PowerBook 500 series hinge fix + center cover clip

thingiverse

This is a fix I made for my PowerBook 540c that had broken hinge threads on the case. I printed it in ABS 100% infill but think the stronger the better so if you have PET go with it. I wrote a thread on 68kmla forum about it, copying the text and link below. I corrected the display board gap mentioned in the post. EDIT: I added a fix for the center cover by request from some users. I glued it using Loctite 401 and left it for 24 hours. It looks pretty solid and the cover fits perfectly. For the clip, I used a 0.2mm nozzle and 0.1mm layer height for better resolution. https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/59666-powerbook-540c-hinge-restoration-success/&tab=comments#comment-637499 Basically that's it. I got on fixing the hinge of my pretty little PB 540c that had the display completely detached due to a broken case and I dare to call it a success. I'd like to share it with you in case someone finds it interesting. First, I tried epoxy glue but it didn't hold much. I also tried bicomponent putty but got no results. I even tried fixing it using cofix a plastic used to repair scratches in ski and snowboards that you can melt and shape but didn't work either. So finally I made some kind of subframe for the display using a 3D printer. I designed it myself if someone is interested I can give them the file or upload it to thingiverse. As you can see in the pictures below, the thing is about removing all remaining pieces of the original mountings to make room for the new frame. I used a heated blade to cut the plastic easily. The frame has a wide area that's 1mm thick and hides between the display and the case spreading the force applied to the hinge. The lower part of the frame is where the hinges are bolted. I made a couple mistakes that I didn't bother correcting and printing again. First, I didn't give space for the two plastic bolts that center the display so I cut it with scissors. Also, I should have lowered the height of the frame in the middle so the lower display board would sit flat. I just kept it in mind not to overtighten the screws as it could bend the board. The ideal material for this would be PET for strength reasons but I didn't have any so I used ABS and seems to be enough. Also, I thought about gluing it with epoxy but finally I didn't because it feels quite good now and if it ever breaks it will be much easier to replace if it isn't glued.