makerbot replicator 2 build plate latch

thingiverse

A couple of weeks ago, our MakerBot Replicator 2 was returned from service with a broken build plate latch (see second photo). This didn't happen out of nowhere; this latch had already been acting up beforehand. The service firm assured us they would send a replacement build plate base, but I didn't want to wait, so I designed a little fix to hold the build plate in place until the replacement part arrived. As it turned out, the fix works much better than the original part ever did. It needs a small strip of elastic or squishy material that you have to push between the new latch and the old base (see third photo), but then it holds the build plate firmly in place like never before. I printed the part on a Formlabs Form 2 printer, but it should be possible to print it on an FDM printer. I would print it at a 90-degree angle, so that the material runs parallel to the strain.