Unassembled fender quarter panels stainless steel parts on Giga Texas factory floor

[rudedawg78]

I think Eye of Elon like us all have been on this journey a long time. When you hike the full Appalachian trail you can look back after and be excited about the journey but there are days during that journey you HATED the trail and wished you could quit.
I think we can give E of E some compassion. Hang in there Eye

Well stated, Coolbreeze. Apologies for my harsh response, @Eye of Elon . This journey has been a bit of a adventure and still unknown when the actual Cybertruck delivery will be. I'm gonna need some therapy after we get to the goal line.

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[Coolbreeze704]

Well stated, Coolbreeze. Apologies for my harsh response, @Eye of Elon . This journey has been a bit of a adventure and still unknown when actually Cybertruck delivery will be. I'm gonna need some therapy after we get to the goal line.

Oh, I started mine already on the wife' s suggestion.(put politely)

 

[Cybergirl]

Wow, those are a some assumptions. The recent close up videos do seem to show the exterior being around 3mm. Internet videographers keep forgetting to carry their calipers with them. And I would like to see your engineering resource that confirms the castings provide all the strength needed.

I have been one of this sites biggest sceptics about the term exoskeleton, but Tesla engineers are not fools and they will not waste the strength of those exterior SS panels. They surely sized those castings as a composite frame with the SS panels glued and/or attached to them.

We don't know how much structural strength the SS panels provide. Some, according to Corey Stuben of Munro & Assoc. Which video are you referring to that shows 3mm? 3mm is 0.12 inches, nearly 1/8", and 5 lbs/sq ft. If the SS exterior is not providing much structural strength, is it worth the added weight of 3 mm SS stock which will reduce overall range? The weight of the SS exterior panels has been estimated at between 700 and 800 lbs. An analysis of tradeoffs between strength, range, and cost during final design after having discarded the exoskeleton concept, may have concluded that thinner SS panels is optimal. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[anionic1]

Some of the tabs we are seeing in this image seem like they may be to hold the fender on to the body. They are to hold the plastic closure piece and or wiring harnesses to the fender where the hinge and interior body meet.

 

[Mini2nut]

The black mounting tabs on backside are most likely attached to the quarter panel with an aerospace grade structural adhesive. Welding them on would have caused color distortion in the stainless steel.

My guess is that the tabs are attached to the quarter panels using a template for consistency.

 

[SparkChaser]

We don't know how much structural strength the SS panels provide. Some, according to Corey Stuben of Munro & Assoc. Which video are you referring to that shows 3mm? 3mm is 0.12 inches, nearly 1/8", and 5 lbs/sq ft. If the SS exterior is not providing much structural strength, is it worth the added weight of 3 mm SS stock which will reduce overall range? The weight of the SS exterior panels has been estimated at between 700 and 800 lbs. An analysis of tradeoffs between strength, range, and cost during final design after having discarded the exoskeleton concept, may have concluded that thinner SS panels is optimal. We'll have to wait and see.

Let us not forget the additional benefit of the SS body is no paint. That alone adds complexity (COST) and weight as well as manufacturing time (COST). The original concept of a clean SS surface integrated with mega castings is all about reducing manufacturing const and time. When production is humming along we will get a chance to see the real benefits of this efficiency.

 

[SparkChaser]

Except full-hard stainless steel cannot be rolled back upon itself, even if thinner than anticipated. It's too hard.

There is a process of Chem milling or laser etching to reduce thickness at a bend that could be used. The folded over piece is also bonded to increase stiffness at the edge of the panel. This is used often in Aircraft manufacturing. Mostly on interior parts. The carbon fiber panel also used this method to protect layer boundaries as well.

 

[Crissa]

Except full-hard stainless steel cannot be rolled back upon itself, even if thinner than anticipated. It's too hard.

...which is why they wouldn't skimp.

-Crissa

 

[Cybergirl]

Let us not forget the additional benefit of the SS body is no paint. That alone adds complexity (COST) and weight as well as manufacturing time (COST). The original concept of a clean SS surface integrated with mega castings is all about reducing manufacturing const and time. When production is humming along we will get a chance to see the real benefits of this efficiency.

I agree with that, but the savings gained by avoiding having to paint the stainless exterior is independent of the thickness of the metal.

 

[Bill837]

We don't know how much structural strength the SS panels provide. Some, according to Corey Stuben of Munro & Assoc. Which video are you referring to that shows 3mm? 3mm is 0.12 inches, nearly 1/8", and 5 lbs/sq ft. If the SS exterior is not providing much structural strength, is it worth the added weight of 3 mm SS stock which will reduce overall range? The weight of the SS exterior panels has been estimated at between 700 and 800 lbs. An analysis of tradeoffs between strength, range, and cost during final design after having discarded the exoskeleton concept, may have concluded that thinner SS panels is optimal. We'll have to wait and see.

Might not be a video, but this image which I clipped from Bearded Teslas walkaround video. Look at the edge of the door panel by the mirror.

 

[Cybergirl]

Might not be a video, but this image which I clipped from Bearded Teslas walkaround video. Look at the edge of the door panel by the mirror.

Thanks. It does look like 3mm.

 

[cvalue13]

If you listened care

Um, no. The stainless steel skins were never intended to carry the entire load, it's always been a sandwich type of construction where the skin stiffens the underlying structure. Anyone who understands manufactured structures understood that from the beginning.

So Sandy Munro doesn’t understand manufactures structures?

 

[cvalue13]

Hey, no oil canning visible!

personally, I’ve never thought it was true ‘oil canning’

instead, that the fastening of the panels to the casting caused some ripples

in any event, we should be seeing increasingly in-house panels built on site by production tooling, rather than the prior panels that were being built off-site by third parties and shipped in

 

[Crissa]

I agree with that, but the savings gained by avoiding having to paint the stainless exterior is independent of the thickness of the metal.

But the thinner it is, the more shape it needs to hold its lines, the more support the edges need.

-Crissa

 

[SparkChaser]

I have worked with lots of SS. 1/4 and more. If you have bends it is a lot stiffer. The promise of 3mm is that the edges will be strong enough so a cut edge , like we are seeing is not easy to ding bend of deform. From what I see I think it is 3mm.

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