Stainless steel rolls spotted during delivery to Giga Texas today (9/20/22) ?

[anionic1]

If the stainless is just panels glued on, then it's not an exoskeleton.

Elon really likes structural adhesives. look at the structural battery pack. probably 80% plus structurally supported with adhesives. You can definitely glues sheets of stainless together with steel gusset or other support member and would still consider that an exoskeleton. A typical stamped steel unibody vehicle could be considered a steel exoskeleton. I think the CT will load the exterior panels more than a typical unibody steel frame and it will likely have less interior body panels but there will definitely be a lot of interior adhered body parts working to hold together all those exterior body panels.

Take the midgate for example. You think you will fold down the back seat and see a 3mm stainless panel as the back of the truck bed? No, you're going to see a big stamped painted piece of steel supporting the glass rear window and concealing the track and raceway of the tonneau cover. There has to be a piece of steel there because something has to support and seal the window and keep the tonneau cover raceway protected. or they just don't let the seats fold down and the seats protect and seal the raceway, but they something would have to support the bottom of the back window so they would have a horizontal support bar. And it that.s the case my bet is that will be painted steel.

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[TyPope]

The exoskeleton was never going to be a single folded sheet, so of course there will be seams. The manner of construction remains to be seen.

Why not?

Cybertruck paper

 

[CyberGus]

Take the midgate for example.

There is no scenario in which the midgate is considered part of the frame.

My objection to your speculation is that you seem to be refuting the entire raison d'etre for the exoskeleton, insisting that it won't actually be structural but decorative, with a painted steel frame underneath. That would make the Cybertruck the most ridiculous thing Elon has ever done, including "Burnt Hair".

 

[anionic1]

There is no scenario in which the midgate is considered part of the frame.

My objection to your speculation is that you seem to be refuting the entire raison d'etre for the exoskeleton, insisting that it won't actually be structural but decorative, with a painted steel frame underneath. That would make the Cybertruck the most ridiculous thing Elon has ever done, including "Burnt Hair".

We shall see.

 

[anionic1]

Why not?

Cybertruck paper

That would be truly revolutionary. DIY Cybertruck body kit.

 

[Bill906]

The problem is that you haven't glued anything to the steel, you've glued to the paint. Any maybe that will work also, but it's an unequal comparison to the MY construction.

When you remove the mask you will have bare steel (no paint) where the mask was. Mask off the area where the glue will be applied, paint, remove mask, glue to bare steel.

 

[CyberGus]

So you think these painted stamped pillars are stainless in the image below. Why would they pay extra money...

What I think is that this is a prototype. Production vehicles may vary.

There will be at least 1500 lbs of interior stamped body panels in the truck.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The stainless is mostly for a wow factor.

Bullshit.

Thats why they specifically called it an "exoskeleton" they didn't say the entire body would be stainless.

No one has said "the entire body will be stainless".

It will be more of a partial exoskeleton if they are really being honest like a turtle with a stainless shell and steel interior body parts.

Even a crab has structure inside.

Clearly there will be a substantial subframe there transferring the load. My bet is that it will be painted steel under there.

So you keep saying.

 

[Crissa]

If the stainless is just panels glued on, then it's not an exoskeleton.

Glue is structural.

-Crissa

 

[anionic1]

Glue is structural.

-Crissa

one of my biggest concerns about this transition to using more structural adhesives is 10 years down the road when the adhesives have off gassed and the plasticizers or epoxies are getting brittle will we start to see weakness or failures due to the glues popping loose.

 

[Crissa]

one of my biggest concerns about this transition to using more structural adhesives is 10 years down the road when the adhesives have off gassed and the plasticizers or epoxies are getting brittle will we start to see weakness or failures due to the glues popping loose.

Yeah, but we have laminated things that are hundreds of years old.

The possibility range is quite large.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

one of my biggest concerns about this transition to using more structural adhesives is 10 years down the road when the adhesives have off gassed and the plasticizers or epoxies are getting brittle will we start to see weakness or failures due to the glues popping loose.

How is this different from welds?

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/gm-recalls-124k-vehicles-due-to-bad-seat-weld-85357.html

Rust degrades welds over time as well.

 

[HaulingAss]

In some of the interior images of the CT with the doors open you can clearly see that the b pillar is painted. The structural battery pack housing is also painted steel and there is a lot that will be attached to that. The front and rear are aluminum castings and there is a lot attached to those. To think that this is just some thick stainless origami sitting on a skateboard doesn't complete the picture for me.

I am expecting to see a significant steel interior body with stainless panels adhered to it. Whether the paint is absent or removed for adhesion or maybe the paint has sufficient adhesion to accept an adhesive itself. Stainless is 2x the cost of typical steel and its slightly harder to work with. There could be 1500 lbs of interior body on the truck. The dipping process is a very small part of the paint cost. My bet is they will dip interior body components and glue on the stainless body panels. Elon likes glue.

You cannot use structural adhesive on top of painted steel and expect it to perform as a structural member. This thinking needs to be retired because structural adhesive must be applied to the steel itself (and have sufficient surface area to work). Prototypes are not production vehicles so it's sillier than wearing a tuxedo in a coal mine to think that means anything. We are not even to early production prototypes yet.

 

[Crissa]

You cannot use structural adhesive on top of painted steel and expect it to perform as a structural member. This thinking needs to be retired because structural adhesive must be applied to the steel itself (and have sufficient surface area to work). Prototypes are not production vehicles so it's sillier than wearing a tuxedo in a coal mine to think that means anything. We are not even to early production prototypes yet.

Two hours Earlier:

When you remove the mask you will have bare steel (no paint) where the mask was. Mask off the area where the glue will be applied, paint, remove mask, glue to bare steel.

Post meet post.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

You cannot use structural adhesive on top of painted steel and expect it to perform as a structural member. This thinking needs to be retired because structural adhesive must be applied to the steel itself (and have sufficient surface area to work). Prototypes are not production vehicles so it's sillier than wearing a tuxedo in a coal mine to think that means anything. We are not even to early production prototypes yet.

They attach the painted Model Y body to the structural battery pack with structural adhesives.

This isn’t black arts. They already do it on their most cost effective production line.

 

[CyberGus]

They attach the painted Model Y body to the structural battery pack with structural adhesives.

This isn’t black arts. They already do it on their most cost effective production line.

Erm, I understood the battery/body junction to be more of a sealant than structural. It's not like there's aren't bolts holding them together as well.

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