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Replacing the Housing on Your Flash Drive?
TheFarmerInTheDell asks: "I managed to wash my USB flash drive this past weekend (note to self: check your pockets better before doing laundry) and to my surprise, it still works. The problem is that the clothes dryer managed to beat up the plastic housing, and it no longer holds the innards in place as it should. Trying to plug the drive into a USB port is a difficult proposition since the whole mechanism slides into the plastic housing, instead of sliding into the USB port. Rather than using a super glue or an epoxy solution to hold the electronics in place, I was thinking that a custom body would be a cool way to go. I can cast it in resin and have whatever shape I want for the drive, but I am not sure that it will be a good thing to do. Has anyone done anything like this, and if so were there any problems? Are there any issues about not having an air space to help dissipate the heat that the chip generates? Aside from the obvious concerns about allowing the drive to fit into the USB port of a computer, is there any reason that the drive cannot be housed in any shape that I want?"
Just let me tell you one thing. I tried this and on the table was an open container of turpentine. Apparently the fumes are very damaging, and destroyed my drive when it was open.
Having seen the various odd casings that USB drives are sold in -- tempura, sushi, ducks, a cut-off thumb, dim sum -- as long as you didn't have anything shorting the actual circuitry, and could still slot the drive into a USB port, what you wrap around the electronics is entirely up to you (I recall the pictures of the person who fit the circuitry into the neck of a Barbie doll, so that when you took off the head of the doll, the connector was exposed).
what size is the device?
FP!
If you want to make your own custom case, I would recommend using the innards from a new device. Otherwise, you may go to a lot of trouble making something really cool only to discover that the spin cycle actually did do some damage to the flash memory.
Apparently not.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
In Soviet Russia, Flash Drive housing replaces YOU.
Washed mine twice so far, still works fine. I'm surprised about the melted case in the dryer though, I wouldn't have guessed that it would survive the heat! As for what to do... hmm, buy a new one anyway? They are really cheap now-days. Or you could attack it with duct tape, for a real low tech solution :-)
The best mod I have ever seen in a situation like this, was to copy to a brand new flash drive.
Two words my friend:
1. Duct
2. Tape
Purple, because ice cream has no bones.
You could keep all your pr0n on it!
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Just wrap it in duct tape.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
I've seen flash drives that are just a plastic-coated PC board. The heat generated won't be a problem (the USB spec limits the power you can draw to fairly negligible levels).
Oh, and -- don't trust the washed USB drive with critical data, there may be corrosion that takes a while to manifest itself.
"My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
Duct tape or toss it and buy another. I wouldn't waste a whole lot of time on it.
Media? What are you crazy? Bill Gates says we don't need media.
the casing on one of my flash/thumb/pen/whatever drives was just stupidly big for no good reason, so I took it off. To protect it I just got some clear 5 minute epoxy and layered it on there and just kept turning the the drive while it cured.
You can also put a lanyard hole in a dead space on the board or epoxy something in there and hang it on your keychange. It's working quite well for me.
In Bob we trust.
I know it isn't fancy, but I wrapped a busted case with electrical tape and it was fine.
Alex.
Next time I will see an instant rebate deal on flash drives at yourlocal electronics store, I will tell you. Will save you time and probably some money!!
Cant you figure out something on your own. I mean its a freaking little plastic case. Who gives a shit about this? Wrap duct tape around it or something and do try to dress yourself in the mornings.
I got some liquid latex from Home Depot for a similar problem. They talk about using it to coat tool handles, but it works great for coating bare electronics too.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
I would bet that taking apart the "Desktop" Death Star that came free with the purchase of Star Wars Empire at War and modding it to house the guts of your USB stick. Shit I'd do it. It's a good size too.
piss off
Look up "electronics potting problems" in Google and you'll get all the fun info.
The short and sweet of it is that there are two basic issues: During casting/potting, the epoxy generates a LOT of heat. It can be surprising, and damaging. Check the type of epoxy/resin/casting compound you are using. For such a small amount it probably won't be a problem.
The second issue is the composition of the epoxy and suitability to its purpose. If it has a low resistivity or creates significant capacitance between conductors, then it'll cause problems. If it's not suitable for electronics (ie, degrades over time into other components, is corrosive, etc) then it will cause problems over time.
In short, chances are good you'll be fine for this particular application with hobby grade casting compound. But be prepared for possible data loss if you don't fully understand the subject and act accordingly.
-Adam
My flash drive came in a really ugly and bulky plastic and metal case. There was an indicator LED on the circuit board that was all but invisible with the opaque casing. So I did the logical thing: took the casing off and painted the board and components in several coats of 3-minute epoxy. (I coulnd't find anything longer lying around.) It now works like a charm even though I carry it around in a fleece sweater with a lot of static. It also looks much nicer than before.
When the cheap plastic case on my USB memory stick gave way I just mixed up some two-part epoxy (Araldite) and gave it a good healthy coating. After it set (24 hours or so) I crazed the surface up with my Dremel. Now when the read light flashes the whole thing lights up. Looks pretty cool and is nigh on indestructable.
Without question, this is the only way to go:
;-)
Lego USB flash drive... that will give you near-infinite geek points (which can now be exchanged for frequent flier miles!)
Just like driving a car:
(D) to go forward
(R) to go backward
When mine broke, my girlfriend made me one out of lego.
(crappy) picture
I've been posting on the net since 1994 and I still haven't come up with a good sig!
I just didn't like the shape of my case, as it was too wide to allow another USB cord to plug in horizontally next to it, so I intentionally removed the case and covered the circuitry in clear heatshrink. I used three or four layers for a bit of added durability, but just one layer is probably sufficient. This has the benefit of protecting the circuit while still allowing for some room for air to get in to dissipate heat (those things can get a bit warm).
Do not read this sig.
I once made a solid epoxy flash drive, it was great: it was hard and durable, very compact, and I made the end (opposite the port) a little longer and drilled a small hole through it... voila, a keychain connection. Highly recommend it. I used an old plastic case from older RAM to keep the perfect rectangular shape, then used the good ol' Dremel to fix up the edges a little.
If you're worried about getting epoxy over parts where it might get in the way of plugging in, then just mask off the plug part..
Just mask off the plug itself with masking tape, then wrap that in putty. If you don't like the idea of getting putty on the end of the epoxy, then get a piece of stiff plastic and cut a hole the size of the plug, and slide that up the plug, then continue as above. When you're done, you can usually just peel the plastic off the epoxy. If in doubt, add a thin layer of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to the plastic.
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
How do you know all this information? Are you related to the Bush Administration?
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
While working on my own case mod, I discovered I was allergic to epoxy. BE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS ******BEFORE******!!!!!! repeat ******BEFORE******!!!!! using the rest room. my little buddy was the color of an apple and twice as large around. The scariest part was that it didn't hurt at all, even grossly deformed.
So Remember, wash BEFORE, and after, using the restroom.
Just the other day I was gong to do soemthing similar to mine- Machine a tight fitting case and end cap out of aluminum, coat the flash itself in epoxy and install it into the aluminum housing. Put an o-ring on the cap and make it watertight is my goal :)
-sirket
I just got a 1GB Sandisk Micro Cruzer for $49 after rebate. 512MB flash drives can be had for well under $30 while the 256MB versions are down under $20. Unless you work at McDonalds, your time is worth more than $30.
If, on the other hand, you have lots of time and want to express yourself artistically, I'd recommend that you look into fancy hardwoods from which to construct the case. You could even laminate thin strips of contrasting hardwoods like Babinga, Maple, Cherry, and Bloodwood.
don't use anything that might disolve plastics (like super glue), fill the inside with hot melt glue, let it cool a bit so its still fluid but not gonna get anything too hot
and if you can, get a new one soon
By reading this, you have given me brief control of your mind.
If nothing is shorting the pins, or changing the capacitance between two conductors too much, or damaging the electrolytes in electrolytic capacitors, I'd say electronics are pretty tough. Some parts might rust and tarnish on contact with water, but most boards are coated with material to resist that. I've gotten computer parts wet before, and they worked after being dried immediately. Metal + oxygen + water + time = rust. Otherwise theres no reason it shouldnt work.
I wonder if the right amount of coating on a circuit board can make it completely waterproof...
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
I love all of the ideas and suggestions - especially the lego and hardwood solutions. If I could get my wife to understand what a flash drive is, maybe SHE could do something with it...or maybe I should just find a girlfriend who can do it for me!
I did get a new drive the day after I found the old one in the dryer, and after a week or so the old one is still working so I guess that the corrosion is not happening very fast (if at all). I will post before / during / after pics as I get the old one rehoused - and it looks like I might have to make a trip to my local hobby store to find some interesting ways to dress up the drive.
Thanks for all of the help!
Micro$oft is giving them away, loaded with their crap propaganda. Its easy to wipe off and then you can laff all the way to the bank! http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/archives/00 1545.html
I trust Microsoft as far as I could comfortably spit a dead rat
Sounds like the perfect job for this really neat stuff (it goes by polymorph in europe)
http://www.shapelock.com/
http://notanumber.net/
If your sever is a steaming pile of melted metal??
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
I made several Barbie flash drives for my sisters and sister-in-laws... they love them. it was great because most barbies are sround 10bucks and with a 128mb flash drive on rebade or deal at fry's made a cool stocking stuffer. i repacked them all neat in the box after i made my modifications and noone could tell they were different. The girls all thought i just got them a barbie and they were like "Thanks.... a barbie". But then i came by and plucked the heads off and they all started laughing and they totally enjoyed it... they use them at school and they say they get the strangest looks when using them at the computer labs and thing... it was a great idea and only took a couple of hours each... only tools required was an hobby knife, hotglue, flash drive and barbie...
Bullring
Then you can wear it on your belt. It will probably become the hottest fashion of the time.
Fire up Blender, 3ds max, or what have you, and model a cool looking shell for the flash drive's guts. Then send the file to a 3D printing service such as www.3dArtToPart.com.
Don't make the new case too heavy. In many cases, the drive is held horizontal by the connectors at one end. If the case is too heavy, you'll stress the connectors. And as the case gets longer, the leverage makes the situation worse.
My memory key went through the wash once (not the dryer). It smelled soapy fresh and it still worked great. Make sure that whatever case you build keeps the part that connects it to the usb fastened well. On an old memory key of mine that part got wiggled loose from the actual data-holding part and you had to hold it at a certain angle to access files on it.
You can also put a lanyard hole in a dead space on the board or epoxy something in there and hang it on your keychange.
DO NOT drill holes through even apparently empty areas of PC boards. Often times, the boards are multilayer and there could be anything from interconnects to inductors and capacitors etched into a buried layer of copper.
Using a bright light may help you see how many layers there are, but usually one of the layers is a ground plane which will obscure your view of all others.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
flash stick stick: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/usb-fla sh-stick-stick-152473.php
http://www.inhabitat.com/entry_1132.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/wood/index.php