I have a question - isn’t there two plastics - one that is the more rubbery coating, which is what is cracking - right? So it doesn’t really represent a structural problem. If there was just the single plastic structure, the crack around a screw would represent something much more serious. But under both plastics, is a metal frame. What happens if you bend the case - does the crack get larger and smaller? My FW12 will be here in a few days. I’m looking forward to abusing it. Not like that one guy with the videos, but still…
There is a softer, rubbery coating around the outer edge of the top and bottom case. It is a different color from the rest of the plastic. That is what gives the laptop the two-tone color aesthetic. That outer “bumper” is the only rubbery part and is the only place where there is any kind of double layering. The rest of the top and bottom case is just a single layer of ABS plastic.
Inside, there are metal supports in a few places, but it is primarily just plastic. There is a metalized coating inside on a lot of the case. That is basically just a fancy way of essentially painting a super thin, metallic layer on plastic. I imagine that is done for RFI/EMI shielding. It’s nothing structural.
As far as I know, none of the cracks have caused any laptops to have any serious structural issues. But they technically are cracks in the one layer of plastic. Most of them will open up and become more visible when the case is flexed in the right spots.
Now that I’ve received my framework 12 - I’m going to make an educated guess… Over tightening the screws. There is quite a bit of room between snug and moving the plastic.
Just a thought.
It’s possible that was a factor in some cases, but I don’t think everyone’s cracking is happening around the screws, though that does seem to be the most common place for cracks.
I can say that I was very careful and gentle with the screws. For me, moving the plastic came before snug with several screws. In fact, I went as far as to get hold of a super expensive, calibrated torque screwdriver to see how much torque I was putting on the screws. It turned out that I was applying approximately half of what someone else said they were applying, which they thought was a very small amount and was why they hadn’t had any cracks. Using half that amount of torque, I was getting cracks. The plastic deformation I was seeing as I tightened the screw happened at around one to two inch ounces of torque, if I remember correctly.
For context, while holding the Framework screwdriver bit, not the screwdriver, just the tiny bit itself, between the tips of my thumb and pinky finger, I can get the screws a moderate amount tighter than they were when my second case cracked. If that’s too tight, then I think there’s an issue with the design. At least, in my opinion, for whatever that’s worth, lol.
With that tiny amount of torque, it’s not screw tightening. You’ve done quite a bit of investigating. It’s day 2 - I have no cracks. We’ll see how it goes.
Darn. What are the odds. I just picked up my Sage unit and noticed that my top cover is starting to crack near one of the hinges, just like @Nathan_Alan_Hansen has had happen multiple times. Bummer. It’s a tiny crack right now, but still.
I’m still waiting to hear back from support about my replacement sage bottom cover that is dated 5/18, before I install it. Looks like I’ll be reaching out about my top cover now too.
I have now also received a response from support, but they did not really address the fact that the back cover is cracked. They only said that they need to further investigate the bottom case. I am not sure whether they are referring to my pictures specifically or to the issue in general — the wording is rather vague and unclear.
They now seem to be more interested in my complaint about the fan.
After months of waiting for the new (updated) bottom cover I got one that has been manufactured either in July or April. I’m curious what Support will have to say about this.
We were informed that It is not part of the early-stage molded material that had issue reported.
Framework personally visited the factory and conducted sampling inspections at a rate better than MIL-STD-105E AQL 0.4%, confirming that there were no problems.
I still don’t know why I waited 3 months for the updated part then
Thanks for sharing the response they gave you. The mystery remains, but hey more information about the issue. Time will tell if these covers develop any issues. Let’s hope it’s over. I don’t think this has been a pleasant experience for anyone involved. I know the process has started on me getting my issues taken care of.
I ordered and received a Lavender FW12 before Christmas. Beforehand I asked support if the Laptop I wanted to order would be affected of the Cracking problem. They said it would not be affected so I went ahead and ordered one.
Wrote to support about the new cracks, included all the images of all sides in the initial message and they just confirmed I’ll be getting another replacement. Here’s the crack this time around:
I got my replacement sage unit yesterday (Core Laptop). I have noticed a few things that are different in the new one vs the old.
The plastic seems to have more of a texture to it. It is not visible but more of a feel, not 100% sure if the old one was like that at the start.
The top chassis seems to be more rigid. The screen does not flex like the old one.
The screen does not seem as washed out and colors are richer. It is not a big difference, but noticeable.
Just a few things I noticed. The CPU fan also works on this one. My old unit had a non-working fan and cracks on the bottom. Fingers crossed I do not have any further issues.
Just a quick question: was something adjusted there? I also noticed that it bends quite a lot, and in my opinion you could have added some kind of continuous foot or base. That way it wouldn’t really be such a big issue anymore?
