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Dell laptop hinge broke again, used a zip tie and a 3D printed bracket from a library
Last month my 2017 Dell Latitude hinge snapped on the left side. The plastic mount just crumbled. Repair place quoted me $120 for a new palmrest assembly, which is more than the laptop is worth honestly. I was sitting at my kitchen table on a Saturday morning, about to give up on it.
Then I remembered my local library has a 3D printer you can use for free if you bring your own filament. I found a bracket design on Thingiverse that someone made specifically for this model, printed it in about 45 minutes with a $5 spool of PLA I already had. Took the whole thing apart, cleaned out all the broken plastic bits, and used a heavy duty zip tie along with the bracket to give it extra support.
That was 3 weeks ago and it's held up through daily use, opening and closing the lid at least 6 times a day. Not pretty but it works and I didn't spend a dime on labor. Has anyone else hacked a broken hinge mount with something random? I'm curious what other people have used because I'm sure this will break again eventually.
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caseyw125d ago
Man, zip ties and 3D prints fix everything, nice work.
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