Hoover Vacuum UH71250 Wheel Shim

thingiverse

My wife purchased a Hoover UH71250 vacuum from Amazon, but unfortunately, its design turned out to be poorly constructed and prone to quick failure. The power switch was also under spec, giving up after less than two years of service. I replaced it with a higher-rated toggle switch, which has held up so far. The entire weight of the machine rests on wheel axles that are inserted into a 3mm thick piece of molded plastic. When this plastic breaks, the wheel shifts upward against the wheel well and stops rotating altogether. It's clear that Hoover was aware of this design flaw but chose to do nothing about it. As a result, the machine has earned a poor rating on Amazon. Our mistake for buying such an inferior product. I designed a simple shim to be inserted into the cavity where Hoover should have molded a support in the first place. This shim strengthens the plastic cylinder that holds the wheel axle in place and prevents further damage from occurring. It's also prevented the plastic from breaking off completely. After four days of heavy use, my modified vacuum is still working flawlessly. I realized you don't need to wait for your vacuum to break before printing and inserting these shims; they should strengthen the machine and prevent it from breaking in the first place. Two weeks have passed since I installed the shim, and my vacuum is still running smoothly. I should have mentioned earlier that you can gently tap the shim into place by holding a screwdriver handle in the hammer-fist position and tapping until the plastic is flush with the cavity walls.