Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,
I've just bought and changed the back cover lid (the front as well), because is was broken in top left corner (it should have been the right one, but I use more often my left hand to open and close the lid !)
and the new one broke as well after a few minutes

this photo shows exactly the broken point


is it a "classic" point of failure ?
is it possible to repair it ? which material is it ? magnesium ? plastic ?

thanks

Yup, I've had 2 that are broken just like that. It makes the black trim thing kinda loose and cheap feeling. I just put a dab of epoxy in there and it was solid.

PS, its metal. I'm not sure what kind of metal but it looks like cheap pot metal where the break is.

niko2 wrote:Hi all,
I've just bought and changed the back cover lid (the front as well), because is was broken in top left corner (it should have been the right one, but I use more often my left hand to open and close the lid !)
and the new one broke as well after a few minutes

this photo shows exactly the broken point


is it a "classic" point of failure ?
is it possible to repair it ? which material is it ? magnesium ? plastic ?

thanks

It's a common failure point, unfortunately-- my X220 has the same problem.

TankPad wrote:PS, its metal. I'm not sure what kind of metal but it looks like cheap pot metal where the break is.

It's actually AZ91D magnesium alloy, same material as the bottom chassis.

The problem with that part is that it's too small-- if it were at least half an inch wide, it wouldn't break as easily (if at all).

Join the club...
X220 and X230 have the same lid-problems.
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X ... -p/1087279
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X ... d-p/498299

thank you guys, i will try epoxy repair then.
nice to hear i'm not the only one, glad to read Lenovo don't care about quality annymore

Someone with a 3D printer should try and make a copy (or copies) of the lid, but without that stupid ridge line.
That should solve the problem (and could make its creator a small fortune!).

I could do that no probs but the material would be inferior to the OEM. The original feels as if it were pressed in a die and conventional 3D printing couldn't really offer anything as stiff or durable, without getting into very specialist kinda stuff imo.

I actually popped off the bezel on my X230 and beefed up the area with epoxy as a precaution, after the experience with the X220.

On a positive note, i wrapped my x220 lid in carbon fibre and the presence of that little plastic bezel thing makes for a really neat and clean join to tuck the vinyl into.