Comment on My laptop hinge just ripped its screws right out.

BzzBiotch@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• steal_your_face@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This is why I love the idea of framework laptops

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  • GbyBE@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Indeed, different price point though, but shouldn’t be more expensive in the long run. I like what they’re doing and live my AMD 13

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• Wogi@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Machinist guy here!

  Threads fail. Threads are generally the most likely thing to fail in any given mechanism. Generally, when the threads are expected to do more work than just sit there and not move, as in fastening a hinge for example, we try to make sure the threads are all the same kind of material.

  I would never expect plastic threads to hold up to repeated use with an iron bolt inside. Something is going to give up, and it’s going to be the soft plastic threads, every single time.

  Think about cheap as fuck IKEA furniture, any time they have a bolt to screw in, you install an insert first. We do the same thing in plastic, aluminum, shit even steel sometimes if we want the bolt to fail first.

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  • NosferatuZodd@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I believe you misunderstood the problem, the threads are not usually the problem, the problem is the brass heat insert the hinge threads into, the insert just breaks off the plastic with the screw still threaded in, usually because the hinge is a bit too tight/rigid and puts a lot of force into the insert pulling it out

    this seems to be the case in this picture as well

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• JoShmoe@ani.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  How can I adjust the force?

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  • scrion@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Loosening the screws of the hinge.

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    • JoShmoe@ani.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Is it possible that some hinges have hidden screws or use a different mechanism?

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      • scrion@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Yes, absolutely. Not all hinges are adjustable, unfortunately. In fact, I’d argue that most are not. Just have a look at the hinges at your place (doors, cabinets, toilet seat etc.), most will be very simple mechanisms with no inbuilt adjustment.

        You can adjust the play mechanically, of course - that is, through application of a certain amount of force via deformation, which can be destructive process if not done carefully.

        There are hinges with axial screws that allow for precise adjustment of hinge friction, but I have not seen those used for laptop display lids (nor did I personally encounter those in the small dimensions you would find on a laptop) . You’ll find examples of those at Misumi or McMaster - Carr.

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  • TotalFat@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Let the hate flow through you!

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    • JoShmoe@ani.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I just barely got this joke. Nice one

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      • TotalFat@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Actually if you want a serious answer, I usually try to apply force as close to the hinge as possible when opening and closing the lid. This way the full length of the screen isn’t acting as a lever multiplying the force on the relatively short span of the hinge mounting bracket.

        I definitely agree this is too common a problem not to be by design.

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• scrion@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This is correct and good advice. I’d like to add that it’s also an option to glue in a threaded metal insert in case a self - tapping plastic screw was used and the original thread is stripped.

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  • improbablypoopingrn@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I just use the metal inserts and seat them with the soldering iron and have had great luck

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    • scrion@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Absolutely, if there is enough plastic left, melting is one of the best options. That also enables mending plastic by melting in metal pins or strips via a cheap plastic welder for 10 bucks (success can be great, but it’s highly dependent on the geometry and how things broke).

      Image

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    • pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yup, I do a lot of 3d printed projects and use these all the time. They’re great

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• grue@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  As far as I am concerned, it’s purposefully weakly designed, because these break a LOT.

  Could be sacrificial because the plastic case is cheaper/easier to replace than whatever else would break instead of it were stronger.

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  • Wogi@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Probably more so cheaper to mold the plastic case with weak threads than any other function.

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  • Tabzlock@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    No I think its just cheaper, if it was stronger you normally would have a metal plate or the entire base would be metal. The only time I have seen those fail was actually the hinges themselves and not the attachment points. If the metal plate or base somehow got severely damaged I doubt it would cost much more to repair and its still unlikely to damage anything else.

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• charade_you_are@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I very much hated working on hinge damage.

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• Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Yep, it’s the mounting point here. As someone pointed out below, the insert that holds the screw has ripped out of the plastic. The base of the laptop was already broken, so put extra pressure on this part.

  I’m going to strip everything out and epoxy the inserts back in place, then epoxy over the bottom part of the hinge once the screws are in. The laptop should never need to be opened again, so a bit of overkill won’t hurt here.

  I’m going to try to loosen the hinge slightly too, but it looks like a pin design rather than a screw, so it might just be a case of cleaning and lubing it instead.

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