Post by Roger on Jan 5, 2022 21:48:54 GMT
The Workshop PC suddenly shut down today, and refused to stay on. On removing the cover, the Heatsink and fan were hanging off, so it obviously overheated and pulled the plug to prevent a meltdown.
This is what you're left with when the Heatsink is removed. You can see there are four mounting points where the two plastic supports screw onto.
20220105_110810 by Timothy Froud, on Flickr
This is the broken one, the lug that the Steel strap hooks on to has sheared off. These are made from some pretty hard plastic, not unlike Bakelite.
20220105_212414 by Timothy Froud, on Flickr
I've heard the fan complaining for a while and have been meaning to replace it, so that might have stopped, causing the plastic to heat up and break.
Anyway, looking at what's on the PCB, it's clear that the very complex moulded part can actually be much simpler on this Motherboard. Here you're looking at my 3D printed version made from PETG which is holding it in place as I type this. Hopefully it will remain cool enough not to creep. We'll see.
The main thing is that it's up and running again, and I've ordered a new fan. At the moment the old one seems to be perfectly happy, so I'm not sure why that is.
20220105_212309 by Timothy Froud, on Flickr
So once again the 3D printer proved its usefulness. It took about 40 minutes to model a new mount, and an hour and 15 minutes to print it. Even if it doesn't last very long, it buys me time and I may well figure out how to make it last longer if I can see where and why it's failed.
A 3D printer is a very useful tool, but only when coupled with 3D modelling in my opinion. Ocassionally I can find something I want to print that's in a library, but it's rarely as good as something I could knock up myself in the time it took to search for it. These days I just crack on and model things, it doesn't take long when you've got the hang of it.
This is what you're left with when the Heatsink is removed. You can see there are four mounting points where the two plastic supports screw onto.
20220105_110810 by Timothy Froud, on FlickrThis is the broken one, the lug that the Steel strap hooks on to has sheared off. These are made from some pretty hard plastic, not unlike Bakelite.
20220105_212414 by Timothy Froud, on FlickrI've heard the fan complaining for a while and have been meaning to replace it, so that might have stopped, causing the plastic to heat up and break.
Anyway, looking at what's on the PCB, it's clear that the very complex moulded part can actually be much simpler on this Motherboard. Here you're looking at my 3D printed version made from PETG which is holding it in place as I type this. Hopefully it will remain cool enough not to creep. We'll see.
The main thing is that it's up and running again, and I've ordered a new fan. At the moment the old one seems to be perfectly happy, so I'm not sure why that is.
20220105_212309 by Timothy Froud, on FlickrSo once again the 3D printer proved its usefulness. It took about 40 minutes to model a new mount, and an hour and 15 minutes to print it. Even if it doesn't last very long, it buys me time and I may well figure out how to make it last longer if I can see where and why it's failed.
A 3D printer is a very useful tool, but only when coupled with 3D modelling in my opinion. Ocassionally I can find something I want to print that's in a library, but it's rarely as good as something I could knock up myself in the time it took to search for it. These days I just crack on and model things, it doesn't take long when you've got the hang of it.
