Cybertruck's stainless steel body could be reason why Musk's electric pickup has been chronically delayed - Jalopnik

[Old Spice]

https://jalopnik.com/theres-a-reason-most-car-companies-dont-use-stainless-s-1850082421

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[John K]

Hmmm… waiting on plant to be built… waiting on gigapress delivery… waiting on Y production ramp-up in the new facility…pandemic…global supply chain woes…

Naw, the problem is scary stainless steel

 

[BillyGee]

Wait till these guys find out how long it usually takes a product to come to market.

 

[Kahpernicus]

Tesla should come up with a new SS alloy

 

[firsttruck]

4 Guys was formed in 1974 as a company repairing milk tankers for farms, and shortly after, they expanded into the fire apparatus industry. The name, naturally, comes from the four men that founded the company. Since then, they have built hundreds of trucks for departments all along the East Coast and Midwest.
Meyersdale, PA USA
http://www.4guysfire.com

WHY STAINLESS STEEL?
In addition to the fact that we are a Custom Manufacturer, 4 Guys has grown increasingly popular in recent years for using only top quality stainless steel in all our bodies. If your department has never owned a truck with a stainless steel body, you probably don't know all the benefits of stainless. That's not surprising, since most companies build their bodies from materials like mild steel or aluminum.

Four Guys uses all stainless steel for one very important reason. It just lasts longer. No doubt you've seen what rust can do to a steel fire truck body. After ten years or so, the bottoms start to rust out of the compartments. The frame cross-members rust through, making the body unstable. To be perfectly honest, steel turns to junk in a hurry. Aluminum falls victim to corrosion or "white rust" just as quickly. And even when it's brand new, aluminum just doesn't have the strength of stainless steel. Some people are willing to trade that strength for lighter weight. They fail to realize that with its lower tensile strength, the aluminum used needs to be nearly twice as thick as our stainless, so the weight difference is minimal. Also, the only time that weight is really a consideration is when you're choosing your axles. When the truck is properly engineered, that small amount of extra weight is not an issue at all.

Stainless steel is different. It won't rust. We know it. We guarantee it. Why? Because stainless steel is an alloy that can't rust. Twenty years exposure to the elements won't even dull the shine. It's amazing, really. That's why we can offer 4 Guys famous 30 year body warranty. We encourage you to compare our warranty to the rest of the fire apparatus industry. We don't believe you'll find a better apparatus warranty anywhere. And yet with all these advantages, 4 Guys trucks are priced to compete with manufacturers who use cheaper materials. Now that you have the facts, the real question isn't "Why Stainless?" but rather "Why even consider anything else?"

 

[firsttruck]

Fire trucks made of next-gen stainless steel A new way of making stainless steel is now being tried in fire trucks, and it may be a game-changer
11 jun 2015
https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-pr...-of-next-gen-stainless-steel-6azPkXiyWWgzo8Le

.....
A better mousetrap
"One of the deficiencies with the stainless steel being used to build fire apparatus today is that it's 100-year-old technology," said Ken Grantham, executive vice president at Crompion International.

"A few fire apparatus manufacturers have begun using high-strength stainless steel in recent years, but for the most part the stainless steel that most department's specify and that the manufacturers use is 300 series stainless," he said. "That's the same grade that's used in the stainless steel stove or refrigerator in your kitchen."

Crompion produces and distributes low-carbon, dual-stabilized ferritic stainless steel, which it markets as Cromgard. With 18 percent chromium, the steel has good corrosion resistance in moderately corrosive environments and good oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures. As a ferritic grade of stainless steel, Cromgard is not susceptible to stress corrosion cracking.

Another steel manufacturer's product line, AK Steel's Chromeshield 22 stainless steel, is dual stabilized with both titanium and niobium (columbium) to improve weld corrosion performance. Small additions of copper and molybdenum further enhance corrosion resistance.

*****

"What you have is a stainless steel that's stronger than 100-year-old technology stainless steel because the materials used and the design and manufacturing process is vastly different from traditional stainless steel," Grantham said. "That means that we can create one gauge of Cromgard for structural components of the apparatus and a lesser grade for the body of the apparatus. So a manufacturer can drop down a gauge (in the metal thickness) in both the structural and non-structural components used in the apparatus."

Lightening the load
This reduced thickness can equate to an overall weight savings of 600 pounds or more for a piece of fire apparatus.

"That weight reduction can mean greater fuel economy," Grantham said. "Or, it can mean that the truck can be designed with more compartment space."

*****

This stainless steel also uses less price-volatile materials, meaning departments and manufacturers have better control over apparatus construction costs.

"Our production costs are not as susceptible to market fluctuations in alloy materials," Grantham said. "A 20 percent increase in the price of nickel or chromium, for example, can bust the budget for a department getting their truck built with the older-technology stainless."

 

[Don Kedick]

Tesla should come up with a new SS alloy

They did. The starship alloy that’s going to be used for Cybertruck.

 

[Crissa]

Wow, what a terrible article.

Their commentariat is going to be so disappointed.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

Jaloapynk have hated on the Cybertruck since launch night.

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