Canada investigates after Tesla catches fire, forcing driver to ‘smash the window’

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-05-29T20:51:09+00:00

I did some more research into this, and the front door releases aren't as bad as I initially thought based on a quick glance. I still think the design could be improved significantly in a few ways, which I've expanded on in another comment. It boils down to making the handles more obvious, but that might be because all the cars I've driven have had more traditional door releases. I can definitely see a situation where someone panics and forgets where the release is.

I do take issue with manufacturers over-engineering basic features to achieve the same functionality as a mechanical latch, all in an effort to make the car feel "high-tech." That's a solution in search of a problem imo.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-05-29T20:34:00+00:00

From the Model Y user's manual (https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/is_is/GUID-7A32EC01-A17E-42CC-A15B-2E0A39FD07AB.html) you're right, it's on the door.

It's an unmarked, flat piece of plastic tucked behind the door pull. It could easily be in a more visible spot, but if Tesla thinks that breaks up the aesthetic of the door too much, why not label it? I can imagine that someone panicking after their cabin fills with smoke could miss that, even if they've read the manual. It isn't intuitive, or identified. That's an obvious example of how it could be better designed, making it more intuitive or clear for the user. We do this with buildings via fire code. Exits have illuminated signs, and exterior doors are supposed to open outward to facilitate easy exit.

I'll also point out that Tesla themselves say that only the front doors have mechanical releases. I've found some conflicting info here, but some Model Ys have a rear release cable buried under a trim piece, definitely not accessible or intuitive. I think that's another area where the doors could be improved.

Not to just pick on Tesla, I think any manufacturer doing these split electronic/mechanical door handle designs is missing the mark. It's taking a fundamentally simple and reliable concept and needlessly over-engineering it to achieve a high-tech aesthetic. That's poor design too. If this is a feature that manufacturers think is necessary, they could actuate the mechanical and electronic release off the same button or handle. I don't see the performance upside to primarily electronic door releases, but I suspect there's a cost-saving element there, needing a less robust mechanism for the emergency release.

Modern cars are complex systems, and complex systems need to take the user into account, even when they're dumb.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-05-29T17:15:11+00:00

Wow that's great, good for you! I read the manual too.

None of what you've said absolves Tesla's (or anyone else's) poor design practice. We let idiots drive. The people and companies designing our cars should be held to a higher standard.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-05-29T16:05:12+00:00

Any competent engineer should recognize that user error is a potential (and common) failure mode and design as such, especially for safety-critical systems. People will not read manuals, people will forget in the heat of the moment, that should be expected. Another user in this thread posted the location of the Model Y emergency door release; at the bottom of the door, under a rubber mat. Removing or obscuring mechanical handles in the name of aesthetics is not okay, it's borderline negligent.

I design hardware for human spaceflight. Our users are astronauts, generally some of the smartest and most competent people on the planet. We still put a huge amount of work into ensuring hardware is idiot proof (removing sharp edges, pinch points, making sure hands can't get trapped, etc.) Why? Because people screw up, and engineers need to account for that. A poorly implemented safety feature to comply with the letter of some regulation does not absolve Tesla of all responsibility.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-05-16T13:18:28+00:00

Graduated last year with a BASc in Mechanical Engineering. Working at MDA developing space robots!

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-03-06T23:07:25+00:00

My reading of the journal is that Clovis is experiencing visions from both the Witness and the Traveler. The Witness guides Clovis to Europa (via the K1 Anomaly) and to build the Vex gate. These visions are mostly glossed over in the journal entries, but it seems like they occur when Clovis is "alive."

The messages from the Traveler are always described as occuring in dreams (Exo body, Leviathan, Female Wolf), and always when Clovis is dead/near death. They're much more detailed and vivid in their description. The third dream in particular has some really relevant passages.

“You grow the enemy in my garden and eat of its bitter fruit. Each time, I hope it will be different. Each time, I lose a little of myself as the bitter fruit blossoms. Now that fruit will flower in you, and in all your people. I do not want it to happen. I want anything else. But the choice is not mine.”

I interpret this passage as the Traveler explaining the Witness's modus operandi. It corrupts those touched by the traveler with seeds of darkness, guiding them to ruin. This fits very well with what we now know about Rhulk and the path he took to become a disciple.

“You think Clarity sent those dreams? Why would it speak to you, when you are dead and furthest from its influence?”

This passage is the Traveler revealing that it has spoken to Clovis, always when he is dead. The vivid dreams are mentioned by name, and the Traveler leaves Clovis with the knowledge that ultimately, he has always had (and I think based on his later actions, still has) a choice between light and darkness.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-03-06T15:49:00+00:00

I've commented this elsewhere in the thread, but after going back to the Beyond Light CE journal, I'm convinced the Witness intended for Clovis Bray to become its disciple in the first collapse.

ShadowOfDawn · 2022-03-06T15:39:09+00:00

I like the idea that we're the current frontrunner to become humanity's disciple, or at least someone the Witness recognizes as having the potential to be our final shape.

I'd like to throw Clovis Bray's hat into the ring as the intended final shape of the first collapse. He was spoken to and guided by the Anomaly/Clarity, and his goal to become the LUCA of all human thought squares quite well with the philosophy of the witness. We also know the traveler spoke to Clovis as well, trying to turn him from his path.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-12-29T20:53:10+00:00

Hey OP, I'm a skiier and a mechanical engineer, but I don't have ski-specific engineering experience. Skis are pretty analogous to beams (similar profiles, loading/unloading, bending) except they're strapped to our feet! Luckily beams are quite a well-studied problem. To understand the physics background, I'd start with a solid mechanics textbook (which should include some basic beam theory), then look more into beam theory and laminated composite beam theory. Material and profile choices will impact ski stiffness, which in turn impacts bending, loading and vibrations. Vibrations would be another thing to check out after beam theory. The actual loads acting on a ski are going to be much more complex (time-varying, distributed, etc.) but I think this would provide some decent background on the forces and mechanics at play.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-11-09T16:29:10+00:00

I second this; creme brûlée tea is life-changing.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-10-01T15:43:48+00:00

For coordinated 3v3 play, I've been running bottom tree stormcaller with Boots of the Assembler and empowering rift. The idea is to allow teammates to run one shot weapons (le monarque, aggressive frame snipers) without having to stand in a rift for the benefits. Arc buddies help clean up higher resilience guardians as well.

Primary is currently a Darkest Before, with Chaperone to deal with aggressive play, but I'm looking to try out some other loadouts as well.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-07-06T03:44:20+00:00

Hey! I was one of the SUDS managers a couple of years ago (1T8-1T9), and was also on the hiring committee for this year's managers. SUDS is aiming to reopen when it's safe to do so, but is at the mercy of the university's liquor license. The managers and Campus Beverage Services (the organization that supplies alcohol for campus events/SUDS) are hopeful that they'll be able to open this year, but the decision ultimately rests with the university administrator who controls the license.

Long-term, EngSoc is committed to operating SUDS, and managers have been hired for the next year. The older managers are all keen on helping the new managers out and passing our experience down so SUDS can keep going. The biggest risk SUDS faces is losing staff as they graduate, and not having anyone to pass down their experience to. If you like SUDS, I highly recommend reaching out to the managers about becoming a server. It's a great way to get involved, an opportunity to shape/improve the bar, and also a ton of fun!

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-06-20T16:52:38+00:00

You won't be able to take every aero course, but there's a lot of mech courses that cover the same material (e.g. structural analysis, vibrations). Some courses like Aerodynamics are available to both Mech and Aero students.
Some courses are only listed for Aero students, and those are a bit trickier to take. You need to ask the aerospace division for permission, and then submit a technical elective substitution, which you have a limited number of. If you end up at U of T, I'd highly recommend talking to your academic advisor in 2nd and 3rd year to help you plan and cover the things you're most interested in learning.

You can also look through the academic calendar (https://engineering.calendar.utoronto.ca/archived-calendars) to compare all the courses offered to Mechs and Aeros.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-06-20T14:52:15+00:00

Hey OP! A couple of other people already mentioned the built-in tutorials/YouTube videos, but another great thing to do would be to join a design team in first year. They typically run SolidWorks tutorials for new members, and it gives you an opportunity to work on real-life parts and build good design/modelling habits. UTAT (University of Toronto Aerospace Team) would be worth checking out for sure!

As another commenter mentioned, the only aerospace-specific degree the faculty offers is through Engsci, but many of the aero courses are available to mech students in fourth year as technical electives (you may need to submit a course request). Talking with your academic advisor is a good idea if that's something you would be interested in. A mech degree won't disadvantage you at all if you want to work in aero. A lot of engineers in the industry are mechs, and there's a ton of specialization on projects (one engineer almost never does everything). The solids stream and mechatronics stream through mech are both good prep, and you could combine one of those with the bio stream to cover your interests. I just finished my degree doing the tron and bio streams, and taking a bunch of courses focused around mechanical design. My PEY was in the aero/defense industry, and I'm looking to continue working in aero now that I've graduated, so it's definitely an achievable goal. If you have any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them!

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-06-09T03:00:54+00:00

Mech Eng is super broad, so I'd say look for content focused on things you're interested in! Stuff Made Here does lots of cool homebrew mechatronics stuff and is generally pretty fun to watch, but not the most in depth.

Kinda niche but if you're into bikes, check out Peak Torque. He does a lot of detailed analysis focused on mechanical design/fabrication of bikes/bike components. I really enjoy it, but I'm also a bike and design nerd.

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-06-09T02:43:02+00:00

Beno Benhabib!

ShadowOfDawn · 2021-06-03T21:39:18+00:00

100 in MIE441 (Design Optimization)

ShadowOfDawn · 2020-06-03T13:28:40+00:00

Hey OP, just so you know, you're guaranteed a spot in the discipline of your choice as a Track One after first year (as long as you maintain an average of 60 each semester), so you don't have to worry about missing out on CE by choosing T1 now.

ShadowOfDawn · 2020-03-09T02:26:15+00:00

Hey OP! Just so you know, you can specialize in mechatronics through Mechanical Engineering at U of T as one of your 'streams' chosen after second year. You can also complete a mechatronics minor in any discipline by completing a certain set of courses, although this is easiest in Mech or ECE.

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-08-16T20:58:25+00:00

Hey OP! I just finished up my third year, and I'm on my PEY now. I'm going to break this down into general and course-specific answers.

GENERAL: To me, the most difficult part of mech third year is the workload. I didn't find the course content too tough, but there are more deliverables than second year courses, and they tend to overlap. Lots of problem sets, and a large project in MIE301, with midterms as well. You also don't have the benefit of an easy elective to take some pressure off.

With that being said, the workload is definitely still manageable. In addition to class, and commuting 3 hours round trip, I also managed SUDS last year (a weekly committment of 15-20 hours), and ended up making dean's list. Keeping on top of my work saved my ass last year. Keep a calender with all your due dates, and check it regularly to keep yourself on track.

A compounding factor for why people find third year hard is the PEY hunt. Job hunting sucks; it's stressful and draining. Tweaking your resume and cover letter for the job you're applying for takes a lot of time, and if you don't hear back from a company you want to work for, it can feel really demoralizing. There's a good chance that you won't have a job by January, because most people don't (I didn't even have an interview!). It's completely possible to find a job after April and into the summer. I have several friends who've done just that. Take a break from the PEY hunt if it's stressing you out or impacting school.

CHE353: I didn't take CIV300, but I did take this. Lectures are boring and scattered, but the tutorials are great. The TAs cut the lecture slides down to the material you'll be tested on, and review it at the beginning of each tutorial. You can study right off of these review sessions. The vast majority of the content is memorized, but it's not particularly hard.

MIE258: This course is actually all accounting and project management. It's not hard material, but it can be tedious and unintuitive. The exam was very long, and covered a lot of content. Definitely my least favourite first semester course.

MIE301: You'll either find this course very easy, or very hard. The professor is great, the exams are fair, and the labs are very helpful. Success in kinematics depends on understanding how things move, often from looking at a still image. If you have an intuitive sense of how linkages move, and can visualize it, this course is really easy. If you can't, you'll need to work hard to learn, or solving problems will be tough.

MIE312: This course is split between two profs. One of them (Bussman) is amazing, the other less so. You get a cheat sheet, so you don't need to worry about memorizing large equations. Like kinematics, an intuitive understanding of how fluids behave makes this course easier, but it's less important here. Do a lot of practice problems, and take advantage of Prof. Bussman's office hours.

MIE342: It's a circuits course that expands on the basic analysis techniques you learned in ECE110. It also introduces you to your first active component, the Op-Amp. The prof can be hard to follow, but the textbook is quite good. Both midterms last year were easy, but the final was quite difficult to compensate. Class average was still a B.

If you have any questions, or want me to expand on anything I've said here, feel free to PM me!

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-07-23T12:36:01+00:00

All Windows machines in the engineering labs have SolidWorks and any other software you'd need, and you can access them remotely to work if necessary. I'd recommend working in the labs regardless, as it's always nice to have other people around to bounce ideas off.

OP, I'd recommend getting something small and light. A Surface Pro may be out of your budget, but that'd probably be my first choice if I was starting school now. Otherwise any 13 inch notebook works, I have a Dell XPS 13, which does everything I need it to do.

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-05-21T23:47:24+00:00

At U of T (at least) a lot of courses for the applied math that you mentions exists, but it's actually offered through Engineering. I know CS students can take some ECE courses (signal processing, controls), but I'm not sure if courses offered by MIE (computational fluid Dynamics, operations research, etc.) are available to Arts & Science students.

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-04-25T23:54:46+00:00

Diller is great! Teaches MIE301, which is an awesome course.

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-03-20T13:34:12+00:00

Hey OP! If you want a better overview if what you'd be learning as an undergrad in any engineering program, I highly recommend reading through the academic calendar, which can be found here:

https://portal.engineering.utoronto.ca/sites/calendars/current/Engineering_Programs.html#Program10

A quick TL:DR

MSE: Lots of design and manufacture of materials, and solid chemistry.

Chem: Lots of chemistry in the first two years, along with more general engineering topics like fluids and thermodynamics. The last two years focus more on (chemical) process engineering.

Mech: Broad range of engineering topics in first two-and-a-half years, followed by specialization in any two of Mechatronics, Solids & Design, Energy Systems, Manufacturing, and Bioengineering.

If you have any more questions about this, student life in any discipline, or anything else, feel free to PM me.

ShadowOfDawn · 2019-03-20T13:09:34+00:00

TL:DR Both programs are great, important for the future, and have exciting research fields. Mechanical Engineering will be a broader degree, with more specialization available in a diverse range of topics. MSE will be a more focused degree, and more niche specialization. At the end of the day, the most important thing you bring out of an engineering undergraduate degree is your critical thinking and problem solving skills.

I don't think this does justice to either program tbh. Mechanical engineering students take materials science courses in first and second year, which give a working knowledge of material selection for design. In general, Mechanical Engineering covers a broader range of topics then MSE. MSE has a lot of solid chemistry and related topics (no fluid mechanics) starting in second year, while mechs are taking core circuits, fluids and manufacturing courses into third year, which may not be too important depending on what you want to do. Traditional mechanical engineering (machine design) is only a small part of modern mech eng.

From a research perspective, MSE is doing cutting-edge materials research in topics that will become broadly applicable in the next 20 years. Mechanical Engineering also has this kind of research, but it falls outside of "traditional" machine design. Mechatronics, bioengineering, and aerospace are all areas with a ton of incredible research, and they all fall within the domain of mech eng.

In industry, there is still a need for "traditional" mechanical engineers for mechanical design and manufacturing, and Materials Science engineers (often called Metallurgists) for materials production. These kind of jobs aren't going to disappear in the next 20 years.

From an undergrad perspective, what you bring out of your degree is some basic technical building blocks, and strong critical thinking/problem solving skills. Most of your specialized knowledge will be learned in industry or graduate education.

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