Modular, Open, Repairable – The Framework Desktop Teardown!

Summary

iFixit attended a Framework event in San Francisco where they explored the repairable features of the new Framework 12 and Framework Desktop. The event showcased the Framework 12 as their most repairable laptop to date and a demo of the modular Framework Desktop, designed with standardized, repair-friendly components. This was an engineering sample teardown focusing on easily disassemblable panels and components, emphasizing the brand's commitment to easy repairability and sustainability. The final repairability score will be given once the consumer version is released.

Highlights

• Framework Desktop and Framework 12 are the latest products emphasizing repairability 🔨
• The Framework Desktop allows tool-free access to many components 🛠
• Framework uses standardized components to aid easy repairs 🔄
• Engineering thoughtfulness is evident in making components accessible and replaceable 🔎
• The repairability of these devices upholds a sustainable ethos in design ♻️

Key Takeaways

• iFixit attended Framework's event to check out new modular, repairable products in San Francisco 🏢
• Framework 12 is advertised as their most repairable laptop ever 📱
• The Framework Desktop uses standardized parts for easy tearing down and repairs 🔧
• iFixit's teardown of the Framework Desktop is quick and reveals the engineering thought behind it 👨‍💻
• Although this is an engineering sample, the final repairability score will be done after consumer release 🔍

Overview

The iFixit crew was at Framework's event in San Francisco to explore the brand's venture into more repairable tech. Framework revealed two new exciting products: the Framework 12, claimed to be their most repairable laptop yet, and the Framework Desktop, which iFixit got first dibs on for a teardown. Both products emphasized the commitment to creating devices that users can repair and upgrade themselves.

During the teardown, iFixit found the Framework Desktop adheres to open PC standards, making it easy to disassemble with its tool-free panel access and substitutable parts. This design approach not only allows users to fix and upgrade their machines but encourages a more sustainable consumption model. The engineering sample displayed well-thought-out cable management and made it clear which screws needed removing.

Though unable to score the engineering sample, iFixit was impressed with Framework’s approach towards repairability, noting that the final product may have minor tweaks. They emphasized how such products promote a circular economy while hinting at a forthcoming repairability score once consumer units become available. All eyes are now set on the full review once the Framework Desktop officially hits the market.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Framework Event Introduction The iFixit team attended an event in San Francisco focused on Framework's second generation of products. The event introduced upgrades to the Framework 13 and announced two new products: the Framework 12 laptop and the Framework Desktop. The Framework 12 is highlighted as possibly the most repairable laptop Framework has ever produced, with a highly repairable battery and stylus. Additionally, the Framework Desktop is under development.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Framework Desktop Teardown Begins The chapter titled 'Framework Desktop Teardown Begins' provides an overview of a teardown of the framework desktop at the Framework HQ. It emphasizes the ease of disassembly and repair due to its adherence to open PC standards, ensuring that everything inside is standardized. This teardown is quick because the device is designed with standardized engineering.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Customizing the Framework Desktop The chapter discusses a preview of a product by Framework, highlighting that it's an engineering sample and may differ from the final consumer product. The speaker mentions being excited to share more and notes that any evaluations will be reserved until seeing the finalized product.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Inside the Framework Desktop The chapter titled 'Inside the Framework Desktop' explores the components and design of a desktop, particularly focusing on the ease of access and customizability of the outer panel. The front panel is held in place magnetically and can be removed easily without tools. This enables customization options such as adding personal logos or design elements, exemplified by the mention of a 'no to a logo' that can be clipped onto the panel, highlighting the desktop's user-friendly features.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Main Board Exploration In this chapter, the focus is on exploring the main board of a gaming setup. The discussion highlights the potential future of gaming technology and touches on the components inside the case. There is a specific look at the Noctua fan, mentioning its compatibility if there is a mounting kit. The chapter also briefly points out the presence of an m.2 228 form Factor SSD and the power supply within the setup.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Removing Components This chapter discusses the removal of components from a device. It highlights the process of accessing an M.2 2280 form factor SSD and a wireless card, both of which are reachable by removing panel covers. The focus then shifts to the initial steps of deeper dismantling, starting with undoing the fan bracket held by four Phillips screws.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Further Component Examination The chapter titled 'Further Component Examination' involves a detailed examination and disassembly of certain computer components. The process begins with the removal of screws followed by disconnecting the fan using a thoughtfully placed access point, highlighting the intentional design by the framework team. The fan removal is the primary focus here, and there is an intention to approach the main board next, with a brief mention of the heat sink which will be ignored for now.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Continued Disassembly In this chapter titled 'Continued Disassembly,' the process of disassembling a device is continued with attention to two main components: the power supply and expansion cards. The narrator notes the presence of two cables from the power supply, including a Wi-Fi cable that needs disconnection. Attention is also drawn to the expansion cards at the bottom, which are connected to the main board. The narrator emphasizes the importance of disconnecting the expansion cards first, expressing a personal fondness for this aspect of framework devices. Following this step, the connectors to the power supply are unplugged, marking the completion of this part of the disassembly process.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Examining the Internal Design In this chapter titled 'Examining the Internal Design', the process of removing a main board from a device is described. The narrator mentions that this is a 'gorilla style' teardown, implying a less formal, more hands-on approach compared to professional guides like those offered by iFixit. The chapter details the removal of four easily accessible screws from the corners of the main board, freeing it for further examination.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Teardown Conclusion In the chapter titled 'Teardown Conclusion,' the narrator discusses handling an engineering sample with care. They describe how the IO panel is somewhat obstructed by a shield and indicate their approach to unscrewing the top cover, opting to use Phillips screws to ensure the device remains intact and undamaged.

Modular, Open, Repairable – The Framework Desktop Teardown! Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 the iFixit team is in San Francisco for framework second gen event there's an upgrade for the framework 13 and we've got two brand new products as well the framework 12 which is supposedly their most repairable laptop yet and the framework desktop the framework 12 is entirely brand new we're told it's the most repairable product they've made yet or at least the most reparable laptop they've made yet we haven't seen much of that yet but we already know that the battery and the stylus is very reparable uh the framework desktop is being built
• 00:30 - 01:00 on pretty standardized platforms it's going to be very easy to disassemble very easy to repair and framework has been nice enough to invite us to their office to give us a chance to be the first to tear down the framework desktop we're at framework HQ and we're going to tear down the framework desktop now this is going to be a quick tear down because not only is this a framework device but it's also a desktop that aderes to open PC standards that means everything inside is going to be pretty much standardized but but the engineering in
• 01:00 - 01:30 here is pretty cool and I can't wait to share with you so there's not much to this we're going to go for the thumb screws up top here now framework did tell us that this is an engineering sample technically uh apparently most of this is going to remain the same there's some finishing touches they still need to do um so the final product might be a little bit different we're going to reserve judgment on score and whatnot until we see the consumer product
• 01:30 - 02:00 this slides back and away this front panel is also toolless it's magnetically attached and comes right away uh so one of the really cool things about this panel is that it's fully customizable so if you want to add your own stylings to it like this neat little no to a logo that goes on there just clip it on and replace it will there's a bite one pretty cool if
• 02:00 - 02:30 you're a gamer you know what bite is promising for the future gaming all right next up notice we haven't used any tools yet and the side panel comes away so we can get a good look at the internals you'll notice from the coloring of this fan this is a noct to a fan that's inside this thing uh you can use any 120 mm fan so long as you have the mounting kit uh which is specific to this case you'll notice on the side that we have the m.2 228 form Factor SSD and there's a power supply at
• 02:30 - 03:00 the bottom and on the reverse side we have another toolfree entry panel behind which is another m.2 2280 form factor SSD along with the wireless card which is also very accessible so with all the panels off we're going to start digging our way down into the device starting with the fan bracket we go 4 Filip screws
• 03:00 - 03:30 here pretty standard easy to get to now with the screws out I'm going to disconnect the fan there's a nice little access point right up here to make that easy they put some thought into this it's framework people not surprising and the fan is away and next up we're going to try and remove the main board we can see the heat sink here we're going to ignore that for the now
• 03:30 - 04:00 uh there are two cables coming out of the power supply there's a Wi-Fi cable I need to disconnect and we almost forgot about this the expansion cards at the bottom are also cabled into the main board up here so let's remove the expansion cards first my favorite part of every framework device by the way and then we'll go ahead and unplug the connectors to the card and that's the power supply
• 04:00 - 04:30 disconnected we're going to go for the main board now and remove that there are four screws on the corners of this main board very easy to spot very easy to access you're going to have to take my word for it because this is kind of a gorilla style tear down you're not getting the classic I fix it shots for these okay so we're going to try and remove the main board now with the four screws out it is free I can see it wiggle but but I can also see that the
• 04:30 - 05:00 io panel at the back seems to be caught behind this Shield here the top cover and this is an engineering sample so I'm not going to mess around with it too much I'm going to go ahead and undo the screws at the top here just to make sure we take this out in one piece and undamaged still using Phillip screws
• 05:00 - 05:30 I believe the intention is for this device to come apart with a single tool and so far that is absolutely holding true last one I think
• 05:30 - 06:00 and yeah sure enough the panel is away so we've got two two coax cables leading to the wireless card we want to remove that first and now the board is free
• 06:00 - 06:30 the only things we have left in here are the power supply there's the antenna where the coax cables lead to and we have the controller boards for the expansion cards that go in the bottom and that's these two these two cables here all right so let's start removing the cards in true framework fashion we've got lots of modular components here the wireless card is the first item I'd like to remove
• 06:30 - 07:00 looks like there's a little thermal pad underneath there keep it cool we've got the Button cell battery that keeps the system time the RTC or the seamoss battery whatever you want to call it um and it's the first time I'm actually changing bits uh I'm assuming whatever tool framework releases for this device or ships with this device it's going to have two bits these are appear to be captive [Music] screws and that PL comes away revealing
• 07:00 - 07:30 our battery looks like there's a little bit of double-sided tape there no it's actually yeah there's about a double side tape there holding the battery down using the T5 bit I'm going to go ahead and remove the screws on the secondary SSD which pretty cool latch mechanism with thermal pad underneath
• 07:30 - 08:00 to keep the drive cool that's a captive T5 there I'm going to screw this back in just so it doesn't bounce around all right so this is worth a shout out I thought that this was a replaceable bios module which would be really cool but I'm told it's an SPI flash module used for debugging it's only going to be present in the engineering sample so you're not going to see this in your version of the framework desktop we're going to go
• 08:00 - 08:30 ahead and remove the primary m.2 SSD love that spring latch mechanism easy peasy the last thing I think to remove is the heat sink here we got Phillips heads Philip screws
• 08:30 - 09:00 let's go ahead and undo these and now with a thermal block off we can see the so and the thermal paste on top of it and you can see on the board soldered down are the ram modules now this is done because the performance gains are substantial framework spends a lot of time thinking about the tradeoffs of using a system like LP cam uh but the the performance hit would have been
• 09:00 - 09:30 about half of what this system can achieve in its current form so there you have it day one tear down of the framework desktop this is really cool it's really exciting to see framework expand into a new product category and bring their Philosophy for reparability and reusability and the push for a circular economy and how it should be done to this device category um as far as the score goes we can't score this device because this is an engineering example we can only score a device the
• 09:30 - 10:00 same device that you the consumer are going to get keep your eyes out the tear down is done but that repairability score is coming soon