Dust cover hinge tab for Technics SL-D3

thingiverse

This is a replacement part for Technics SL-D3 dust cover. The original dust cover is a 1-piece acrylic cover, which has molded on tabs which will be sticked into a receptacle at the hinge. But these tabs often break after some time. This tab probably also works with some other Technics turntables / dust covers, but *do* read on for more information! Read service manual(s) of your model and check the part(s) mentioned there and my photos here to see if this part is applicable in your case. This part is based by the design by SigurdrBladesinner. But that design had a few problems in my case, which I've tried to fix in this design. The problems cause the dust cover not to close completely, because the tabs hit the plinth prematurely, while the cover is being closed. Also, the dust cover itself might hit the plinth prematurely (if mounted flush with the dust cover tabs); also, I believe **if the hinge tab and/or dust cover hits the plinth near the hinge, this might cause unnecessary stress because of lever effect on the hinge receptacles themselves (which are also made of plastic!)** The dust cover is raised about 1 mm in the front because there are small noise dampers at the front of the cover. A similar rise makes sense in the back not only because of esthetic reasons, but to make sure there is clearance for the dust cover (while closed, it should rest on the noise dampers in the front and hinges in the back. The original design *might* work, if the user notices or is aware of these problems beforehand, and lifts the dust cover so that it is **not** flush with the tab. But the tabs will still hit the plinth while being closed. Because of these problems, I've made two changes: 1. Room for the plinth at the base of the tab and 2. More height at the cover facing part to act as more space for screw holes to make the design more durable (as the cover is being lifted further from the tab, there is less space for screw holes). It is certainly possible the hinge(s) (and dust covers) are not 100% identical in all models (and who knows - Technics might have used slightly different dust covers and hinges from batch-to-batch). There could also be some manufacturing tolerances or differences (intentional or unintentional) made by the user while attaching the tab. As in the original design, there are no screw holes; makes more sense this way, since these might also vary depending on what kind of screws are being used ;-) . As did SigurdrBladesinner, I also put some epoxy glue between the part and dust cover after test fitting. Some notes regarding some possible modifications / improvements: * The only addition needed is the screw holes (edit the model or drill them afterwards). * There is a 1,5mm x 9mm clearance space for the plinth; * The latter dimension is really tight, but just barely clears the plinth. 1,5mm might be a tad bit too much, but 1mm might be too little. * Part going **behind** the dust cover could be a bit shorter, depending what kind of screw holes you plan on using. * Another possible alternative would have been to change the tab corner to something > 90°. But I didn't feel like going that route, as it would have involved more trial-and-erroring.