A
quick note on the history of design
When
we began to see the Titanium screen failure issue in 2001,
we began a quest to find a solution. We developed numerous
prototypes, ranging from cast, pressure cast, cold-cast,
plate-steel, and even fully milled steel hinges. Unfortunately
many failed, but we continued with new designs and prototypes..
We
completed this design in early 2006, and spent 9 months
testing it for strength before releasing it to use. We
are confident this will provide a solid solution for Powerbook
owners who are suffering from weak hinges.
Is
it really Stainless Steel?
Several
other firms have been offering "Stainless steel"
or "Steel only" hinges for repair. Do not be fooled
- they are NOT 100% stainless steel. Stainless steel is
non-magnetic--if your "stainless steel" hinges
attract a magnet, they're not stainless! In fact, our hinge
is the only one available which is NOT cast from a "pot
metal" alloy.
Companies
which are marketing pot-metal cast units have carbon
steel hinge rods pressed into glorified pot metal (the
cheapest & weakest metal alloy available). They're only
using stainless steel on a very miniscule part of the hinge
flange, yet it's advertised as somehow stronger... HOWEVER,
the hinge flange is NOT the part which breaks on the original
Mfr hinges. The casting breaks in 98-99% of the hinges.
Yes, they're 10% stronger than the original, but only in
areas which don't generally break anyway, so the added cost
bears no benefit!
There
are 3 hinge assemblies on the market
1.
Original Apple hinge
•
diecast aluminum/pot metal. Very weak
•
Hinge rod &flange is carbon steel, pressed into alloy
2.
Replacement Apple "Steel" hinge
•
die cast steel alloy & pot metal.
•
approx. 10% stronger than original apple hinge.
•
hinge flange is stainless, remainder is pot metal alloy
3. Wegener
Media Milled Stainless hinge
•
X5CrNi18-10
304H
Stainless Steel
•
approx. 25X stronger than original Apple hinge
•
Lifetime warranty. It will not break.
Die
Cast vs Milled
The
original Titanium hinge assembly is a "die cast"
alloy, constructed of approx 80% cast alloys ("pot
metal"), and 20% hinge & rod (either carbon steel
or stainless steel). Die casting is a great method for casting
complex parts (such as toy cars), but resulting castings
are inherently weak, due to the properties of metal alloys
required for castings (ever step on your toy matchbox car
as a kid?)...
On the
powerbook hinge design, the cast component fails on more
than 98% of all units which break.
The
problem with die-cast components is that they offer little
tensile strength. Most pot alloys (similiar to
the original mfr hinges) are rated at 25-40 MPa.
Milled
steel by comparison is inherently pure, bears a much higher
tensile strength and has nearly unlimited shear strength.
Milled
carbon steel has tensile
strength of around 150 MPa, approximately 5x's better than
the original casting materials.
Our
grade stainless steel is rated
570-850 MPa (depending upon temperatures and configuration)!
By these
calculations, the component design of our hinge has a minimum
18x strength advantage over the original design,
and around 12-15x advantage over our competitors' "stainless"
hinge replacements.
Our
design utilizes 100% 304H X5CrNi18-10 (milled military-grade)
stainless, lasercut to length, TIG-welded at 6 points for
strength, heat treated, annealed, and bonded to your case
using our own bonding agent.
There
is no stronger hinge on the market.
In fact,
we are so confident in this hinge, we will warranty it for
life. It is warranted for life against mfr defects, and
will be replaced by Wegener Media for the life of the computer.
This warranty is transferrable to any subsequent owner,
and is tied to the Powerbook serial number. Warranty void
if system has been dissassembled or hinge tampered with.
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| Order
Repair only (you ship in to us, we ship back to you
(Ground) |
$199.99
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| Order
Repair only (you ship in to us, we ship back to you
(2nd day) |
$199.99
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|
| Order
Repair only (you ship in to us, we ship back to you
(OVERNIGHT) |
$199.99
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|
| Order
FULL SERVICE WITH OVERNIGHT SHIPPING
(we send
a box out to you overnight, and system is shipped
overnight! |
$289.99
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