Why Design "freeze" Is Important To The Elio Project...

[TexasElio]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

Elio has stated many of the components will be "off the shelf" and thus not affected by a design freeze or lack thereof.

However I do agree there will be more delays. Thus the delivery date in my signature (which will move again January one if I don't see a running engine).

 

[BADBOY]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

My understanding from reading all known info the current P4 will be very close to what the final P5 will be so don't understand why you think there will be further design delays? I think the engine is only main "wait" and then the testing begins. Up to 6 months and one of those should be just about up. May 2015 crash test/etc with Sept or even earlier is right on target.

 

[Truett Collins]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

Show me anywhere that there is a "manufacturing deadline". Haven't seen it on any of Elios pages...have seen manufacturing date goals which is different than a deadline. I hope there are not any delays but I also would not want the vehicle release before problems with engineering, safety etc. were addressed.

 

[karl]

Tis the day after Christmas and the Trolls are all coming out.

 

[Neal]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

I would disagree with the assesment of the Elio being in the early stages of developemental design. this is the 4th prototype and near the final design. Elio has stated there will be a couple of minor tweeks, but the P4 is almost the final production model. Also, as previously mentioned, the fact that the majority of parts will be "off the shelf" is also a big benefit.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

The design freeze is important for certain parts with high turnaround times. This is common with airplanes, ships and large projects.
With the advent of Just-In-Time manufacturing, off-the-shelf parts, and coordination, the design freeze becomes less important for small projects.

Don't worry about the design freeze, it's not really a factor here.

Er, I mean:
Oh no!! I've wasted my $1000 and my life..... bla bla bla....

No, seriously, you convinced me this time.
I'm going to go buy a car from a company that uses car dealers so they can over charge me by 40%.
Yup, gonna do that right now....
aaaaany second now.....

 

[Jay3wheel]

Good evening!

Based on information posted on this forum...the Elio Vehicle is still in the early developmental design & component integration phase...

At some point there will have to be a "design freeze"...

A "design freeze" means that no further changes can be made to the design. It is a cut off point for the engineers...because if they continue to change the design past a certain date...the product will not be on time for the manufacturing deadlines...and thus the production phase will continually be delayed.

In layman's terms...there has be a production ready prototype (with validation testing already accomplished ) in order to procure & spec the tooling necessary to build the vehicle.

Additionally...none of the supplier can build any of the necessary sub-components (parts) till a"design freeze'" is in place...

I look forward to taking delivery at some point...but I expect Elio Motors to continue to announce further production delays after the first of the year.

Nineteen posts and you are still a (oh that would be personal)!
Well thanks for using layman's terms for us simple Elio folk.

 

[TexasElio]

My understanding from reading all known info the current P4 will be very close to what the final P5 will be so don't understand why you think there will be further design delays? I think the engine is only main "wait" and then the testing begins. Up to 6 months and one of those should be just about up. May 2015 crash test/etc with Sept or even earlier is right on target.

I view the P4 purely as a one-off display vehicle highlighting the possible cosmetic configuration of the Elio Vehicle...

The P4 does not have a production integrated drive-train...and does not have any actual saftey equipment installed...no airbags...no ABS...no stability control system...etc...

There is a long list of components that need to be integrated into the next generation of promised Elio prototypes...

As I've examined the photos of P4 chassis...it basically a show vehicle configuration built to support the body of the P4 show vehicle...to that fact...the underlying support structure on the P4 prototype appears to be channel tubing rather than round tubing which would be required to meet saftey standards.

Additionally...there's no apparent triangulation between the windshield and middle hoops. The braces that prevent the middle hoop from collapsing backward are extremely undersized. the P4 chassis doesn't appear to provide the technology to pass any real world crash testing...

The next Elio prototype...or the promised fleet of P5 vehicles...will be a completely different engineering task...and a far more complicated endeavor than building a single P4 show vehicle ...

I can easily see the P5 prototype program taking a year or more to complete...including the validation testing on the fleet of promised P5 vehicles...

And from what I've read...Mr Elio has stated the construction of a fleet of P5 vehicles is currently on hold because of lack of funding...

 

[Jay3wheel]

I view the P4 purely as a show vehicle highlighting the possible cosmetic configuration of the Elio Vehicle...

The P4 does not have a production integrated drive-train...and does not have any actual saftey equipment installed...no airbags...no ABS...no stability control system...etc...

There is a long list of components that need to be integrated into the next generation of promised Elio prototypes...

As I've examined the photos of P4 chassis...it basically a show vehicle configuration built to support the body of the P4 show vehicle...to that fact...the underlying support structure on the P4 prototype appears to be channel tubing rather than round tubing which would be required to meet saftey standards.

Additionally...there's no apparent triangulation between the windshield and middle hoops. The braces that prevent the middle hoop from collapsing backward are extremely undersized. the P4 chassis doesn't appear to provide the technology to pass any real world crash testing...

The next Elio prototype...or the promised fleet of P5 vehicles will be a completely different engineering task...and a far more complicated endeavor than building the P4...

I can easily see the P5 prototype program taking a year or more to complete...including the validation testing on the fleet of promised P5 vehicles...

You would think and industry expert like yourself would know that the P in P4 stands for prototype on production model. Maybe the Elio team just might have considered some of these things too. But, I doubt if any of them are as smart as you. Surely they don't have any computerized plans for the intended production model. I do hope they are reading your compelling insights. Oh, if only this were TexasElio Motors, we would all be in so much better hands.