Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Sugru moldable rubber

March 08, 2010, 08:13:49 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 110867

---

I just stumbled across something that sounds potentially very useful. It's a moldable, self-curing silicone rubber putty. Perhaps the best way to understand it is this:

Sugru is to silicone caulk as epoxy putty is to epoxy glue.
 It's a moldable putty that cures to resilient silicone rubber in 24-48 hours (depending on thickness), and sticks to almost anything. The company's gallery http://sugru.com/gallery/> shows a few of the possible uses: soft tool handles, knobs, shoe repairs, chair leg tips, eyeglass nose-pads... anywhere you need a custom-shaped piece of rubber. Sugru comes in a variety of colors.
 The product just launched in December 2009, and sold out within 24 hours, but they're making more... lots more! I look forward to getting my hands on some. This sounds like the most useful thing since Rescue Tape. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/

Re: Sugru moldable rubber

Reply #2 – March 09, 2010, 10:09:50 am

Yahoo Message Number: 110876

---

"I hope it isn't another miracle product made of unobtainium and is never seen again."
 The website doesn't give details on Sugru's composition (for obvious reasons), but it's pretty easy to deduce from the description that this is a variant of the well-known RTV-type silicone rubber: self-curing at room temperature using atmospheric moisture. (Probably smells like vinegar while curing, too.) I'd be very surprised if there were any exotic materials involved, especially considering the low price.

"The running out part worries me."
 In a video posted on the site, the inventor, Jane [unpronounceable Welsh name], explains that the first thousand packets were made more or less by hand. They expected that with luck, they'd sell that many in a month. Instead, they sold out literally overnight, and the second batch of a thousand sold out in six hours, At that point they decided that instead of hand-mixing and packing another thousand packets, they'd better get serious. So they brought in some investors, bought some factory equipment, and are now preparing to go into mass production. Given the multitude of possible uses, I don't think there'll be any shortage of customers once the word about this stuff gets around, so I expect it'll be available for a long time.
 "The only problem I see is the relatively short shelf life of one year."
 Longer would be nicer, I agree. But again, if this is based on the same basic chemistry as silicone caulk, there's going to be a limit to shelf life, no matter how well you seal the packages.
 Shapelock sounds interesting, but the temperature limitations are somewhat... well, limiting. There's also polymer clay (e.g., Fimo), which won't melt at 150° F. the way Shapelock does. But I'd probably use epoxy putty for those kinds of applications, since it's very strong and tolerates a wide range of temperatures--up to 300-500 degrees F. depending on the brand.
 It occurred to me last night that epoxy putty and Sugru would make a useful combination in situations where you needed to combine strength, rigidity and flexibility. For example, suppose your car's gearshift knob breaks, leaving you with a short threaded stud. You could mold Sugru over it, but it'd probably pull off the stud the first time you tried to use it. Even Shapelock probably wouldn't have the strength for this application. But you could mold a small knob of epoxy putty over that threaded stud, and then cover it with Sugru. The epoxy would give you the strength you needed, while the Sugru would provide the tactile quality and color you want.
 In plastics-industry terms, the combination of epoxy putty and Sugru should give you the ability to do double-shot molding on your kitchen table. That's pretty cool!
 And I love the Sugru company's attitude, as expressed in their slogan: "Hack your stuff!" In other words, take it and improve it. Take the old stuff and make it new, instead of throwing it away. These people are all right in my book. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/

Re: Sugru moldable rubber

Reply #4 – March 09, 2010, 01:37:26 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 110884

---

I suspect Sugru would have limitations similar to RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone rubber. Which is to say it is not suitable for use with hydrocarbons and  many solvents, is not mechanically strong compared to many other elastomers, and has poor tear propagation resistance. For many of the suggested applications on their website there are existing products that should do a better job. That said, Sugru looks like a useful thing and has a certain "cult" appeal - - can't wait to see Andy with orange eyebrows on his sunglasses :c)

bumper

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]