I would like to suggest a stronger aluminum frame. I come to this conclusion because, while obliviously not paying attention, I set my laptop on the floor, opening it so it would not topple over, but this time I placed it in the path of my recliner chair and its foot piece bent the screen, but, thankfully, the damage is only cosmetic. I have carelessly done this to other laptops and they did not bend. Of course the obvious solution is for me to wake up and note my surroundings, but your current frame is a tender one and could easily not survive such a trivial consumer mistake.
I don’t think “being placed under a chair” is considered normal behavior.
The chassis ridigity is quite good (not the absolute best but is more than good enough), and the upgraded panel should provide a little bit more structural strength.
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I can also attest to unexpected bending of the screen assembly, so I agree about there being room for improvement. We’ve yet to see how much better the new frame is, so let’s give it some time.
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Modern laptops are all varying degrees of fragile and placing a focused load on them is definitely not the intended use.
As someone with ADHD prone to accidentally “throwing” (dropping but then grabbing and missing, propelling it downward) things in my hand at the floor and smashing glassware against surfaces when I forget I’m holding them, I can’t expect companies to build devices for the 1% of chronically accident prone people when the material costs and added weight for making a thicker / more resilient chassis likely exceed any reasonable replacement schedule for most users. As stated at least the top cover has a new design, though I’ll wait until I break it before I replace it.
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As a IT support guy I see so many modern laptops in pieces. A lot I just refuse to fix as it becomes a money pit then. How much is it worth to throw at any laptop costing less than ÂŁ600?
Another way they get you to but another one.
“Oh you want it to last more then 12 months???”
That depends on what’s expected from a design requirement perspective.
Some degree of handleability / chuckability / ruggedness always constitute some part of the product requirement.
While specifically “being placed under a chair” may not be part of a requirement (Depends how you interpret that: just under the chair, or, becomes part of a load bearing support for the chair?), there’s likely a rigidity requirement. e.g. Able to withstand xN, and flex no more than ymm in the centre…etc.
Just like phones…drops…some are more durable than others. Laptops are no different; some are more rugged than others.
Some randomly related [ancient] marketing fluff from Dell Ballistic Armor:
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Introducing you to this:
General consumer-ready, urban rugged… It’s heftier…but not to the extreme.
On the other end of the scale…there’s this (somewhat the more affordable option in this space):
Say, from here, for example. For that kind of specs, on paper, it’s a bargain really.
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I’m hoping someone will review the v2 lid (CNC) soon.
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Definitely interested in this, had my laptop in my backpack and must have pushed against it a bit with my feet while putting it under the airplane seat, managed to bend the whole frame of the laptop a decent bit, although the lid was fine.
Given how little force was required to bend it back, a stiffer base would definitely be nice. while it can’t be indestructible, I’m guessing a bit more stiffness would have saved it in this case.
Also on both my and a friend’s framework, if you hold it from one corner the frame can flex enough to randomly click / stop you from clicking the trackpad, which is quite annoying.
That being said, while it’s definitely less ridged than other laptops, that’s for good reason. The expansion card slots and the only 5 screws holding on the interface cover are big features for repair / customizability and a core part of the framework, but they are also terrible for the frame strength. If the Framework team finds a way to make the frame stiffer I would jump to replace my frame, but they would definitely have their work cut out for them!
I’ve joked with friends that if I could buy a titanium frame for more money that would be a super cool upgrade (I wouldn’t mind the extra few grams)
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Other than cost, I wonder why Framework didn’t go with magnesium alloy for the chassis. Environmental concern?
I’d guess it’s almost certainly more expensive, and it’s weaker by volume, so the frame would actually need to be thicker to have an equivalent rigidity, that likely doesn’t outweigh the slight reduction in weight, as is you don’t buy a framework to buy the lightest possible laptop.
Think that depends on the composition and treatment of the alloys. (magnesium-lithium / rare earth mix)
…e.g. For a given force, do you prefer it to bend or to crack…
Wow, I must have touched a nerve, I never expected anyone to even notice a klutz like me.
Thank you all for your responses which were interesting and informative.
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Not really sure how I did it, but I managed to slightly bend it in such a way that, when closed, one of the corners of the lid did not touch the input cover. Fortunately, I was able to reverse this by carefully flexing it in the opposite direction…
Good point. In my case, perhaps the metal’s softness was a blessing in disguise.
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