laptop - broken hinges

Discussion in 'Laptops & Notebooks' started by SentinelAeon, Nov 22, 2015.

  1. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    Hello,
    My 12 inch Clevo M72SR has got broken hinges. You can see on a picture where it broke off. The reason they broke was because hinges were set to tight - any material would break. I fixed that problem so now hinges move really easily. But the broken hinges remain.
    I thought it will be an easy repair as usual but sadly i was mistaken. The reason is, the material the hinges are made of cannot be soldered to - no amount of heat, sanding or flux made a tiny bit of difference.
    I don't think buying new hinges is worth it since the laptop is old, so i am looking into solutions i can do with what i have at home. Sadly i do not have a welder. I am looking for some ideas that would help me repair my hinges :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2015
  2. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Should be able to pick up a pair on ebay cheap enough, the force put on them opening and shutting the lid will likely snap any bodge job you try on them
     
  3. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    I already looked and couldn't find the correct hinges. And even if i do i doubt it will be worth it considering the age of laptop
     
  4. kanej2007

    kanej2007 Guest

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    Aside from a laptop repairs shop there isn't much else you can do...
     

  5. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Has it got a video out port?

    Completely disconnect the screen, connect an LCD and use the laptop like a keyboard / PC
     
  6. kanej2007

    kanej2007 Guest

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    Should do, 99% of laptops even ancient entry level laptops contain either vga, dvi or the latest have hdmi outputs...

    That said, having owned many notebooks over the years, I'm yet to see one not having a video output.

    it's an alternative for the op, however, he may not want to drag a screen with him everywhere he goes.

    Otherwise if it's to be used primarily in one place then it's the best possible solution for the op.
     
  7. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Well, broken hinges, or LCD, either way he has to drag a screen around with it :)
     
  8. jeffmorris

    jeffmorris Ancient Guru

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    Use duct tape if you don't want to spend money to have your notebook repaired.
     
  9. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    Now that sounds interesting, though i be damned if i know how to repair it with a duct tape heh. I wish i had a welder, it would be so easy to fix it then. I am really mad that hinges cant be soldered. Wouldnt be as good as if welded, but at least i could solder 2 small metal plates to the broken hinge to hold it in place. I could glue hinge with 2 pieces of metal/plastic together but it just wouldnt be as strong
     
  10. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Duct tape won't work for tiny little metal hinges, not to mention you won't get them back in the laptop covered in thick tape

    If you go for the glue method, Araldite is an extremely strong glue, two tubes you mix a small amount together as and when you need to

    If mixed correctly, and left to set fully, it can be stronger than metal, my Dad used to work for a metal company, and said they used it for holding two metal plates together, when it came to separating them, 9/10 times, the metal plates would break before the glue

    Araldite® Metal Repair is a synthetic metal replacement which can be worked, cut, drilled, tapped and filed as for metals. Resists temperatures of -20°C to 150°C. Can be painted.
    http://www.go-araldite.com/products/wood-and-metal-repair/araldite-metal-repair
     

  11. CrazY_Milojko

    CrazY_Milojko Ancient Guru

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    Well seems to me that for that Clevo laptop is really hard to find cheap replacement hinges :(

    About welding... Looking at that pic I'm almost sure that material used for the base of those hinges (that specific part of hinges where they are broen) is extremely hard to be welded. But just to be sure about repair with welding go to local jewelry repair service or to some local small metal manufacture service who's working with raw metal to ask them if welding us possible and if they can do that or know someone who can. Explain them what they are used for, maybe they would have some other solution for hinges repair.

    Extraordinary's suggestion looks interesting though.
     
  12. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    Thank you for all the answers, i was just a bit to late to read all suggestions and went and bought an epoxy 2 component glue. What i will try to do is add a very tiny metal plates over the broken part of hinge, glue it together and also use 2 screws to hold this metal plate in place. I am pretty sure there is enough space between hinge and top cover of laptop. I will let you know about the results.
     
  13. kanej2007

    kanej2007 Guest

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    Sounds good, hopefully you got the strongest glue you could find.

    Best of luck with the results, keep us informed should it succeed!
     
  14. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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  15. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    Should try the Araldite, it is designed for metal
     

  16. anticupidon

    anticupidon Ancient Guru

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    90% of broken hinges repairs i used Araldite.Beware, tough is very toxic .Use gloves and keep your room well ventilated.
    Problem is that sometimes a broken hinge breaks plastic enclosure/ support where it sits or has to be screwed in.
    Along with fixing the hinges one has to fix eventually the plastic supports where hinge sits.
    For repairing plastics, recreating screw mounts and whatnot i use a "plumber' bar".Just some stuff looking like grey dough ,you mix it ,mold it and use it .Gets very hard and bonds very well to almost all materials.
     
  17. zipper

    zipper Maha Guru

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    Sanding the surfaces to be glued does strengthen the joint quite a lot. Curing in a warm environment happens faster and gives a stronger bond. Araldite isn't too different from this Bison epoxy.
     
  18. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    I followed the procedure very carefully. First i sanded all surfaces to be glued with sandpaper included in the glue package. Then i took a cuetip, dip it in 70% etanol and cleaned all sanded surfaces with it to remove dust/sand and oil. Then i mixed the glue as per instructions and applied it to 1 side. I put the pieces together and used french wrench to hold it together tight. I just tested 2 more samples and it peels of easily.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM4IGweHT2k

    I saw this video and judging from how strong this glue holds, i seriously doubt that it would be able to hold the weight of the big screw, forget about the added weight. I have had the same experience in the past with other brands of glues ( 2 tube epoxy ) and it makes me wonder whether there is something i am doing wrong. The only time it was remotely usefull was when i used it to bond 2 pieces together not by glueing but by puting glue all around it as a "shell" of a kind. Since this glue becomes quite hard material, it is hard to break when used in that manner. But as far as holding to a surface goes, removing an old gum would probably be harder.
     
  19. SentinelAeon

    SentinelAeon Guest

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    I did another test for you to see. This is really bad, i don't know if the metal i am trying to glue is the source of the problem ... otherwise i really don't see how this glue could be usefull.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The weight on the second picture is 0.5kg (1.1 lbs), it broke after a few seconds. Compare that to 10 - 27 pounds they used in the video. Another thing is that looking at the last picture u can see that there is basicly no glue on either part, even though i put plenty on. Could the problem be that i am applying to much force to pieces and all glue is squeezed out? In the video they didnt use any force, simply apply plenty of glue and put the 2 pieces together. Btw i just tried using superglue (the one that dries in few seconds, cheapest one they had) on the same pieces, i just scraped the surface a bit with knife (no proper sanding as with epoxy) and applied the glue to 1 side, and then tested it with the same weight as i did epoxy and superglue held about 3 or 4 times longer
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2015
  20. CrazY_Milojko

    CrazY_Milojko Ancient Guru

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    I don't think any type of epoxy on it's own (without some additional reinforcement) would last more than few days on those hinges. You need at least some kind of reinforced concrete like combination of epoxy + "something", some steel wire fence combined with epoxy but not some hard type of epoxy, it needs to be a bit elastic so that can "breed" a bit, you know what I mean. Otherwise any kind of epoxy on it's own is not enough, sooner or later force applied on the bond made by epoxy while opening or closing laptop's lid is gonna break apart that epoxy bond on hinges.

    Did you tried to find anyone local to ask about advice for some sort of welding, someone from jewelry repair service, small raw metal manufacture service? I'm sure they know something you/we don't know...
     

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