That’s an interesting idea. Would it be possible to make a structural battery skateboard? Take ~36 or 48 of these new batteries, epoxy them together in the shape of the deck, weld the electrical connections on, test them, then epoxy on some Baja-like suspension.
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Not really, they are doing that with careful engineering so that the cells are only subject to the loads they were designed in the first place, and probably the case is made with that intent
Don’t glue cells to a board as a mean to stiffen a deck
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Yeah I agree… I mean “possible” ? Yes, anything is possible, I’m sure Tesla’s engineers could handle it for us with enough relevant understanding of the types of loads and impacts generally expected of esk8 scenarios, and leveraged specifically against one type of esk8 and with a board they designed in conjunction…
Doubt they’re gonna do that for us though… 
Cool idea though, could happen if someone wanted it bad enough, but I don’t think the ROI is likely to be there myself.
I’m just hoping whatever adhesives (or etc.) they use for these packs is something we’ll be able to dissolve easily without damaging the cells. I personally expect this will be the case, since they also mentioned a push to start directly recycling packs from their cars. However, this makes me worry about it becoming more difficult to acquire surplus cells from their cars long term…
Short term though, I guarantee we’ll see some of these new cells in the wild sooner than many of you expect. Word is they’re already in test vehicles, Tesla is known for bringing new configs and products to market before reaching full economies of scale, so all we gotta do is wait for someone to wreck one lol, and the guys out in Cali will be ripping them apart.
Bigclive had a good video yesterday about what he thinks the new cell design is utilizing to go tab-less btw. I bet it’s a little more specific, but I think he’s definitely on the right track.
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If don’t know yet check TheLimitingFactor you tube channel, battery wise I think he is the guy go currently, truly researched info, go after papers, make interview with experts in the respective area, a gem of a channel in a sea of people talking about things they have no idea
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Think I’ve run across it, no idea how many of those channels I have subbed lol. I tend to have them playing in the background all day while I’m working here in the shop, I’ll definitely check it out. Lot of the battery centric cats are either mostly schilling for a product they’re selling, or for the vendors… Jehu’s channel has gotten pretty egregious on that level as an example. Plenty of the other dudes are just using it as a means of getting free packs while driving up the costs for the rest of us, and most of them are pretty damn clueless about electronics and electricity.
Bigclive just has a soothing voice and a good sense of humor though, which is why I’ve always liked his chan. It’s not super deep technically, although he’s reasonably competent for sure.
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Yes yes yes!
I think it is a possibility. However, if you looked at the illustration of how they were to be installed in the bottom of the car during the video, it makes a lot more sense for a car.
Think about the structural loads, since the cells will be installed vertically, gluing them together produces a honeycomb pattern of steel. It’s like how ikea tables are often just honeycomb cardboard with wood laminate on them. The design is very strong, and using structural epoxy or whatever adhesive they decide to go with, it will probably end up being stronger than the original frame in the first place. This is not due to the fact that it is just a mass of solid metal, but that it is a mass of interconnected cylinders, placed in their optimum load bearing position. Like Elon said, the car will be the stiffest frame out there.
I do believe it is possible to create a structural board, however, it may not be attractive or convenient. I think one way to do it would be to make a complex lamination schedule of foam and carbon fiber, surrounding the cells in the center. The cells would then be potted in epoxy to fill the whole cavity. This could create a VERY thick (80mm at least) deck that would function similar to the structural battery that Elon was talking about. The only way I could see this working and being comfortable is in a build like a Bajaboard, where the center is a large mass, and where the board has suspension to absorb road bumps and vibrations.
Just some thoughts I had, take it or leave it. I don’t think I’ll be creating one any time soon but it is definitely an interesting proposition
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He makes a damn good Irish Cream Custard too
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I do wonder how this will change the outcome of crash tests given a hard enough crash would directly involve the battery potentially being smushed.
I don’t doubt it will be the strongest vehicle on the market making toyota go and cry
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Hmm yeah true but at the same time, I would argue that the old way is just as unsafe - Tesla’s #1 outlook on new designs is safety, and considering the NHTSA ratings on the old ones, I imagine they will change the design to make it just as safe with the new method
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Kinda annoying how they’re slightly different. I’m sure it doesn’t matter but it still bothers me. 3.61v for the bottom left and 3.68v for the ones on the right. And one cell reading 3.41
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Ah what a pain in the ass. I saved $200 buying these instead of 40T’s. So I guess this is the price we pay.
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There is a price for uniformity!
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Dammit a need a cell holder or some magnets for sure now…
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slightly different in voltage? or size?
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I just charged up some 30Qs from 3.4 to 3.7
Going up only .3v means the max current flow was under 3-4A.
I feel like this means that you could probably just weld a 3.4v cell to a 3.7v cell without balancing them and they would safely come to the same voltages.
Not confident enough to try it myself but it might be alright.
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Meh, I guess this is one of those times where having an 8 bay charger is helpful. Sucks that they came just a little bit out though.
I probably wouldn’t let them balance against each other personally but 3 to 4 amps isn’t that much either.
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Just different positive tabs. Same size and everything but it looks different and it hurts my soul
@Fosterqc
I tested 100. Most of them ranged from 3.64v to 3.69v
14 were 3.61v and 1 cell testing 3.41v
Nothing too horrible but I’m only using 84 cells for a 12s7p and using 12 for a 12s1p so it kinda works out lmao
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i see it now, traditional Tesla production specs there
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