Creatures from the 4th dimension

Unpacking a piece of equipment returned after being sent off for repair, I was startled to find no evidence that the tape I'd used to seal the box had been disturbed. Having cut my way in, I found that the defective part had been replaced - but that the thing had been folded in such a way that in order to deploy it, it needed to be partially dismantled and re-assembled.

Hence the titular hypothesis as to what must have affected the repair!