Icy Dock MB982SP-1S Push Button

Replacement push button for the Icy Dock MB982SP-1S 2.5" to 3.5" hard disk adapter cage.

The original part is made of fairly brittle plastic, and due to the heavy swinging door often hitting it with force in a particularly nasty way, the thing soon shattered into pieces. You couldn't even fix it with super glue, it would just break again after a few more open/close cycles.

Reconstructing and printing this definitely was a challenge due to the complex geometry. Using a FDM printer, there is absolutely no orientation at all in which the part can be printed without any supports. If you can, print this with a SLA printer instead.

I ended up manually placing minimal supports in PrusaSlicer, and even with that and a fresh scalpel blade it was quite a feat to rid the printed part of them. But - it does work! Printed using a cheapo PETG brand, the part is surprisingly strong considering the print orientation and the super thin walls. I guess going for super thin layers really helps with layer adhesion.

Replacement procedure: Well, should be self-explanatory. You need to remove the screw from the broken original part that holds the metal hook; said metal hook; and the three springs. Mount those parts on the printed replacement part as they were on the original. Placing the third spring that sits wedged and slightly under tension under the metal hook in the replacement part is a bit challenging - high frustration tolerance advised.