Garmin Fix

Both sides of the locking mechanism of my garmin snapped while railing a particularly lumpy descent. Instead of just replacing it (it's more than 10 years old), I fixed it with the magic of 3D printing.

The Problem

The garmin locks into place via a simple tab insert. It is placed into the mount perpendicular to the intended orientation, then rotated 90°. However, once the tabs snapped off there is no way to replace the mounting mechanism alone.

The Solution

Scurf the bottom of the garmin off in the hope of making a flat surface to glue a replacement onto. Instead, accidentally hit metal inside the garmin and stop scurfing. Glue on the 3D printed replacement piece with epoxy resin to fill any gaps underneath.

I'm not sure how long term the solution will be, PLA gets very brittle as it ages, as well as already being much weaker than the original plastic. However, I have already used it enough to make it worthwhile doing the fix, and each extra use I get is a bonus instead of throwing it away.