Monday, June 11, 2012

Laptop Disassembly - As complex as they get. Part 3

PART 3


Part 1 consisted of dismantling of the major components that made up the product architecture on the bottom half of the laptop.  Photos 1 - 12.

Part 2  consisted of the start of the dismantling of the subassembly components. I emphasize "start". Photos 13 - 29.

See all of these photos (1 - 37) in high definition in a matrix at www.ActiveDisassembly.com.

Part 3, below, consists of continuing on with the dismantling of the subassembly components. Images 30 - 37 described below.





30. Outside casing: close-up of upper control board with speaker grill panel
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31. Outside casing: close-up of upper control board with speaker grill panel and main keyboard removed
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32. Outside casing and keyboard: base portion of laptop, upside down, view of inside of the top of the top cover of that laptop base (opposite of where the keyboard sits).
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33. Outside casing and keyboard: base portion of laptop, upside down, view of inside of the top of the top cover of that laptop base (opposite of where the keyboard sits). Components in tact including copper heat transfer, main PCB, fan, volume and media control PCB etc.
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34. Laptop base: close-up of top right where volume and media control of upper control board sit with speaker grill panel (and main keyboard) removed
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35. Laptop base: as above in (34), opposite side of volume and media control PCB exposing opposite side of speaker.
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36. USB, speaker and mic input board: from underneath of top portion of base, front right
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37. USB, speaker and mic input board: from top of PCB as from above.
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Note the assembly dismantled:



26.  (Recap) Bottom  assembly, components dismantled and removed parts shown separated, parts from above photos:

     26.1 Panels removed and exposing under carriage (center and left)
          - upper control board and speaker grill panel (right)
          - mainboard: 
             ~ disk drive (top right)
             ~ main PCB (middle) 
          - hard drive (top left of PCB main assembly)
          - bottom plastic cover of laptop (left: gray rectangular plastic molded)
          - battery pack (bottom right)
          - hard drive panel (top middle left)
          - memory card panel (bottom middle left)
          - numerous fasteners
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1.  (1st photo again)  Note the original product.
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Some of these are the same components (from Part 1) removed and separated from each other with their subassemblies taken apart. This is just for the bottom portion of the laptop.  After many dismantling efforts, to recap:

- Time in Part 1, average was 3min
  
- Time in Part 2: 5min. As in Part 1., this is mainly due to the amount of machine screws and complexity. I had the proper tools and 2 power drills with correct bits in place. To get consistently under 5min would require mechanized or robotic systems. Alternatively DfD and www.ActiveDisassembly.com, which could do it in fractions of a second with batch processing.


- Time here in Part 3, average was 3min.  As in above, the similar parameters apply. If you want specific times, see there many publications on it. There are 100s on:
www.ActiveDisassembly.com (publications) related to this topic and future technology in 'Design for Disassembly; (DfD).
Conclusions (similar issues as in Part 1 and Part 2)
Design issues:
- too many screws (dozens), more than in Part 1, in this next level of dismantling

- too many snap fits that make it hard not to break the subassemblies - snap fits are usually better than screws

- non-obvious disassembly 

- mixed materials

- complexity

- numerous brass captain bolts molded into injection molding
- non-standardized screws
- under spec polymer casings (warping, cracking and wear)
- glued labels
- too time-consuming and complex for repair (PCB and battery pack etc.)
  ~ batter pack is bonded to ensure closure, contains high grade materials
- too time-consuming for upgrade (memory board, hard drive etc.) 


Even with numerous snap fits, they were breakable and at times required cracking of the assembly in order to open parts apart. Overlapping of components was  still somewhat minimal as in Part 1. There are still many insulating materials mixed in with others.



I will go into the next level of detail in subsequent posts.  In the next post,  I'll look inot the LCD sub-assembly.


Friday, May 25, 2012

Laptop Disassembly - As complex as they get. Part 2


PART 2

Part 1 consisted of dismantling of the major components that made up the product architecture on the bottom half of the laptop.  This post will be a start of the dismantling of the subassembly components. I emphasize "start".



13.  Hard drive intact: underneath, all components soldered or bonded components
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14.  Hard drive dismantled: metal cover, PCB, drive and fasteners
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15.  Hard drive: PCB, as typical for PCBs, all soldered or bonded components
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16.  Hard drive dismantled (other sides): metal cover, PCB, drive and fasteners
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17.  Hard drive (other side): PCB
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 18.  Hard drive (other side): drive
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19.  Inside of bottom plastic cover of laptop, mostly one polymer, paper based shielding/cover
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20.  Main PCB intact, notice the high grade aluminum heat sink and conductive copper heat removal
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21.  Main PCB: aluminum and copper heatsinks etc. separated
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22.  Main PCB (other side), numerous soldered and bonded components
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23.  Aluminum heatsink, highly pure aluminum
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24.  Aluminum heatsink (other side)
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25.  Main PCB: close-up of RAM memory
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26.  Bottom  assembly, components dismantled and removed parts shown separated, parts from above photos:

     26.1 Panels removed and exposing under carriage (center and left)
          - upper control board and speaker grill panel (right)
          - mainboard: 
             ~ disk drive (top right)
             ~ main PCB (middle) 
          - hard drive (top left of PCB main assembly)
          - bottom plastic cover of laptop (left: gray rectangular plastic molded)
          - battery pack (bottom right)
          - hard drive panel (top middle left)
          - memory card panel (bottom middle left)
          - numerous fasteners
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27.  Hard drive dismantled: inside
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28.  Hard drive dismantled: outside
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29.  Bottom cover of laptop: outside
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1.  (1st photo again) Not done yet by a long shot. Here, it looks so uncomplicated.
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These are the same components (from Part 1) removed and separated from each other with their subassemblies taken apart. This is just for the bottom portion of the laptop.  After many dismantling efforts:

- Time in Part 1, average was 3min.  I could have been exact to the second, but in reality, it would vary. If you want specific times, see there many publications on it. There are 100s on:
www.ActiveDisassembly.com (publications) related to this topic and future technology in 'Design for Disassembly; (DfD).
  
- Time here in Part 2: 5min. As in Part 1., this is mainly due to the amount of machine screws and complexity. I had the proper tools and 2 power drills with correct bits in place. To get consistently under 5min would require mechanized or robotic systems. Alternatively DfD and www.ActiveDisassembly.com, which could do it in fractions of a second with batch processing.

Conclusions (similar issues as in Part 1)
Design issues:
- too many screws (dozens), more than in Part 1, in this next level of dismantling

- too many snap fits that make it hard not to break the subassemblies - snap fits are usually better than screws
- non-obvious disassembly 
- mixed materials
- complexity
- numerous brass captain bolts molded into injection molding
- non-standardized screws
- under spec polymer casings (warping, cracking and wear)
- glued labels
- too time-consuming and complex for repair (PCB and battery pack etc.)
  ~ batter pack is bonded to ensure closure, contains high grade materials
- too time-consuming for upgrade (memory board, hard drive etc.) 


Even with numerous snap fits, they were breakable and at times required cracking of the assembly in order to open parts apart. Overlapping of components was  still somewhat minimal as in Part 1. There are still many insulating materials mixed in with others.

I will go into the next level of detail in subsequent posts.  In the next post,  I'll finish the bottom half macro disassembly of its subassemblies.



Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Laptop Disassembly - As complex as they get.

I've taken 1000s of electronics apart in the last 20 years. These have all been the subject of 'Design for Disassembly' (DfD) study, from windup watches, automobiles to almost every time of electronic product you can think of.

This time, it's time to take apart the most complex laptop I've ever attempted. I'm going to analyze the parts and then model them and re-design it. I'll write up the development and apply a variety of 'Design for X' (DfX) strategies to it. I'll apply this same model to other products.

Here are is the test mule:



1. Outside casing intact: inside-top assembly
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2. Outside casing intact: front view open
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3. Outside casing intact: close-up of upper control board and speaker grill panel
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4. Outside casing: upper keyboard control panel removed
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5. Bottom casing: Removable panels and components removed:
     5.1 Battery pack spring clip and lock unsnapped open
          - no screws
     5.2 Hard drive panel unscrewed and unhinged
           - x1 machine screw, simple 3-pronged hinge and 5 snap fit release
     5.3 Memory card panel unscrewed and unhinged
          - x1 machine screw, simple 3-pronged hinge and 8 snap fit release release
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6. Upper control board and speaker grill panel:
     6.1 Panel removed
          - x24 snap fits
          - x4 female brass captive bolts 
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7. Under upper control board and speaker grill panel:
     7.1 Panel removed  exposing
          - speaker
          - manual volume controls
          - mode controls
          - power button (just under Speaker)


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8. Under top PCB assembly, components still fastened but removed parts shown separated, parts from above photos:
     8.1 Panels removed and exposing under carriage
          - 
upper control board and speaker grill panel (top)
          - mainboard: 
             ~ disk drive (top left)
             ~ fan (top right)
             ~ main PCB (middle)
             ~ connection board (bottom left - green upside down 'L' under disk drive)
          - hard drive (bottom left of PCB main assembly)
          - bottom plastic cover of laptop (large silver rectangular plastic molded)
          - b
attery pack (bottom)
          - hard drive panel (bottom right )
          - memory card panel (bottom left)
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9. Outside of bottom plastic cover of laptop 
    -  all pieces separated
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10. Under mainboard  close-up: 
      - disk drive (top left)
      - fan (top right)
      - main PCB (middle)
      - connection board (bottom left - green upside down 'L' under disk drive)
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11. Inside of bottom plastic cover of laptop 
      -  all parts removed
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12. Hard drive 
     - removed
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These are all the main components removed and separated from each other.  The first time you disassemble the laptop it obviously takes a bit of time to get used to. After a lot of practice:

- Time: 3min.  This is mainly due to the amount of machine screws and complexity. It would be difficult to get under this 3min as I had the proper tools and 2 power drills with correct bits in place.


Conclusions

Design issues:
- too many screws (dozens)
- too many snap fits that break (dozens), snap fits are still preferable to screws.
- non-obvious disassembly 
- mixed materials
- complexity
- brass captain bolts molded into injection molding
- nonstandardized screws
- under spec polymer casings (warping, cracking and wear)
- glued labels
- too time-consuming and complex for repair (PCB and battery pack etc.)
- too time-consuming for upgrade (memory board, hard drive etc.)  

Some care in design had been taken into account since there were snap fits in places where previous designs might have had more screws and mixed material hinges. Overlapping of components was  somewhat minimal. There were, however, various insulating materials mixed in with other smaller, break to snap off components. I will go into further detail in subsequent posts.

In the next post, I will disassemble the components' subassemblies.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Design for Disassembly - 1st Blog: Ever!

Design for Disassembly & Eco-Design enthusiasts


There are valid reasons to recycle our electronics. And not necessarily for environmental reasons. May 2012, story from msnbc: Fort Worth Texas

Fastest growing segment of recycling: e-cycling in USA
  • EPA 
  • over 3M tons every year
  • of that, only 430,000 are recycled as of 2012
  • leaving over 2.5M tons go to landfill
  • Universal Recycling

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news/47227632/

But, it can get even more complicated that the list above! Here's a start:

http://www.raremetalblog.com/2012/05/chinas-rare-earth-stance-proving-a-complex-issue.html