Vote for JB

[malcolm]

...in Design News' 2009 Engineer of the Year

Tesla Engineer Boosts EV Range to New Heights - 2009-07-30 14:25:12 EDT | Design News

 

[vfx]

Great article.

...in Design News' 2009 Engineer of the Year

Trivia!

(JB stands for Jeffrey Brian; he prefers not to punctuate it)

What about this? (a bit out of context)

"As the energy density of these cells increases, the number of packaging and cooling problems increases," Straubel says. "You're trying to package a lot more energy into a much tighter space and suddenly cooling becomes a big issue."

Does this mean that when the next gen of 1865 batteries comes out that Tesla cannot simply swap them for the old abtteries beacuse the new one will ned additional cooling?

Or would it be a case of the entire interior of the battery box -essentially an entirely new box- would need to be redesigned?

The engineering team also squeezed out a tiny bit more range by employing a so-called a "roll-back seal caliper" in the brakes. The device, which pulls the caliper away from the disc when the brakes are released, eliminates residual drag forces between the caliper and disc when the brakes aren't being actuated.

Really, That seems so obvious that all brakes should work that way. They don't?

 

[TEG]

The engineering team also squeezed out a tiny bit more range by employing a so-called a "roll-back seal caliper" in the brakes. The device, which pulls the caliper away from the disc when the brakes are released, eliminates residual drag forces between the caliper and disc when the brakes aren't being actuated.

Really, That seems so obvious that all brakes should work that way. They don't?

Yes, I thought many brakes had a spring to pull the pads away when you release the pedal.

Pad retraction spring for disc brake assembly - Drawing for Patent # 6378665 - PatentGenius

Perhaps "roll back seal" does a bit more?
I see some patents with "roll back seal" in them.

(WO/1996/008663) DISC BRAKE SHOE RETRACTION MECHANISM
US Patent 5613577 - Automotive disc brake with improved caliper assembly
For bicycles:
Roll back seal for disc brake - Patent US6347689
...etc...

 

[Kardax]

Does this mean that when the next gen of 1865 batteries comes out that Tesla cannot simply swap them for the old abtteries beacuse the new one will ned additional cooling?

Or would it be a case of the entire interior of the battery box -essentially an entirely new box- would need to be redesigned?

He's simply explaining why they had to use liquid cooling. Their design has a very high energy density, so they need to use appropriate measures to keep it safe. See the paragraph above the one you quoted

-Ryan

 

[vfx]

See the paragraph above the one you quoted

Yeah that's why I said "out of context" but still... I could read it that way. That is, replacement will mean an all new battery interior as opposed to simply popping in new cells. Maybe the car will need a supplemental radiator. ...?

 

[dpeilow]

Was The Tesla Story 'A Joke?' - Captain Hybrid | Blog on Design News

Design News reader Murat Okçuoğlu, an automotive engineer in Santa Barbara, CA, recently sent the following e-mail to us about our September cover story on Design News Engineer of the Year, JB Straubel.

I thought your September cover was a joke.

Tesla has received over $50 million from customers, over $187 million from investors and over $500 million from US government including subsidies but delivered just over 500 cars. This comes to significantly more than $1,000,000 per car.

I agree that emerging technologies need investment and sacrifice, but electric car is not at its infancy, the technology is actually older than gasoline engine variant.

I though engineering was about reason and feasibility. I am afraid without common sense anywhere on the horizon, US auto industry is heading rapidly to where the British auto industry went, to oblivion.

Since Mr. Okçuoğlu sent the e-mail to me, and since I wrote the cover story in question, I think it’s appropriate that I respond to him, which I’ll do here.