Thinkpad X1 Extreme Gen 2 Stripped Cover Screw Fix Tools

thingiverse

<h1>IMPORTANT!</h1> You are drilling and tapping holes in the chassis of an expensive laptop, and if you aren't careful you could create a paperweight (or a fire/explosion). The battery is immediately adjacent to this problematic hole, and you DO NOT want do damage that battery! <h2>Description</h2> These are some parts and tools/fixtures I designed to help with fixing a stripped out screw hole on my Thinkpad X1 Extreme Gen 2. The screw that holds the front edge of the bottom cover in place (just in front of the trackpad) wouldn't tighten, and the bottom cover wasn't being held tightly to the laptop chassis. The hole for this screw was stripped out (the screw was not stripped, but it could stand to be longer). I chose to fill the hole with epoxy, redrill it for an M2 screw thread, and retap it. I additionally received a replacement bottom cover from Lenovo so I could see if that helped (it didn't), but I DID put it to use for my fix, taking a screw from another position on the cover and using it for the front stripped out hole location. I don't believe this part of my fix is absolutely necessary though (you shouldn't need another bottom cover assembly). More details on the screw swap later... <h2>There are several parts included in this Thing:</h2> <b>drill_guide_1.stl</b> - This part serves as a positioning jig to drill the hole (AFTER epoxy is applied/filled into the hole) <b>epoxy_guide_1.stl</b> - This part was used as a guide to keep the epoxy only in the screw boss hole <b>spacer_washer0-xx.stl</b> - Spacer washer to place between the head of the cover screw and the cover. The purpose of these was to address some looseness of the bottom cover, even when the screws are tight. There are 4 of these attached, with the 'xx' in the filename representing the thickness of the washer in hundredths of a mm (0.15, 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60). Again, more details on these later... <b>tap_guide_1_021621b.stl</b> - This part is intended to provide a guide for tapping out the drilled hole in the epoxy (keeping it centered, and keeping it oriented correctly). <b>epoxy_application_tool_1.stl</b> - This part is optional - I used it, but applying the epoxy can likely be done with other tools (toothpick, etc). I made this part to have a tip close in diameter to the hole so i could push the epoxy down deep. <h2>A detailed PDF is also attached with detailed instructions and background info. </h2> <h2>IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PRINT SETTINGS:</h2> I strongly recomend a 0.15mm layer height for these parts - especially the spacer washers, as they are modeled with thicknesses in increments of 0.15mm. Using a different layer height may affect these very thin parts. Even at this layer height I can print all the parts at once in about an hour. Alternatively, if you print the washers separately at 0.15mm layer height, you can print the other parts at whatever layer height you wish.