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Re:Tesla aims to start pilot production of Model 3 cars on F... by cptskippy on Thursday February 09, 2017 @09:28AM (#13607104)
It's called an assembly plant in the US. There's nothing inherently wrong with this and it can actually afford greater automation and efficiencies in a number of ways. You have the option of receiving prefabricated components from multiple sources. If you're doing built to order manufacturing you can slot in variations more easily of they're complete modules assembled identically.
Re:Tesla aims to start pilot production of Model 3 cars on F... by Munkum on Thursday February 09, 2017 @10:00AM (#13607340)
The more parts in assembly there are, the harder it is to control quality. You have to trust that the 3rd party supplier is meeting the required spec in manufacture and that the parts are damaged in transit.
Re:Tesla aims to start pilot production of Model 3 cars on F... by cptskippy on Thursday February 09, 2017 @10:27AM (#13607539)
> The more parts in assembly there are, the harder it is to control quality.

Which is why they tend to move to larger modular components. Things like seats arrive preassembled and simply need to be inspected and installed. Inspection can happen off the assembly floor and managed without disrupting production.

> You have to trust that the 3rd party supplier is meeting the required spec in manufacture and that the parts are damaged in transit.

You don't have to rely on 3rd parties to run an assembly plant. Your assembly plant can be fed by your own manufacturing facilities. But if you do rely on 3rd parties, it's definitely possible and companies like Apple do it with great success.

Re:Tesla aims to start pilot production of Model 3 cars on F... by justin66 on Friday February 10, 2017 @08:59AM (#13615355)
> The more parts in assembly there are, the harder it is to control quality.

The quality of passenger cars is so, so much higher now than prior to the use of these methods. It seems like they've got the quality control processes taken care of to some extent.