Robustness - All ThinkPads are built to go the distance
Drops, knocks or bumps could easily damage ordinary computer components, but the ingenious structural design, specialized materials and quality construction of a ThinkPad means they are tough enough to take it.
Alongside the regulation tests and the more rigorous Mil-SPEC 810G standards our engineers have devised innovative testing methods that subject our machines to an even more stringent examination – ensuring you can depend on your ThinkPad year after year.
Durability – Keep on going, year after year, without variation in performance
It takes inner strength to keep going, day in and day out, month after month and year after year, as anyone in business will testify – and this is what has made ThinkPad the world's best business laptop.
Open, close, pick up, put down, upstairs, downstairs, unplug, plug in, repeat, repeat, repeat. It all adds up and that's why ThinkPads are strenuously tested to ensure they're impervious to the cumulative effects of years of travel, work and play.
Electrostatic discharge test
There are enough shocks in life without suffering one from your PC. Every port in a ThinkPad is tested for electrostatic discharge to a voltage level that far exceeds regulations ensuring there is no electrical threat to the machine, or the user.
Cable discharge event
Every plug, cable and USB stick has the potential to carry damaging electrostatic electricity. In this test we certify that the ThinkPad's ports are immune to over 9,000 volts of electro-static discharge.
Customer scenario tests
To ensure our products meet and surpass the expectations of our customers, we study their behaviour then devise tests that emulate and exceed the treatment experienced by a typical business user. These include one-hand handling, docking attachment and detachment and the swing tester. And that's just the start.
The ultimate dust test
Dust build-up is the number one enemy of any computing system, causing fan-failure which leads to overheating. But not all dust has the same qualities. To replicate a range of dust types we sourced and analysed dust samples taken from used fans from six different countries. From this we developed our own dust composite to test our fans, comprising the most damaging types of dust found in real offices and real homes around the world.
Weight drop test
At our research facilities, ThinkPads aren't the only things that get dropped. In this test, they're the target for metal balls falling from heights of over a meter with incredible accuracy – to prove that a ThinkPad can take whatever the world throws at it.
Early life cycle testing
To rule out any defects or faults in components, we simulate over 240 hours of continuous computing. So you're assured that you can rely on your ThinkPad from day one to day one thousand.
ThinkPad Mil-SPEC – Tested to the extreme
Mil-SPEC is a set of standards designed to test durability, ruggedness and reliability. These tests cover extreme environmental variables including temperature, pressure, dust, humidity and vibration testing.
Although ThinkPads have always been known for their robustness, they were not specifically designed to only meet the Mil-SPEC 810G standard. Meeting the standard is just the start of ThinkPad's durability, robustness and reliability. Selected ThinkPad models, including all X & T series, have successfully passed the following tests: