Durability & Repair
On anything with a zip, the slider is the part that ends it
Zips get blamed for failing when the teeth are usually fine. The wear happens in a small component that most designs make…
Durability & Repair
What fails first, what can be fixed, and how long things should last.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Durability & Repair
A finish is a sacrificial layer with a life of its own
Paint, plating and anodising are not decoration attached to a product. They are a barrier with a defined thickness, and once it is…
Durability & Repair
Parts availability is a company policy, not a property of the product
Whether a repairable design can actually be repaired depends on a commercial decision made elsewhere. That decision is knowable…
Durability & Repair
Resonance explains why one speed shakes and the others do not
Vibration is not proportional to speed. Every structure has frequencies at which it amplifies whatever is exciting it, and machines…
Durability & Repair
Things break at a load they have carried a thousand times before
A component that has survived a force repeatedly can fail at that same force without warning. Fatigue is a counting process, and…
Durability & Repair
Glue is a structural decision with a temperature limit
Bonded construction is not a shortcut. It distributes load in ways fasteners cannot, and it brings a distinct set of ageing…
Durability & Repair
Switches are rated in operations, and the contacts go before the mechanism
A switch is a wearing component with a countable life. What consumes that life is not the moving parts but the small electrical…
Durability & Repair
A battery you cannot replace is the product's expiry date
Cells age whether the device is used or not. When the pack is bonded in, that ageing curve becomes the lifespan of everything…
Durability & Repair
Glass breaks from an edge chip nobody saw
Glass is strong in compression and fails from surface flaws in tension. Almost every breakage traces back to damage that happened…