I purchased my previous laptop (not the one I use now) right on the tail end of the “any color you want” trend in the late-2000s/early-2010s, and Loved the thing for the comments I got on its bright red color, right up until its WiFi card gave out, and using it as a laptop became… impractical. (it lives on in a stationary role, and still makes me quite happy).
I know you’ve stated elsewhere that you won’t make even black laptops because dyed anodizing is impacts the environment a lot more than regular. And you’re also planning eventually to supply replaceable colored bezels.
I was thinking as measure to provide even more of colorful experience, perhaps you could produce colorful decal kits to match the bezels you’ve already planned for.
Yea, that would be a lot of fun and something that is definitely possible. It’s also something we’d love to see third party skin/sticker makers bring into the ecosystem.
@nrp look at it from a different perspective. Every framework laptop sold is upgradable. Every upgraded laptop is more environment friendly than a new one. Making it as attractive as possible for potential buyers, while not being manufactured as environmentally friendly, can rapidly turn into a more environmentally friendly thing on the long run. So the tradeoff might be worth it
Thanks for reaching out - and sorry for the delayed reply. We have been experiencing higher than normal ticket volumes.
Realistically, we wouldn’t support a totally new brand until there was significant customer demand expressed by customers writing in, just the same as you are. Given that this is a totally new and unproven brand, it may take quite some time. That isn’t to say we won’t ever support it, but right now, you are only the second person to reach out to us about it. We need significantly more support than just two inquiries to justify adding it to our portfolio. Sorry about that. Let us know if there is anything else we can help with, and have a great day!
I’m happy to spearhead a write-in campaign, but I’d like to consider some other brands. dbrand seems pretty backed up with orders plus they don’t have any custom design options.
Also interested in a custom laptop skin for the Framework. A little while ago had a good experience with Decalgirl ordering a ‘universal’ skin that needed to be cut very carefully down to size (the current ordering page for this is Make Custom Laptop Skins + Wraps | DecalGirl). It was for a much more niche device (Pinebook Pro, for the curious), so have just written to them to ask about the possibility of adding what will hopefully end up being a more popular device.
Apologies if I have missed this somewhere, but would there be diagrams with relatively precise measurements of the outer surfaces (including for instance the diameters of the rounded corners) for planning the skin cutting?
Thanks for the response! They have said that they will add it to their list of suggestions, unclear to what degree that is a polite demurral or an actual possibility. I hope it is OK that I’ve passed on the offer of the CAD files or enclosure parts in case they take up the design.
Thank you so much for reaching out to us! I am thinking we are speaking to a few people regarding this model. We would need to bring the actual device in to produce a template. From what I am seeing, it may not even be out on the market yet. We have added this model to our list of suggestions.
So from that short reply, it seems that a CAD file ain’t cutting it in terms of getting a decal. Still, high hopes that eventually they can source one and make some cool decals.
Well, I heard back, but they obviously didn’t read or understand what I told them: they offered me a free sample. So, maybe the customer service group isn’t the best way to get in touch with product development.
Ha! I guess the free sample is something at least.
Realizing the Framework team has plenty on their plates with the rollout and finessing the firmware etc, so this is probably rightly a bit back-burnered, but for reference if there is future interest seems that https://www.decalgirl.com/workwithus/branded/ has a section on:
" Custom Device Skins
Do you need skins for a custom device or one we don’t currently carry? For a small fee, our team can develop precision-fit skins for it!"
Is there any particular reason, other than “it might add weight”, why the chassis can’t be painted? Or even powder-coated? At least according to the internet, both are viable techniques for finishing aluminum, and both could presumably be done by customers. (Well, for powder coating, it would likely be rather a third-party thing.)
In other words, can the laptop be “torn down” to just the bare metal and reassembled?
One reason to consider is that painted aluminum is more difficult to recycle. The bare anodized aluminum just needs to be melted down, but painted aluminum would need to be processed first.
Edit: that’s probably less relevant if there are parts stuck directly to the aluminum, though.
