For this teardown project, I used a 2012 Samsung laptop. This is exciting because to me, a 12 year old laptop feels quite retro. Since computers have been around for almost 50 years, this device represents an important part of that history. Let’s take a deeper look at what’s inside this decade-old laptop.
Here is what the laptop looks like after teardown:
Here is the tool I used for disassembly：
Phillips screwdriver to remove nails.
Scissors to remove connecting wires.
A flat-blade screwdriver to pry open the device casing.
Now, let’s take a look at my disassembly process：
First: Open the bottom case of the laptop.
Second: Remove the battery and motherboard, speaker.
Third: Remove the black tape which covering on the keyboard base.
Fourth: Disassemble the keyboard, control panel, computer case and base.
Fifth: Remove the display from the computer case.
Commonents and Function, Manufacturing Process:
Laptop Cover: Plastic, The cover protects the laptop’s screen from physical damage, dust, and spills when the laptop is closed. It also shields the internal components from external elements.
For Manufacturing, for plastic covers, raw plastic pellets are heated and injected into the mold under high pressure. The plastic cools and solidifies into the shape of the cover.
Speaker: Plastic, The primary function of laptop speakers is to provide audio output. They allow users to hear sounds from various applications, directly from the laptop without needing external speakers or headphones.
For Manufacturing, Cutting, shaping, and preparing the diaphragm, voice coil, magnet, and surround for assembly. Wire is wound around the bobbin to form the voice coil, which interacts with the magnet to produce sound. The diaphragm, voice coil, and magnets are assembled into the driver unit.
Battery: Sodium-ion battery materials, to provide power when the laptop is not connected to an external power source.
Motherboard: A hard sheet of nonconductive material, usually plastic,It connects and integrates all major components, including the CPU, RAM, storage, GPU, and peripheral ports, enabling communication between them.
During the manufacturing process, a sheet of fibreglass fabric is coated with epoxy resin and heated until the resin is partially cured. This sheet is called prepreg. Multiple sheets of prepreg are stacked to the required thickness to create a laminated sheet. Sheets of copper foil are applied to both sides, before being placed in a heated press to complete the curing of the resin and allow the different layers to bond together. The end result is a sheet of copper-clad laminate.
Keyboard: Plastic, It allows users to input text, commands, and data into the computer through keystrokes, making it a primary tool for typing and data entry.
Control panel: Aluminum，To control the movement of the mouse, allowing users to access any program on the computer.
Keyboard base: Plastic, To support the keyboard keys.
USB Port: Steel with paint, A USB flash drive or external hard drive can be used to store and transfer digital art files, including paintings and graphics.
Display Form: Liquid crystal, To provide visual output for the user. It shows the operating system’s interface, applications, media, and other content. LCD Screen form.
Interesting Design Choice:
1. When I disassembled the computer, I removed a lot of black tape from the computer. The purpose of these tapes is to prevent dust and static electricity from affecting the computer components.
2.When I disassemble a computer, all the screws in the computer can be removed with the same Phillips screwdriver. This saves me the time of looking for a screwdriver.