has anyone had tiny cracks in the metal of the unibodies? I have a macbook pro with an invisible shield on it and I have noticed what looks to be a tiny crack about a cm in length. When I rub back and forth on the invisible shield it goes away as is the chemical used to hold on the shield fills it in? if anyone experienced anything similar with cracking say something thanks
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cracking in unibody macbook pro metal?
- Thread starter volcom1151
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I could have sworn that metal didn't "crack", either.
Plastic cracks. Metal dents.
Actually metal can crack easily. Especially aluminum. Since the MBP Uni's are machined from solid billet aluminum, they should be fairly resistant to cracking but if there was tension built up during manufacturing or if the aluminum was not properly heat treated it could be very brittle.
What area of the MBP do you suspect is cracked? Can you post a pic? You might want to remove the protective covering and make sure. If it is cracked and there are no signs of impact or other physical damage, it might be considered a defect and be covered under warranty. Not sure though. Good luck.
Actually metal can crack easily. Especially aluminum. Since the MBP Uni's are machined from solid billet aluminum, they should be fairly resistant to cracking but if there was tension built up during manufacturing or if the aluminum was not properly heat treated it could be very brittle.
What area of the MBP do you suspect is cracked? Can you post a pic? You might want to remove the protective covering and make sure. If it is cracked and there are no signs of impact or other physical damage, it might be considered a defect and be covered under warranty. Not sure though. Good luck.
Yah, you would be surprised how easy metal can crack.
Metal definitely cracks. I worked on many corporate jet aircraft (Gulfstream 1, for example...) and we routinely would cut out aluminum wing spar sections when the cracks exceeded specs, and the factory would make custom repair kits for each plane, send us the parts, and we'd actually splice in the new sections...
Turbine blades on jet engines can crack, landing gear can crack, aluminum skin on aircraft can, and will crack, cast wheels can crack, and on and on... which is why non-destructive inspection techniques are so necessary to discover nearly invisible cracks from metal fatigue long before they would ever be seen by the naked eye... and hopefully long before they'd actually fail.
Yup... metal cracks.
Turbine blades on jet engines can crack, landing gear can crack, aluminum skin on aircraft can, and will crack, cast wheels can crack, and on and on... which is why non-destructive inspection techniques are so necessary to discover nearly invisible cracks from metal fatigue long before they would ever be seen by the naked eye... and hopefully long before they'd actually fail.
Yup... metal cracks.
I really doubt that their are cracks in the Mac though due to nothing really being subject to any flexing in the metal on a Mac.
Im pretty sure the unibodys do flex, at least the ones ive played with at the store. One piece= strength yet still quite flexible, more pieces or layers= rigidness
ultra neo...
Do you live in japan? just curious because i hope to come there one day thanks
Do you live in japan? just curious because i hope to come there one day thanks
Metal Cracking Confirmed
I can confirm that the MB Pro aluminum case can crack, but it sounds like I have experienced cracking on a different part of the computer.
When I was upgrading my hard drive to a 7200RPM model, the metal in the hard drive compartment cracked. I suspect that it was due to thermal expansion, becuase I had just pulled the computer out of a very cold car and had brought it inside to a warm room temperature climate. I think the metal that lines the inside of the hard drive compartment is extremely thin, by looking at the machining tool marks and seeing the depth of the crack. However, fortunately for me the crack is only visible with the hard drive removed and will never bee seen again until I open my computer and upgrade to a 16 TB SSD hard drive for $20 in less than 2 years.
I can confirm that the MB Pro aluminum case can crack, but it sounds like I have experienced cracking on a different part of the computer.
When I was upgrading my hard drive to a 7200RPM model, the metal in the hard drive compartment cracked. I suspect that it was due to thermal expansion, becuase I had just pulled the computer out of a very cold car and had brought it inside to a warm room temperature climate. I think the metal that lines the inside of the hard drive compartment is extremely thin, by looking at the machining tool marks and seeing the depth of the crack. However, fortunately for me the crack is only visible with the hard drive removed and will never bee seen again until I open my computer and upgrade to a 16 TB SSD hard drive for $20 in less than 2 years.
people worry too much about non essential things. I understand if a whole case would crack or bend, but a 1 cm crack which you can't even see!!!
My classic mbp bottom is fairly scratched and I don't care at all. It does not affect performance in any way.
edit
yah, it is usually newbies who shell out 2 grands and after 2 days feel remorse and start worrying too much.
My classic mbp bottom is fairly scratched and I don't care at all. It does not affect performance in any way.
edit
yah, it is usually newbies who shell out 2 grands and after 2 days feel remorse and start worrying too much.
i think its just the invisibleshield
i had it on my ipod classic
and it used to look like a bit of it had cracked on the side
until the day i took it off when there was too much 'pocket dust' on the sides of the shield and it was just a bit of the invisibleshield, like the glue underneath or a fold or crease or something
as i say the ipod (which is made of similar material) was fine
i had it on my ipod classic
and it used to look like a bit of it had cracked on the side
until the day i took it off when there was too much 'pocket dust' on the sides of the shield and it was just a bit of the invisibleshield, like the glue underneath or a fold or crease or something
as i say the ipod (which is made of similar material) was fine
I just got a MBP Unibody 13" 2 days ago. I noticed a hairline crack on the right hinge part of the casing (near the power button) when I first opened it.
I was debating taking it back under the 30 day no questions asked policy.
Today I opened up my laptop and noticed another crack which was not there yesterday. The new crack is to the right of the trackpad.
Here is the new crack:
And the first crack - by the hinge:
Here are full size images of the two cracks:
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000849.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000850.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000851.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000852.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000853.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000854.jpg
It might look like the crack in the image is raised or a scratch but looking closely it is clear it is a crack it is even wider in the center and narrow on either end.
Anyway to me this is a little worrying - I wouldn't expect to be seeing stress fractures so quickly.
Maybe this could be because it is a very recent batch?
I was debating taking it back under the 30 day no questions asked policy.
Today I opened up my laptop and noticed another crack which was not there yesterday. The new crack is to the right of the trackpad.
Here is the new crack:
And the first crack - by the hinge:
Here are full size images of the two cracks:
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000849.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000850.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000851.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000852.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000853.jpg
http://theo.tw/misc/mbp/L1000854.jpg
It might look like the crack in the image is raised or a scratch but looking closely it is clear it is a crack it is even wider in the center and narrow on either end.
Anyway to me this is a little worrying - I wouldn't expect to be seeing stress fractures so quickly.
Maybe this could be because it is a very recent batch?
