Skins for the community

[tophneal]

I've recently had my PBP apart. I hadn't updated uboot to boot SD without the hardware switch thrown and I borked the eMMC install. oops. That's not my point. My point is I noticed the PBP processor is using a heat transfer pad to transfer heat to the bottom panel. So the bottom panel appears to be an active part of the cooling system. We'd probably want someone from Pine to let us know if we're putting our hardware at risk of heat issues if we're adding an extra layer over the bottom panel.

If the answer is "that would be bad" maybe there's a way to design a skin with a cut out that allows the heat out but maintains the design. Maybe the pine cone part of the logo is offset to match where the heat transfer pad contacts leaving some black metal exposed to dissipate heat but that's also part of the lower skins design.

If I'm not explaining clearly please let me know and I can draw some pictures or something.

That makes sense. That could also cause a problem with the skin vinyl, too. Cheaper, or lighter duty vinyls don't always have any kind of heat resistance and can discolor, lose adhesion, and/or warp when exposed to excessive heat. Certain outdoor vinyls would probably still fair pretty well, though, since they are manufactured to handle elemental conditions that include heat, for a minimum number of years.

I think that since there are no fans we need to worry about blocking ventilation, we may be able to determine this ourselves, but measuring the bottom case temperatures while under load, and compare that to the specs of different vinyl options for skinning.

I think before we go hard at trying to measure temps and test ourselves we could just get a quick reply from someone at Pine. It's pretty clear since they engineered this solution that they have some knowledge of the heat produced such that they came up with this. I would expect they know what margin of heat headroom they're playing with on the processor.

Knowing this I for one will forgo any underside skinning as I tend to do anyway. Nearly 20 years in IT I've seen more than a few laptops die a heat death due to user's leaving packaging on(as if it's a skin). (so. many. dead. Dells.)

I think if a MacBook can be of any indication to us, bc they get much hotter, much faster, vinyl will be OK on these.

I can understand the hesitation from the Dells, but many of those packaging films would directly interfere with the needed fan ventilation, which the PBPs don’t utilize. I agree though, we can reach out and ask about the heat transfer of the bottom case. Pine hopefully already has that information.

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   Same but Different,  how about a trim zipper shut cloth or vinyl bag, with a cloth handle..?
      Kinda show off the tiny size and still protect it.
       I really like the laptop as-is appearance....
             Just my thinking.

Sleeves and simple bags are pretty easy to find, but they offer challenges in decorating/customizing. If you’re not looking for that, then it’s not a problem.

I’m more interested in the skinning though, bc it’s the kind of thing I do day-to-day. I also like it as is and will likely leave nothing on it, but I’ll still probably skin it a few times for prototyping. I know there’s people out there that like skins, though.