Design flaw: why aren’t all laptops manufactured out of metal (steel, aluminium), like the Apple Macbook Pro?
Posted by James on January 21, 2012 · 2 Comments
Question by Corruptor Bot ¦ÆЩ±®¬: Design flaw: why aren’t all laptops manufactured out of metal (steel, aluminium), like the Apple Macbook Pro?
Why aren’t all laptops manufactured out of metal (steel, aluminium), like the Apple Macbook Pro?
My father recently purchased an Apple Macbook Pro. Very impressive notebook computer. But what really caught my attention is the fact that it’s made from a single block of genuine aluminium. Thus I just wondered why aren’t most electronic devices and consumer electronic products and their external shells made out of metal? Surely then it will be near-indestructible.
And another flaw I noticed in many mobile phones is that the LCD screen is positioned too close to the actual plastic screen surrounding it. To see what I mean, look at a Samsung D600, and look at the screen from an angle, and you’ll notice there’s a fairly large gap between the plastic screen and the actual LCD inside. This is good. Because without the gap, you can drop the phone and the LCD will crack easily. Many laptops have this same design flaw.
Best answer:
Answer by billrussell42
My previous macbook had a plastic case. It worked fine, no problems. My current one is made from aluminum. It’s fine also. A bit thinner than the previous one.
Milling something from a block of aluminum is expensive. The manufacturer has to make tradeoffs between cost and usability, and they all make the tradeoff’s differently. Don’t forget the unit with the aluminum case sells for 00.
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look at the price tag for the macbook pro compared to a regular laptop with similar specs… it adds $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to the total cost of the machine
Don’t equate damage potential from shock with the external carcass of the PC. In fact, one solid chunk of metallic material may transmit the shock better than a built up, multiple layer plastic frame. In those instances you’d rather the plastic failed while dissipating the shock energy than the LCD or other electronic components. Also, it depends on how the boards are shock mounted within the case. Yes, the outside case would be indestructible but you may then leave the internal components to bear the brunt of the shock.
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Similarly, automobile design has changed from making the car indestructible to making the car energy absorbing and dissipating so that the occupants then don’t bear the majority of the damage. It makes for some expensive repairs but in the balnace more lives are potentially saved.