Surface Book design problem?

[Niterider4]

It's almost flush - that is, the closest hinge section and the base are almost touching the desk, but I have checked it with a magnifier and the rubber strip is definitely touching the desk. I may have some slight scratching on the closest hinge section - you can kind of see it as a white dotted line on the picture, but it is very slight and I would never have noticed it unless I was searching for it.

 

[mike_msf]

Are u perfectly sure that the rubber strip is actually touching the ground and it's not the first hinge part on the left that is in contact with the surface? I mean, could you make a picture where it's visible that the hinge is above the surface of your desk?

It's that I doubt in what you say, but this subject is really interesting, if in fact these are only some faulty batches or it's a common problem, just not everyone realize it actually exists. The hinge itself doesn't look like it could be badly compounded on the factory level.

 

[Niterider4]

Here is a picture at an angle closer to the angle of your picture. You can see the the difference in vertical alignment of the hinge sections is much less pronounced than in your picture, although the closest section does dip down somewhat (which is why there is some slight scratching on it). However, I can confirm that the rubber strip is in contact with the desk in this picture, and the computer base and hinge are not - I can slide a piece of paper back and forth under the computer base and the hinge without any resistance.

 

[mike_msf]

I consider the hinge the best part of the Surface Book design.
I give mine very heavy use. Several friends and colleagues do, too.

So you deserve to have your unit replaced if not in spec, @mike_msf . Your unit does not represent a design flaw of the product.

I have to agree that the hinge itself is an amazing part of the device. It's as good as the kickstand mechanism on the Surface Pro 4 - very well designed. But still - very little rubber strip height makes it very hard to not touch the ground with the hinge when the lid is open. It's about 1 - 0,5 mm that actually matters. So any little design mistake or factory fault gives a bed result for such an expensive machine.

 

[mike_msf]

Here is a picture at an angle closer to the angle of your picture. You can see the the difference in vertical alignment of the hinge sections is much less pronounced than in your picture, although the closest section does dip down somewhat (which is why there is some slight scratching on it). However, I can confirm that the rubber strip is in contact with the desk in this picture, and the computer base and hinge are not - I can slide a piece of paper back and forth under the computer base and the hinge without any resistance.

Thanks, so maybe it's not reasonable to call it a design flaw, but it's not a perfect solution either. Just a little higher rubber strips would probably solve the problem, even for devices where the first hinge section is misaligned a little bit.

According to Microsoft marketing materials, all three sections of the hinge should be perfectly aligned:

 

[Niterider4]

That's interesting - that Microsoft promotional image clearly shows the closest hinge section as being on the same plane as the base. On my SB, and on yours (to a larger degree), that is definitely not the case.

Accordingly, I would conclude that this is indeed a manufacturing defect. Failure to manufacture to a tolerance within a couple of mm on an element such as this would be an unacceptable defect in any manufacturing setting. I would expect the specs on an element such as this to suggest tolerances to 0.1 mm or thereabouts.

 

[mike_msf]

That's interesting - that Microsoft promotional image clearly shows the closest hinge section as being on the same plane as the base. On my SB, and on yours (to a larger degree), that is definitely not the case.

Accordingly, I would conclude that this is indeed a manufacturing defect. Failure to manufacture to a tolerance within a couple of mm on an element such as this would be an unacceptable defect in any manufacturing setting. I would expect the specs on an element such as this to suggest tolerances to 0.1 mm or thereabouts.

That's why I want to know if problem exists on all units, just on a different scale or there are units that looks like the one on the picture.