Sugru: repairing DX6i charger port

Another note to Sugru about repairs.  This to my DX6i where the charge port had busted loose.

Here's a simple, unglamorous repair that saved me time, money, and the expense of being without a radio transmitter that I use frequently.

The battery recharging port had worked its way loose, due to a crack in the groove that holds the connector in place.  It's a standard sized connector that's available at any local electronics
store, but it turns out this particular piece is a nonstandard size and can only be replaced by sending the unit in for warranty service.

I was actually opening the case each time the unit needed to be charged; in addition to being inconvenient, I was worried that the wires attached to the case would undergo more stress than they were designed for and might work their way loose.

I considered using epoxy, but then the connector would be permanently bonded to the case, and if it ever went bad I would have even more work to put things right.

The sugru worked perfectly; the connector is held very tightly and resists the pressure when the power cable is attached;  and if I should ever need to remove the connector, the Sugro can be easily scraped away with a small blade.

The work took about 10 minutes including opening and closing the case, and I let the Sugru cure overnight before testing, so I didn't have any downtime related to the repair.  I didn't bother making it
pretty since (a) there wasn't a lot of room for my fat fingers, and (b) with any luck it will be many years before somebody has to look at the inside of the case again.  I guess if it ever gets stolen I'll have the perfect identifier -- my fingerprints permanently embedded inside the case!

And the package of Sugru was so much cheaper than the shipping cost of returning the unit to the manufacturer (via tracked mail) I'm money ahead as well!

Thanks again Sugru, you've saved me time and money!

Sugru: repairing macbook feet

I recently bought a package of Sugru.  It's neat stuff and I'm happy with the results, so I sent them a note and picture to their gallery, and reproducing it here.

For some reason I seem to be pretty hard on the plastic "feet" on the bottom of my macbook pro.  I've busted three of them right off and the fourth was looking pretty dodgy.

So, I popped the fourth one off and replaced them with sugru feet.  I used one package of black sugru, divided it into five equal pieces and reserved one piece for an unrelated repair. The remaining four pieces I shaped into chubby "coins" the same size as the original feet.  Underneath the feet the case is open to the inside, and I wanted to be careful not to fill up the guts of the computer by squishing the Sugru through the holes.

Using pressure around the edges gave a nice convex surface and ensured a good bond with the case, in addition to keeping the Sugru on the outside of the case.  After it looked like all the feet were pretty equal, I put a bit of soapy water on a flat tabletop and set the computer down for a second or two to make sure everything was level and the unit wouldn't rock.  I turned the computer over to let the Sugru cure.

The Sugru is working much better than the original plastic feet. In addition to being a lot more sturdy, the grip of the sugru on a desk or tabletop is excellent.

And as a bonus, my macbook pro got much quieter!  I had not realized how much of a loud hum the disk drive made with the missing foot.

Thanks Sugru, I don't know what else would have worked so well!