4 ms·

I just emailed this to off to the couple of friends of mine who still use MBP's. This is a real, real clever solution. Read this post, it's very clever not just

I just emailed this to off to the couple of friends of mine who still use MBP's. This is a real, real clever solution. Read this post, it's very clever not just as an instructive on heat-shrink repair, but the composition (if I'm visualizing this correctly) also functions as strain relief, which is ultimately the cause of fray[1]. My way around the 'over the connector' was just to oversize via teflon tape (naive solution, I know), but your idea is simple yet genius (silicone is soft, so it won't score the existing exterior of the wire, and silicone is rigid enough to act as auxiliary support). If you're rough on your gear (I've thrown my laptop into a TSA container in a 5:30AM grog more times that I can count), I'd do this as a precautionary measure even if you don't see any damage yet. It might not look pretty, but functionality over form any day. [1] combined with using thin wire shielding in order to maintain a 'sleek' aesthetic

nkurz 11y ago
Thanks. Yes, the goal of the step-down on the cable end is to improve the strain relief. I tried earlier rigid solutions, but found that they soon frayed below the fix. My attempts with tape started out well, but eventually the tape would slip and the heat shrink would slide down. The silicone tubing has more "grab". I think you are visualizing it correctly. Let's see if I can replicate it with ASCII art (not to scale): ------------------------------ ==========================****************** =========================********************* ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++*********O******** =========================********************* ==========================****************** ------------------------------ **************** **************** - layer of heat shrink ------- Rigid Connector = outer layer of silicone =****************** = inner layer of silicone =******************** + Thin frayed Apple cable ++++***color O led *** = inner layer of silicone =******************** = outer layer of silicone =****************** - layer of heat shrink ------- **************** **************** It comes out looking quite nice. The rigidity of the tubing plus shrink wrap isn't a problem if you plug in so that the rigid part is along the side of the laptop. It actually provides a fairly nice handle for unplugging, since you can get good leverage anywhere along the shrink wrapped portion.

nkurz 11y ago

Thanks. Yes, the goal of the step-down on the cable end is to improve the strain relief. I tried earlier rigid solutions, but found that they soon frayed below the fix. My attempts with tape started out well, but eventually the tape would slip and the heat shrink would slide down. The silicone tubing has more "grab". I think you are visualizing it correctly. Let's see if I can replicate it with ASCII art (not to scale): ------------------------------ ==========================****************** =========================********************* ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++*********O******** =========================********************* ==========================****************** ------------------------------ **************** **************** - layer of heat shrink ------- Rigid Connector = outer layer of silicone =****************** = inner layer of silicone =******************** + Thin frayed Apple cable ++++***color O led *** = inner layer of silicone =******************** = outer layer of silicone =****************** - layer of heat shrink ------- **************** **************** It comes out looking quite nice. The rigidity of the tubing plus shrink wrap isn't a problem if you plug in so that the rigid part is along the side of the laptop. It actually provides a fairly nice handle for unplugging, since you can get good leverage anywhere along the shrink wrapped portion.