Twitter bought by Elon Musk

[matt j]

The clue is in the name- I thought the great modern scientist, thinker and all round rocket science genius would know what stains-less meant.

 

[kensalriser]

One reliable thing about stainless steel is that it doesn't rust, that is literally its defining feature.

 

[Bob McC]

But it does…

 

[Somafunk]

There are 100+ grades of stainless steel but they all can rust dependant on conditions in which they are utilised. If it has a high chromium content of 11% and above then the chromium reacts with oxygen and provides a protective coating that is extremely resistant to rust/corrosion. Lower than 11% chromium content then the material can show signs of corrosion and if not treated will lead to rust.

My dad was a coded welder/fabricator and worked in dairy/food manufacturing/chemical/nuclear plants and I picked up a fair bit of understanding in his workshop and my elec/mech engineering degree also filled my head with useless but interesting shite as I took extra courses in metallurgy and thermodynamics.

 

[davidsrsb]

I have read that the truck uses 301, which is the cheapest and least resistant alloy

 

[Cesare]

I have read that the truck uses 301, which is the cheapest and least resistant alloy

I have read that they use their own steel type, Elon referred to it as '30x' and so it's somewhat ambiguous as to what it is.

I believe the Delorean used 304, that's what wikipedia says anyway.

 

[davidsrsb]

If he had used 304, he would have said so. The more resistant grades like 316 have much lower strength,l apart from the high cost.

 

[Tony L]

DeLoreans seem to have held up pretty well. I watched this lengthy multi-part YouTube series of a bloke restoring one, which included re-graining the steel shell etc. Interesting stuff, though the person in question is a professional and has a full garage, skillset and contacts to do stuff right.

It certainly looks like Apartheid Space Karen cheaped-out.

 

[Cesare]

Well I learnt something today. Stainless steel that is 'austenitic' has a face-centred cubic crystaline structure, and it is this property that makes it not magnetic, and also non-hardenable. There are other magnetic stainless steel types.

Austenitic stainless steel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So now I know the brushed stainless steel cooker hood we have which is magnetic is not austenitic. The next challenge is to drop this fact into a conversation in a matter of fact way.

 

[NeilR]

In which a far-right apartheid space “genius” finds CyberTrucks are water-soluble:

Cybertruck Owners Say They're Already Rusting

It's only been a couple of months since Tesla started shipping its Cybertruck. The stainless steel already appears to be rusting.

futurism.com

a rusty cybertruck would have quite a good mad max aesthetic, I suppose.

 

[martin clark]

@Somafunk 's solid post above understates that one abs classic issue with specifying The Rong Stainless, and its subsequent corroding inthe use what you have in mind of it is 'stress corrosion cracking' Crikey - it even happens in 304 for handrails inside dry buildings.. (ask me how I know - no, not my fault - my problem post-hoc)

Given the few web pics I've seen of such streaky trucks, where the streaks all follow folds/ likely welds/jig issues, that's where my scant knowledge leans.

 

[martin clark]

a rusty cybertruck would have quite a good mad max aesthetic, I suppose.

Should have just used Corten steel, and celebrated it from the off.

/architect's view/

 

[Somafunk]

olid post above understates that one abs classic issue with specifying The Rong Stainless, and its subsequent corroding inthe use what you have in mind of it is 'stress corrosion cracking'

In the late 90’s my dad was sent to work at Sellafield to repair/replace approx 400m of stainless pipe work that provided water to cool a critical area of the plant as the original contractors who were awarded the multi million £ contract used a substandard grade of stainless that eventually pitted and led to a critical release of radioactive particles into one of the basements and eventually into the cooling reservoirs. In certain areas he was only allowed to work for a limited time period according to exposure levels and had a 2 man watch team alongside him to ensure safety.

He was diagnosed with blood cancer and bone marrow abnormalities back in 2018 one week after he retired and died 4 months later, we always wonder if certain aspects of his work contributed towards his death but no way of proving a correlation.

There‘s other tales of similar cost cutting measures in pharmaceutical plants that led to contamination of the end product.

Should have just used Corten steel, and celebrated it from the off.

Corten steels are very cool when used in structural applications and for decorative uses in architecture, I love how it looks but I can understand why some folk don’t get it.

 

[martin clark]

@Somafunk

Horrific story of your father; utmost sympathy.


Use of Cor-ten is also problematic; the chemical make-up is ... nasty to weld; the run-off from mere rain, does nasty things to glass; it's a beautiful, but limited Thing - that so many who want to use, do.not understand.*

I know; this wonderful man was a mentor to me as student, and taught me a lot from the house he built for his family, out of Corten, at the edge of Highgate churchyard; which still stands (Grade 2 listed, in fact)

(one amazing excerpt - since his need for welding & finish to exact tolerances accidentally coincided with industrial strikes in period ... the external shell welding & finishing was done by a handful of Striking body-shop workers from Ford Dagenham for cash-in-hand ..! )

Last time I spoke to John - he'd had Arup out to survey corrosion rate to perforation ...' should be good for about 800yrs.. ' with a grin.

Proper detailing.
Proper fabrication.

... good results come from very simple things.


*ETA:

here's a nice paradox John taught me - Corten (which is high-copper-content based steel alloy, but works in a comaprable way to stainless as in , enough copper & nickel sublimate to make the surface corrosion rate ineffably slow... well, yes, BUT if you keep one side dry enough - it'll perforate from that side, because there is not enough water-activity to actually inhibit corrosion..! - Fundamentally, you can make a 'weathering steel' rot from the drier side, erm -really quite easily.

I watch with informed interest, as to how this might play-out from commercial suppliers of 'cheap Corten rainscreen systems' .. cough, er, Kingspan.. cough.

 

[Kirk]

From Twitter:

There are a few interesting data points in the piece but here's one traffic comparison: fake user visits to tracked ads from social media platforms over Super Bowl weekend:

- X / Twitter: 75.9%
- TikTok: 2.6%
- Facebook: 2%
- Instagram: 0.7%

 

[gez]

I found this video interesting. Particularly the part where they run a shopping trolly in to the side of the Cybertruck and say "look no dent" and where (unless I'm imagining it) there clearly are dents left.

 

[gez]

a rusty cybertruck would have quite a good mad max aesthetic, I suppose.

Well the "patina" look is all the rage these days, or so it would seem.

Personally I think Copper (or alloy thereof) would have been a better choice if "leaving it to nature to make it look good" was the goal.

 

[martin clark]

It wasn't; as a result, it's made of really-thin-skinned TechBro W***kerdom..

 

[gez]

DeLoreans seem to have held up pretty well. I watched this lengthy multi-part YouTube series of a bloke restoring one, which included re-graining the steel shell etc. Interesting stuff, though the person in question is a professional and has a full garage, skillset and contacts to do stuff right.

It certainly looks like Apartheid Space Karen cheaped-out.

Weren't they renound for being a nightmare for finger marks? Being a brushed finish.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Weren't they renound for being a nightmare for finger marks? Being a brushed finish.

Yebbut you could get flies off the front with a Brillo pad.