Manufacturer of flexy W500 keyboard identified! (How to identify Manufacturer of OEM parts)

I suddenly remembered that you can find out who the Manufacturer of a part is by looking at the UL certification logo. Close to this logo you will find a number that starts with E-followed by numbers. Go to this site http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/gfilenbr.html and fill in the E and numbers only.



In the example above of the flexible W500 keyboard, we see that the UL file number is E97600 (boxed in red). If you input this number into the search field (don't key in the alphabets, B in this case), we get the following result...



So NMB manufactures the keyboard with FRU no. 42T3937! I checked the pads under the keys and surprisingly they were blue! NMB keyboards apparently have blue pads below the keys. If we assume that NMB keyboards are the best, then this new keyboard design is seriously flawed and going in the wrong direction.

I received my replacement keyboard today (FRU no. 42T3134) and it's also made by NMB. Note that the UL file number is the same.



The T60/T61-NMB keyboard is definately the keyboard to have on a Thinkpad. No more flex and noise from typing and making me feel that it's rock solid now.

 

lucky you.

 

To veemexx: did you observe or feel any difference in system temperature after putting a T61 keyboard on your W500? Some people said the flexible keyboard on W500 is to allow more airflow to prevent overheat??

 

The temperatures stay the same. The flexible keyboard has a plastic film sealing all the holes that you see in the base sheet metal. So no perceptible difference between the two keyboards.

 

Thanks a lot for your quick response!

 

Anyone know the difference between FRUs: 42T3209, 42T3273 and 42T3143 ?

Are they all made by NMB?

Thanks

 

ALPS, Chicony, NMB in that order

 

thanks for the reply. Are these parts compatible? What is the quality of other two brands?

 

They should all be compatible. Coincidentally, all my laptop keyboards have been NMB so I can't tell which keyboards are better than the other.

If you search around you will find that more people like NMBs.

 

I have just ordered a new T500. I couldnt be bothered waiting till I got the computer and checking if they keyboard was flexy so I just ordered the NMB T61 keyboard and got the supplier (employee purchase plan) to install the new keyboard for me prior to delivery.

 

Which brand replacement keyboard should I get (I'm getting a T400, but I'm guessing the keyboard is the same)?

 

You should get the T400 first then decide whether or not to get the replacement keyboard. I have a feeling that recently Lenovo has been shipping T400/T500/W500 systems with the T60/T61 keyboards because of our complaints of keyboard flex.

If it flexes, I would recommend the NMB keyboard as a replacement.

 

This is really ironic! NMB makes flexy keyboards and also the best ones , but dares to ship those ewwy ones onto new systems...
I say that this is a bad move... checkmate coming soon hahaha

 

I have a T61 Chicony v2 in my T400, and I really love it. My T400 didn't have serious flexing issues, but the keys were way too squishy. The newer revision chincony keyboards are mechanically similar to NMB keyboards. The keyboard fits perfectly, and there is no difference in heat in the system.

 

Nice! You'll love the NMB keyboard.... I know I love mine.

 

I am waiting for my T500 being shipped from the US. When it arrives, I want (have) to replace the keyboard with a danish type keyboard. I want to get a T61 keyboard to avoid any problems. Since Denmark is such a small country, I am wondering if this keyboard is manufactured by either NMB, ALPS or CHICONY, with small production batches I dont expect that all 3 manufacturers would be making this keyboard, maybe only one manufacturer was selected? How do I check and verify with Lenovo / regional suppliers here what manufacturer made/makes the T61 keyboard in the Danish version?

Thanks,

Ole

 

Hi, Ole,

I have a similar problem. I'm tired of waiting for it to be available in Portugal and am going to buy it in Spain, where it is also much cheaper.
If it is still usefull to you, the right place to find it would be the hardware maintenance manual for the T61.
I can't post a URL but you can google for: t61 15.4 hardware maintenance manual.

On page 169 you can see that the danish NMB keyboard for the T61 is the 42T3149. The portuguese is the 42T3160.

 

Hi Migle,

Thanks for the feedback and info. Please consider the thread entitled Keyboard Flex discussion - T400 / T500 / W500 ThinkPad customers at the forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=Special_Interest_General&thread.id=2123&view=by_date_ascending&page=5,
from page 6 onwards there is a lot of extremely helpful info on all aspects of this subject. I wanted to post the link, but I am being informed I have to post min 15 times on this board to be able to post the url. So I took out the h t t p in the front and you can add it back

- Ole

 

Do you guys have a place where I can see instructions on how to install a new keyboard on my W500?

My keyboard doesn't feel solid and feels wierd when I type so I am looking to get a NMB from the T6* series notebooks on ebay. Thanks.

 

W500 maintenance manual: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-70068.html

Bunch of videos here that may help as well(navigate via left panel).

http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/

Both links from the ThinkPad Sticky.

Good luck.