How To Fix Brokwn Latch On A Plastic Tool Case

Repairing plastic items tin can exist misreckoning for someone who's never done information technology earlier. In that location's no role to replace (usually), no nut to tighten, just something… misshapen or croaky. In that location'due south nothing to repair but the material itself.

Plastic tin can be easier to piece of work with than you lot might imagine. With some heat and some pressure many items tin be fixed rather just. And so before you lot resign yourself to tossing a cleaved bit of plastic into your recycling bin, here are a few techniques you tin can utilise to repair plastic.

Hot Water, Common cold water

This tip comes from the world of activity figurine collecting. While I was researching this came up on various fan forums with very little variation from one source to the next. Plastics (particularly small or sparse pieces) don't need farthermost heat to become soft enough to manipulate. Just estrus upwards some water on the stove or in the microwave until information technology'due south just beneath a eddy, and prepare a bowl of cold water to the side. Place the plastic piece in the water to warm information technology up. Take the item out of the hot h2o bathroom periodically and test information technology's malleability. Somewhen it volition become soft enough to straighten with your fingers. Once you lot accept it in the shape you want, put the plastic item in the cold water to cool off.

This technique isn't merely for action figures and their bent katanas. I used this method recently to fix a fleck of warped plastic on my immersion blender that was preventing my blade attachment from hooking upwardly to the motor. It took about 15 minutes and saved me the bother of replacing an otherwise functional appliance.

Plastic Welding with Heat

If you take 2 separate pieces of plastic that need to be joined or if y'all take a crack, then you'll need to do some plastic welding. The basic idea is to apply heat to the edges being joined in lodge to melt the plastic until information technology is liquid enough to blend the edges together. Additional plastic can be melted into the groove to create a stronger bond, merely depending on the situation this won't always be necessary.

There are tools specifically made to do plastic welding jobs, with attachments for each step in the procedure, simply for small-scale or onetime repairs, a cheap, low-wattage soldering iron will exist sufficient. The video above from Delboy's Garage demonstrates the technique and also shows how to embed small metal wires to "run up" cracks in plastic together.

Of import: Melting plastic can be toxic, so practice this in a well-ventilated area.

Plastic Welding with Friction

Friction welding is another style of joining plastic together. A small scrap of plastic (a short segment of 3D printing filament, for example) is spun at a high RPM and pressed against the intended articulation between two separate plastic pieces. The friction melts the plastic of the two pieces being joined, as well every bit the plastic that is spinning, which creates a sturdy bond.

In the mid-1970s Mattel sold a "Spin Welder" toy that worked on this principle, and in 2012 Fran Blanche of Frantone Electronics revisited the idea to create her own friction welder using an inexpensive rotary tool. This is an especially expert technique for repairing 3D printer misprints, since you can match the plastic exactly past using the same filament.

Plastic Patches

If you have a large enough hole, then you'll need to resort creating a plastic patch for information technology. The answer to this particular problem seems to have been all-time addressed by kayakers. Using a rut source (preferably a heat gun), soften the edges of the hole and the section of plastic you'll exist using as a patch and carefully identify it to ensure the hole is completely covered. This go'south pretty hot, so you'll need gloves. Once, the patch is in place you tin can use a hot metal spoon or trowel to smooth out the edges.

Important: Employ the same kind of plastic for your patch.

Using Acetone for ABS Plastic

Acetone is a solvent that's pretty constructive at melting ABS plastics. 3D printing aficionados have been using acetone to smooth 3D printed surfaces, bond pieces together, and troubleshoot misprints. A concoction of acetone and ABS known as ABS slurry can be used every bit a glue or every bit a filler for smoothing grooves or filling in gaps. Thing Hackers has some handy recipes for making ABS slurry for yourself.

Important: This method volition not piece of work with PLA.

Expert Ol' Gum

Of class, there's always the option of gluing things together. For plastics it'due south best to utilize super glue (cyanoacrylate) or plastic model glue.

Tagged plastic repair

By Lisa Martin

A typical day for Lisa includes: getting up to see the sunrise, bicycling, interning at Make:, reading and writing short stories, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts for hours while working on projects or chores.

View more articles by Lisa Martin