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The issue stems from the primer applied before gluing the optional light bar to the windshield (no fasteners are used in the attachment of the light bar). Is t
by ilamont 11mo ago
The issue stems from the primer applied before gluing the optional light bar to the windshield (no fasteners are used in the attachment of the light bar).
Is that typical in the industry, parts or components being glued onto an exterior surface instead of fastened?
- addaon 11mo agoDepends on the industry. For car companies, no. But as Tesla reminds us constantly, they're not a car company, they're a robotics / AI company. Those generally focus less on how to build cars.
- vel0city 11mo agoTons of cars made by companies other than Tesla have some parts attached by adhesives. Lots of decorative trim pieces and reflectors may be attached with adhesives instead of screws. Its not like there are a lot of screws involved in attaching windshields. There have been other companies with recalls related to adhesive failures, but it seems Tesla has adhesive failures far more frequently than others and seems to use adhesives for a lot more of their body parts.
- guywithahat 11mo agoYou shouldn't be getting downvoted, you're right. Adhesives can be incredibly strong, and it's common for even larger panels to be glued on. For whatever reason a lot of British cars in particular (range rover, jaguar, etc) use bonded and riveted frames instead of welding for their aluminum framed vehicles, with lots of components just being glued on.
- genter 11mo agoWindshields themselves are glued into the frame, and have been for years. They are a major part of the structure of the vehicle, as well as an important safety device, and there isn't a problem with them comining loose. Badges are attached with double sided tape, but obviously those are a lot smaller than a light bar.
- potato3732842 11mo agoMore like tossed onto the A-pillars with glue. They don't really do "frames" anymore.
- HPsquared 11mo agoThe window frame, I guess. Cars definitely still have frames, it's just integrated with the body rather than the old-fashioned ladder frames et al.
- potato3732842 11mo agoWhat I meant was that there's no real recess in the A pillars or front of roof for the glass to go "in" to anymore. The edge of the glass gets covered by trim or whatever so you can't see it, unlike the old days (so like 1990s down) where things used gasket.
- dawnerd 11mo agohttps://insideevs.com/news/447279/video-new-tesla-model-y-glass-roof-flies-off/ https://insideevs.com/news/447279/video-new-tesla-model-y-gl... Tesla just doesn't have a good record with adhesives.
- brk 11mo agoIt's not uncommon, particularly for vehicles with composite body panels. Smaller items like door trim, manufacturer logos, are primarily held on with adhesives. Mid-size accessories like add-on spoilers on trunk lids, or other exterior styling pieces are frequently attached with adhesive. A larger component commonly attached with adhesives are the rear fender flares on dually pickups. Very commonly these are built with a standard bed, and then the flares to cover the extra wheel width are applied with a 3M VHB-like adhesive strip. But like anything, there is a way to do it properly, and a way to do it hacky.
- jordanb 11mo agoUsing glue in vehicle assembly is very uncommon. Most plastic body panels are held on with conformal clips. But they couldn't do that with the metal panels of the cyber truck nor did they want visible fasteners so glue is the only option. Glue isn't ideal because the part has to be clamped in place while the glue cures which is slow, and quality control is tough because you're doing a little chemistry experiment on your assembly line hundreds of times per day. Normal cars have this problem with paint and quality control with paint is such a big deal that it has its own separate production line just for painting stuff pre or post assembly Using composite panels is very uncommon in production vehicles and when they are used (for looks) traditional fasteners are used during assembly often with threaded inserts embedded in the composite panel during manufacture
- chrisco255 11mo agoThe lightbars mentioned in the article were an optional non-factory addon that were installed at the Tesla dealership. The steel body panels are not glued on.
- badlogik 11mo ago> The steel body panels are not glued on. https://futurism.com/cybertruck-held-together-glue https://futurism.com/cybertruck-held-together-glue
- brk 11mo ago
- HPsquared 11mo agoThe windshield itself is glued to the body on all modern cars. It makes sense to use glue when attaching things to glass.
- danans 11mo agoIts even stranger because presumably the light requires a wire for power, so using an adhesive doesn't allow them to avoid making at least 1 hole in the roof. Perhaps it's about minimizing the installation cost at the dealership. The irony is that you'd imagine that an off-road roof mounted light would be something that you should be able to tighten when you are ... off-road. I guess field serviceability isn't a design goal for these "off-road" trucks, but appearing "off-road" when going glamping is.
- bluGill 11mo agoThe off road community has been complaining about "off road" vehicles that are not suitable for off road use for decades. Most off "road vehicles" are you can drive it around the house to your backyard if it isn't too muddy/steep. Anyone who really goes off road is looking for a lot of features that are hard to find in a production vehicle. (which is why they often modify production vehicles). A true off road vehicle often looks like a production off-road vehicle, but in production they do cosmetic changes to look the same as what true off-road vehicles do - but the difference cosmetic. Things like both sit high off the ground, but the off road one they look at what mechanical parts are underneath and either protect them or raise them.
- danans 11mo ago> Anyone who really goes off road is looking for a lot of features that are hard to find in a production vehicle. (which is why they often modify production vehicles). Perhaps this is something that Slate can solve better than Tesla. https://www.slate.auto https://www.slate.auto
- chrisco255 11mo agoBesides being all hype and no production at this particular juncture, the design of the Slate is not geared towards offroading at all.
- bluGill 11mo ago
- potato3732842 11mo ago>Is that typical in the industry, parts or components being glued onto an exterior surface instead of fastened? Yes. If automotive OEMs can glue it they will. It's just that other OEMs don't build uninterrupted 5ft light bars so glueing is a much less suitable (think about how much glue contact patch per amount of light bar there is and how little leverage it's mass has over the glue, contrast with normal light) solution for them.
- jandrese 11mo agoNot to mention that the lightbar is directly in the airstream as you drive. It only has to start lifting a little and getting air underneath. Once that happens any glue joint is doomed. I think if you did the glue joint perfectly then it would probably be fine, but impeccable QC is not a hallmark of Tesla.
- buildsjets 11mo agoThe windshield itself is only glued in place in the vast majority of modern production cars.
- SoftTalker 11mo agoYes. The frame is welded, but more and more the body panels are glued. BMW has been doing this for a while. Modern adhesives are as strong as spot welds for this sort of thing.
- s5300 11mo ago[dead]
- AlexandrB 11mo agoPeople constantly underestimate adhesives. Properly applied wood glue is stronger than the wood itself. The problem with gluing everything together is repairability.
- SoftTalker 11mo agoAdhesives also allow using thinner metal for the panels, which saves weight and cost. Metal gets harder to weld when it's thin. Though newer laser welding technologies may offer some improvement. I think the adhesives will release with heat but honestly I'm not sure how body work is done on those.
- xnx 11mo ago3M Very High Bond tape holds many skyscraper windows in place.
- thefourthchime 11mo agoHuh, checks out. Interesting!