The stainless steel body of Tesla’s Cybertruck is reportedly leading to issues with gaps in between the panels::The Cybertruck’s steel is made in “coils that resemble giant rolls of toilet paper,” WSJ reported.

  • WaterWaiver@aussie.zone
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    11 months ago

    Other manufacturers of all manner of stainless products seem to have figured out a solution to the problem.

    Two design choices together probably make the problem multiplicatively worse:

    1. Flat panels are not anywhere as stiff as curved panels.
    2. Mechanical parameters of the stainless alloy they’re using (eg it might retain the coiled shape more than some other plain steel alloys).

    I can’t get over the flatness… those panels surely rattle too? Or do they void-fill the doors and body with something?

    • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de
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      11 months ago

      Flat panels are not anywhere as stiff as curved panels

      Same for windows. So much for “thermonuclear explosion-proof glass”, Elon.

      Also, the shape has horrible aerodynamics. If it had a combustion engine, they couldn’t sell it in large parts of the world due to fuel efficiency.

      • Aganim@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Also, the shape has horrible aerodynamics. If it had a combustion engine, they couldn’t sell it in large parts of the world due to fuel efficiency.

        I doubt it will get a type approval in Europe anyway, seems absolutely no consideration for pedestrian safety has been given. If this thing is as stiff and solid as Musk said it was it is also going to fail miserably during crash testing. Having been in a car crash this weekend I can testify how crumple zones save lives. Good thing the whole “but it’s a light truck” loophole they used in the US isn’t going to fly here.

          • hpca01@programming.dev
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            11 months ago

            So they can’t sue you after the crash cuz no one survives it.

            They’ll probably have kamikaze mode for when it detects a crash about to happen it speeds up.

          • Aganim@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            So you can absorb all that sweet sweet kinetic energy being released yourself of course. Energy gud right? And as you already paid for that energy at the Fast Charger, it seems only fair that they give it back to you when you crash.

    • orclev@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Point 2 in particular is huge. Depending on the exact alloy steel can vary wildly in characteristics. One alloy might bend almost as easily as aluminum, while another might be nearly as hard as tungsten. Adding to that proper heat treatment and the difference in the mechanical characteristics of the finished product can be absolutely massive.

      • HessiaNerd@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Yes but that can be adjusted. The factory can provide what you need. The design is the limiting factor here. Flat panels are simply bad design.

        • orclev@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Flat panels cause problems but they’re not insurmountable, they just need to be taken into consideration. It’s going to be more expensive to make them flat because you’ll have to include more material behind the panels. In a sense they cease to be structural and instead are more decorative.

          From an engineering perspective it’s a horrendous choice, but a perfectly valid one from an aesthetics perspective and it’s far from the first time some designer has made a decision that the engineering department has cursed them for.

          I imagine the real issue here is that Musk or the upper management at Tesla is trying to penny pinch and is unwilling to make either design concessions or to pay for the engineering time and materials necessary to fix this right.

      • WaterWaiver@aussie.zone
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        11 months ago

        How old?

        Early 1900’s: Yes. Metal panels had the same problem, timber panels did not (their thickness stops them from flapping).

        Late 1900’s: I don’t think anyone used flat? There were definitely designs intended to look flat (esp 80’s and early 90’s), but there were still subtle curves to those panels to bias them and stop them flapping, as far as I recall.

        Happy to be proven wrong :)