Chassis - Is it all metal?
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:55 pm
Subject says it all. Is the chassis made of metal, all of it?
The chassis is mostly aluminium (top cover, bottom cover, side panel and heatsink).
The front and back panels are PC/ABS (similar to Mac Mini "unibody" connectors panel).
There are three reasons for opting for PC/ABS panels:
1. Connector density - fitlet very high connector density cannot be achieved with aluminium die cast (thin walls between openings do not allow for flow of molten aluminium).
2. Shock absorption - PC/ABS is much better at absorbing shock than metal. You will see it when we publish fitlet drop-test demonstrations.
3. Insulation - small passively cooled computers like fitlet use the chassis for heat dissipation which results in higher touch temperature than a computer with a fan. In fitlet connectors and power button reside in cooler surfaces that are easier to service during operation.