VIC Australia Garbage Bin Lid Hinge

thingiverse

## Background After my green bin was emptied, unfortunately I found the lid had separated from the body of my bin. I had a look around in the grass and found one full lid hinge pin, and one damaged lid hinge pin. According to the website for our local council they will only replace the bin if there is damage to the body of the bin, not the lid. So I decided to resolve this by ~~taking a circular saw to the body of the bin~~ modelling the pin that didn't break, and printing a replacement. ## Print Details I had concerns about the printed pin shearing in the same way that the original pin did. The original pin sheared where the ribs are half way down the pin, and I planned on printing the pin upright, so the print layers would align with the old shear direction. I decided that it's an old bin anyway, this fix probably doesn't have to last for years, so I'll just give it a go. I know a lot of people recommend PETG for outdoor parts, but I don't have PETG filament on hand, so I'm just going with PLA. I already have a few parts that are outside and I made with PLA, and they've been fine. ## Installing the new pin I tried removing the damaged pin by using a screw removal tool. But when I was using my center punch I ended up pushing the pin in deeper. This gave me enough room to fit the new pin, so I just left it there. The new pin just pushed in. ## Reliability I just installed the pin this morning, if you don't see an update it's working fine. If you do see an update it's probably because it didn't hold up. **Update**: So it broke. The first time the garbage truck came it broke off one of the flexible locking tabs, and it just kept falling out of the bin after that. I’ve updated the photos to include the break. I think if I changed the orientation and material I it might have lasted longer, but I don’t have access to my printer at the moment. I ended up just buying a 1/2" and M12 bolt from Mitre10. I can’t find the bolts on their website though so I’ve linked to Bunnings. I think the 1/2” is better > https://www.bunnings.com.au/zenith-x-1-zinc-plated-hex-head-bolt-and-nut_p2448482 > https://www.bunnings.com.au/zenith-m12-x-50mm-hot-dipped-galvanised-hex-head-bolt-and-nut_p2449048