Cracks in the hinge.

[Esslan]

I have no idea how this has happened, but my precious pandora has developed a crack in the the most unfortunate place I can think of. In the hinge.


It actually started a few days ago. Out of nowhere there was a hairline crack on the left side on the hinge, barely noticeable. one day later it had gotten bigger and reached almost to the 'flat' area of the upper part(don't know how to explain it in english).


So I took a tiny bit of super glue and stroked over the crack hoping it would get into the crack and maybe stopping it from getting any larger. I appeared to help but today I noticed the crack has split and gone of in another direction.


This is getting kind of frustrating because I really do handle my pandora like it was a baby.


I would rather not send the unit in. Partly because I know the team is super busy as it is, but mainly because I don't want to be without the thing.


Does anyone know of any products you can use to fix something like this? Or any other trick really. Preferably without having to open up the upper part.


Just so I holds together until I can get my hands on another case, do Craig still sell those separately?.

 

[Prometheus]

I don't suppose Sugru would be a suitable fit for holding it together for the time being, would it? It's a clay-like product which sets to become silicone rubber which will stay stuck to the surface you applied it to within a few hours of being exposed to air.

 

[Esslan]

Hmm, might work but I'm not sure it can get down in the crack.


Thanks a bunch for the link anyway, that stuff seems brilliant! Never heard of it before. Gonnna buy some either way.

 

[Prometheus]

No problem.


I was wondering if you could just apply a thin coat, so as not to interfere with the hinge, but to give some stability to the general area with the crack, more than actually getting it inside of the crack. I don't know if that would help much, though.

 

[Asmo]

Just a thought, Super Glue isn't suitable for repairs like this because it needs a clean tight-fitting pair of surfaces to get any long-term adhesion. and it can leave a misty 'stain'. If you had to apply a glue 'externally' (that is, without being able to separate the two surfaces) the best would probably be an epoxy resin, smoothed into the crack.


On a surface like the hinge, perhaps using a small rectangular piece of black or clear vinyl (like cut from a CD sleeve) as well, like a sticking plaster over the epoxied crack would add extra strength? You wouldn't want to force too much into the crack in case it touched the LCD cable though.


EDIT: On a curved surface like this, in the past I've found that getting the vinyl to stick flush with the surface is best achieved by keeping pressure against it for a few minutes with a piece of backing material from a sheet of labels or stickers - the glossy surface that stickers come on *usually* doesn't adhere to any stray epoxy.

 

[hailrazer]

Abs cement. It will bond plastic together. It actually melts it slightly and fuses it.


The black kind will look the best on the Pandora.


Example Link


Just use a toothpick and dip it in the Abs cement and then dab it in the crack. It will dry pretty solid in around 4-8 hours.

 

[wermy]

I noticed a couple days ago that my hinge seemed more loose than it did initially... And today I noticed a crack in exactly the same spot you describe. Really disappointing, and doesn't give me much confidence in how long a unit will last. Mine was fine when I got it, and a week later, this.

 

[tsh]

I noticed a couple days ago that my hinge seemed more loose than it did initially... And today I noticed a crack in exactly the same spot you describe. Really disappointing, and doesn't give me much confidence in how long a unit will last. Mine was fine when I got it, and a week later, this.

I think this is a new problem, the older units don't seem to have this problem.


Superglue may well make the problem worse, by slightly filling the crack and acting as a lever when the plastic is flexed. Solvent cement should do the trick if it is designed for the correct type of plastic. (maybe even worth drilling the end of the crack to prevent it splitting too, if you have a very fine drill)

 

[wermy]

I think this is a new problem, the older units don't seem to have this problem.


Superglue may well make the problem worse, by slightly filling the crack and acting as a lever when the plastic is flexed. Solvent cement should do the trick if it is designed for the correct type of plastic. (maybe even worth drilling the end of the crack to prevent it splitting too, if you have a very fine drill)

Thanks.. But I just wonder, if there's enough stress at this point to put a crack in 1-2mm thick plastic, is putting some cement on top of that really going to stop it? :\

 

[Sigma]

Seem to have the same problem with the hinge, I'm very careful with my pandora and suddenly


there's a crack in the hinge.


" esslan " did you fix the problem or did you send it back?


I want to get it fixed because I don't think a crack should appear after 2 months.


grtz


jordi

 

[Galaxis]

Does it look something like this?





[edit] That's on my pandora, slightly to the right of the "4" key when the display is open.