that was not the typical assembly plan and this is a company and culture known for cutting corners.

gamblor956 3y ago

Trim has different heat tolerances than automotive-grade plastics, especially those physically attached to heat sources. Also, the glue used in wood trim has a fairly low combustion temperature...

bastawhiz 3y ago

Whether or not you're comfortable with it, it shows that they bent their own manufacturing standards by using nonstandard parts that weren't purpose-built. When I buy a new Dell computer I don't expect to open it up to find parts taped together with electrical tape and wire nuts on connections. I similarly don't expect parts in my new Model Y to be made from materials that someone bought at Home Depot.