How strong will be CT's glass (Transparent Metal)?

Suskis

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We have seen that a glass roof can sustain an incredible amount of force (2 men can climb on a Model S glass roof and it won't flinch). But this happens because the glass roof is curved. The curve itself makes it extremely strong, just in old roman bridges.
So: CT has all flat glasses. Ok, they are "transparent metal" but a flat surface is a lot more fragile than a curved one (A LOT). What worries me are both the front windshield (that can be hit by flying rocks) and athe upper roof (that one could walk on, not to mention other events like the CT toppling)
Do you think the glass is so much stronger than normal glass that it will be as good as standard curved glass?
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Crissa

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It is much stronger. Instead of resisting like the curve via hardness, it also resists by having a little flex (hence bouncing the steel balls in the demo).

It would be neat to see the numbers on this.

Here's a cool article on the supplierhttps://insideevs.com/news/387826/what-is-tesla-armor-glass/

-Crissa
 

CyberMoose

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It will be very interesting to see what sort of tests that people do when they start receiving their Cybertrucks, on both the body and the glass. I suspect the glass will be a lot stronger than regular gas, curved or not. We will see it's breaking points when youtubers start hitting it with stuff, throwing metal balls at it, and of course there will be at least one channel where they shoot it.
 

CybrTrkWdWk

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Good point about the curve adding strength but if it is ALON glass which most industry people assume it is, then it is four times harder than your standard fused silica glass which sounds to me like more added strength than the slight curve in most windshields IMHO. This will likely also be the glass used for the huge window on the SpaceX Starship. I'm looking forward to all the youtube window destruction videos too.
 

Fujisan

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Very interested about this as well.
I hope to do a lot of driving on gravel forest roads in northern Ontario and Quebec where windshields don't last very long because of flying rocks or debris from incoming trucks. If the CT's transparent metal is vulnerable to rock impacts as traditional windshields are, I wonder about the replacement cost and availability of the CT windshield.
 


JRu

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my biggest fear when my CT is sitting in a parking lot is people may want to "test" the stainless steel body and metal glass. I better not come out of the store to a baseball in my window!
 

Mr.Dee

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When you ask how strong it will be, are you looking for absolute numbers or just a relative comparison to other windshields?

If you just assume all glass is made of the same material, then the curved windshields you mentioned are exactly the same strength as a flat windshield, as far as material properties are concerned.

However, the shape of the glass doesn't really improve it's resistance to rock chips or any point impact loads. The biggest factor here is the angle of the glass relative to the impact, and the Cybertruck seems to be pretty extreme in that aspect, so I'm not worried about that at all.

If I had to guess, the material properties of the "armor glass" were designed to make a flat panel have equivalent or better performance to that of a standard curved window, to make up for the disadvantage of being flat.
 
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Jhodgesatmb

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You really need to watch the CT unveiling video and not to be part where they threw the metal balls into the windows but the overlay where they showed all the things they threw at the windshield. That will make you a believer if anything will.
 

FullyGrounded

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It is much stronger. Instead of resisting like the curve via hardness, it also resists by having a little flex (hence bouncing the steel balls in the demo).

It would be neat to see the numbers on this.

Here's a cool article on the supplierhttps://insideevs.com/news/387826/what-is-tesla-armor-glass/

-Crissa
We have to wait and see what Elon actually brings in the Cybertruck, but I'm hopeful. I wish though, that he would look at the armor site that said they would upgrade the CT to see what it's capable of. They say they have armored windows that would waste the CT, but I don't want to have to take my truck to an aftermarket place, when Elon says it's bulletproof. If it's bulletproof, it shouldn't matter if a sledge hit the door beforehand either. That's BS. Bulletproof means bulletproof no matter the trauma the rest of the truck has taken. BULLETPROOF. Not bullet resistant. peace
 

Alan

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We have to wait and see what Elon actually brings in the Cybertruck, but I'm hopeful. I wish though, that he would look at the armor site that said they would upgrade the CT to see what it's capable of. They say they have armored windows that would waste the CT, but I don't want to have to take my truck to an aftermarket place, when Elon says it's bulletproof. If it's bulletproof, it shouldn't matter if a sledge hit the door beforehand either. That's BS. Bulletproof means bulletproof no matter the trauma the rest of the truck has taken. BULLETPROOF. Not bullet resistant. peace
He never said the glass was bullitproof. The stainless steel will take up to a nine mm bullet. That’s the only claim I recall.
 


FullyGrounded

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He never said the glass was bullitproof. The stainless steel will take up to a nine mm bullet. That’s the only claim I recall.
I see... well, maybe I will take it to Mark Burton at Armormax and get real armor glass. They say they can even make the doors bulletproof against long rifles - that's amazing!! I want solid and tough as hell. That will be my overlander CT. peace
 

Jhodgesatmb

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Jhodgesatmb

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You really need to watch the CT unveiling video and not to be part where they threw the metal balls into the windows but the overlay where they showed all the things they threw at the windshield. That will make you a believer if anything will.
Check this out (at 50 minutes in):

 

Crissa

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If the CT's transparent metal is vulnerable to rock impacts as traditional windshields are...
...The entire point of using a higher hardness material for a windscreen is because it's less vulnerable to such impacts.

Fixed the timepoint for you. 48:35.

-Crissa
 

Jhodgesatmb

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...The entire point of using a higher hardness material for a windscreen is because it's less vulnerable to such impacts.


Fixed the timepoint for you. 48:35.

-Crissa
Thank you @Crissa. I just stopped the video when I saw the 2x4 and noted the approximate time.
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