DIY - Repair broken window latches

[Kai]

OK... I am sick of it....

...everybody who has donated can have a set of two pieces. PM me your address and I will send them as a special thank you from DAN.

[Colin]

I love my pair of permanent latches. There was no information about where to send a check, so I am making another donation to DAN.

[Kai]

I love my pair of permanent latches. There was no information about where to send a check, so I am making another donation to DAN.

Thanks a lot, Colin. I am glad you liked them and as you have contributed to DAN quite a bit in many ways, there was no need to make another generous donation nor to send a cheque. Also I like it that you refer to them as "permanent latches", lol.

Right now I am redesigning the lip of the latch, making it a bit flatter so it will fit easier to other Diamonds with a tighter slot. Thank you, Antoine, for advising!

[Colin]

http://flyingsummers.com/2014/07/14/catch-22/

Blog entry for the permanent latches. No one should replace another plastic one as far as I am concerned. These work great.

[Tim H]

Just to follow up on the repair of the broken latch "receiver" that I posted May 26. Total cost was 1.54 hrs labor and $11 in parts (from Diamond).

The A&P taped around the broken receiver to protect the canopy and to act as a guide for the new part. Then the put aluminum tape over the tape to provide further protection. He carefully, and slowly, ground off the broken receiver. Then he bonded the new one on using Loctite 495.

Tim

[smoss]

Tim, who did your repair? My receiver part has some spider cracks in it, and I wouldn't be surprised if some day I'm fixing it like you. Did it look like you could have done it yourself?

[Tim H]

Steve -

Unfortunately, I was not able to watch. The local FBO (Cirrus Service Center) had a guy that was an awesome paint guy and he had lots of composite experience. I talked to him about it and he seemed very knowledgable about plastics and making this type of repair.

I don't think I personally could do it, but I think if you have the right skill set you could do it. I talked to Diamond Canada and they stepped me thru the process, which I passed on to the A&P. In addition to the insturctions I posted, they said to use a finer grit as you get closer to the canopy. Protect everything around the area in case you slip (hence the aluminum tape). Cover everything with plastic sheeting becuase the grinding will generate a lot of dust.

There are other bonding agents that can be used, some of which are UV activated. The AMM has a section on canopy repairs that is useful.

Tim

[Kai]

This morning I received my latches back which I had to send for glassblasting to Germany.

I will send them out immediately to Chris B., PapaSierra and eHotAir. If you don't see your name on this list and feel you should also receive them, send me a little reminder with your address.

The lips are a tad thinner, maybe too thin. Remember to add a plastic washer in the same way as with the original latches. Also, please remember to send me a quick pm once you have received them. Also I need your feedback on how they fitted. Can improve the design a bit more the next time I put an aluminum block onto the CNC mill.

[Tim M]

Are the CAD files available? I have a mid range 3D printer that could produce these with ABS.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Kai]

Tim,
I just read your post a bit late. Will send the files to you.