- Apr 24, 2001
- 5,947
- 400
- 126
Howdy,
I just saw that someone here was asking a question about replacing the entire bottom cover of a laptop, and it occurred to me I should ask about other people's experiences with a similar problem.
I've been salvaging and regifting older laptops for a while (some of you may remember I repair and send machines to schools in Eastern Europe).
As silly as it sounds, I'm having a hard time with some laptops that miss various port covers (like RAM and HDD)... some people take out their HDDs before disposing of these machines, but don't bother putting back the plastic piece.
So right now I have five otherwise functional laptops that I can't give away, because theyr're missing various-sized covers on the bottom. Of course, these don't follow any given standard as far as size or shape.
Aside from buying myself a 3D printer (and I can't really justify the expense, unless I also began manufacturing things for myself), what other options are there?
I'm pretty good at stuff like measuring, tracing, cutting, filing etc... but these are not merely flat surfaces. They're all curved one way or another, and have several surfaces. I tried dunking plastic pieces in boiling water, to make them more malleable and bend them into shape, but let's just say the results were less than encouraging (and rather "ghetto" in appearance). There must be something simpler/cleaner. ... Any ideas?
I just saw that someone here was asking a question about replacing the entire bottom cover of a laptop, and it occurred to me I should ask about other people's experiences with a similar problem.
I've been salvaging and regifting older laptops for a while (some of you may remember I repair and send machines to schools in Eastern Europe).
As silly as it sounds, I'm having a hard time with some laptops that miss various port covers (like RAM and HDD)... some people take out their HDDs before disposing of these machines, but don't bother putting back the plastic piece.
So right now I have five otherwise functional laptops that I can't give away, because theyr're missing various-sized covers on the bottom. Of course, these don't follow any given standard as far as size or shape.
Aside from buying myself a 3D printer (and I can't really justify the expense, unless I also began manufacturing things for myself), what other options are there?
I'm pretty good at stuff like measuring, tracing, cutting, filing etc... but these are not merely flat surfaces. They're all curved one way or another, and have several surfaces. I tried dunking plastic pieces in boiling water, to make them more malleable and bend them into shape, but let's just say the results were less than encouraging (and rather "ghetto" in appearance). There must be something simpler/cleaner. ... Any ideas?
Facebook
Twitter