How to replace a glued in servo?

[CaptAwesome]

Hey guys!

Last weekend I build my first foam flyer (FT Mighty Mini Arrow) together with a friend and we had a blast

Unfortunately one of the servos broke, but it's glued in really good Does anyone have an idea how to remove it without destroying the wing? Something like trying to make the glue warm again with a solder iron? or a hair dryer?

Thanks in advance,
Cap

 

[Craftydan]

Cap,

Welcome to the Forum!

Top mounted servo? Yeah, a hair dryer should soften things up enough to release it. Might take a few minutes for the glue joints to heat up enough to pull free -- pull gently and wait for the glue to weaken. A bit of string tied to the servo horn might help keep from singeing your fingertips.

If that doesn't work (or takes longer than you care to wait), tie a string to the servo horn , cut some foamboard scraps and put a big glob of hot glue right at the glue joints. pull gently on the string until the servo pops out and as soon as it's free, use the foam scraps to wipe out as much glue as you can.

Don't forget before you try either of these to make sure the servo lead is free to move -- don't want to get the servo half-detached only to find it's still tethered by the cable.

A soldering iron is a bit too much heat. It'll probably damage the foam long before you get the servo out, so I'd avoid using it.

 

[jjthrash]

I'm no Craftydan, but I've used denatured alcohol (which softens the glue) in careful quantities by shoving a q-tip next to the areas where it's glued down. It takes some time, since you don't want to saturate the paper, but alternating between applying the alcohol, waiting a bit, sticking a razor blade to expose some more space has worked for me. It's a good idea to wait a while for everything to dry after you take it out.

 

[Bricks]

Denatured alcohol is the way to go I use a syringe and needle to drip some around the part I want to remove. As stated above after the part is removed let the alcohol dry and reglue.

 

[Henry]

I usually just tear them out It tears the paper but that hasn't been a big deal.

 

[GremlinRC]

+1 for the alcohol, it breaks the bond between the paper and the foam. Works a treat without risking melting the foam.

 

[Capt_Beavis]

rocking them out usually works for me.

 

[HilldaFlyer]

I've done this lots of times... and I agree with all the responses above... here is what I do.

1st - try the alcohol. Put a drop where the servo meets the hot glue. The alcohol will weaken the servo plastic - hot glue joint. Kind of wiggle the servo back and forth to let the alcohol wick into the joint. Should pop out.

2nd - I like the hair dryer approach. As long as there are no foam to foam joints nearby that will also come loose, this works. Be patient because it take a bit of time to warm up the servo to a point that softens the hot glue. After the servo is removed, keep the heat on it and wipe away the excess.

3rd - I've had the paper peel off because I wasn't patient enough. Not the end of the world... it's only a foam model. Glue a new one in and it will stick better because there is no paper behind it.

4th - I've always used metal gear servos. For a couple of bucks more it is so worth them not breaking.

Cheers!

 

[Fuzzy Whumpkin]

I usually just tear them out It tears the paper but that hasn't been a big deal.

I second that - there was also a time that the servo hole i had cut wouldn't work, so i just taped over it, glued the two servos to either side o f a scrap piece of foam that was about 4 inches long, then glued the foam to the top of the plane (kinda like a fin) it held pretty well - basically i've found foam planes to be very forgiving - you could also cut a square around them out, then cut a scrap piece of foam to fit the hole

or you could be all fancy like CraftyDan

 

[Hai-Lee]

I usually just tear them out It tears the paper but that hasn't been a big deal.

DITTO!!!!!

 

[CaptAwesome]

Thanks guys! For the input!

I'm flying again

 

[CrazyRcJoseph]

Denatured Alcohol I hear works pretty good. I know it works with hot glue but I'm not sure if it works for others but I don't know.