Sugru: a silicone molding compound for hacking around the house
sugru.com
sugru.com
1. The stuff is amazing. As an experiment, I completely coated an 802.15.4 temperature sensor in a thin coat and threw it into an autoclave (to test the temperature claims, etc). It held up.
2. Customer service has been amazing. The Sugru I received came from a batch with a slightly shortened shelf-life because of mixture issues, so they sent me a second order for free. No questions asked, no forms, nothing. Just an email "sorry about that, the replacement is in the mail."
It's precisely analogous to when cyanoacrylate adhesive compounds were re-marketed as Krazy Glue.
""" Dow Corning® 795 Silicone Building Sealant is a one-part, cold-applied, non-sagging silicone material that cures to a medium modulus silicone rubber upon exposure to atmospheric moisture. """
Don't know the exact details of Sugru's formulation. But per the data sheet this stuff sets up to be a relatively stiff non-tacky surface in three hours and comes in a variety of colors.
You can buy variants at your local home improvement store. It's usually sold as silicone caulk.
In fact, if I was going to critique this at all, I'd question the choice of marketing. They're targeting younger, geeky DIY-type internet people well, which is not a bad market at all to be sure, but there's definite potential for something like this in going for older, less tech-oriented demographics (I bet I could get my mother interested, for instance).
But I suspect they've already thought about that sort of thing--sounds like they can't keep up with the current demand as it is, so reaching new markets is probably not a priority!
That is not the demographic that orders random puttys from the UK in anticipation of perhaps needing it someday. To be successful in that demographic, it needs to be marked through traditional means, and it needs to be available at the store. That is expensive and difficult. Making a website and some Youtube videos is much easier, and less likely to be a financial problem if there is no interest.
My cheap knockoff version: Two part epoxy cut with sawdust. Not so good at high temperatures, but much stronger.
http://www.creatrope.com/blog/make/friendly-plastic-shapeloc...
http://www.lonestarairsoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8822
http://www.micsaund.com/2006/03/13/plastic-you-can-mold-in-y...
The differences seem to be that ShapeLock:
- requires some heat to get it in to a moldable state
- is firm, not rubbery when it sets
- is not sticky
- is reusable (just heat it up again, and you can re-shape it)
Here's something made from it: