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Nanocoating Waterproofs Any Gadget
An anonymous reader writes "Water has always been the bane of electronics, however American company Liquipel just announced that they have developed a way to completely waterproof any device against the elements. Using a revolutionary process, Liquipel applies a hydrophobic nanocoating to phones, computers, and other devices that completely waterproofs them and protects them against accidental exposure to liquids."
What? Your TV is only 3D HDTV? It's not WATER PROOF?! Why not? Are you poor? Why haven't you bought one? How else do you plan to entertain under water?
they're such hydrophobes.
sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
At one point we’ve all done it – spilt a drink over a laptop, gotten our tablets soaked in the rain, or even dropped our phone in the toilet.
I've never done any of those things with my expensive tools/toys. It baffles me how badly people treat expensive and hard to replace tools. It's not limited to technology either; a friend of mine has a collection of rusted saws, screwdrivers and other tools because he's too lazy to bring them in out of the rain after a big home improvement project. Pathetic.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
The link is from a questionably "objective" source that has no real info on how (or if) it works. But by all means mail them your gadgets! They were nominated for an award you've never heard of!
Old News. I've been playing acoustic and electric guitar with Elixir strings for almost a decade, with customer satisfaction. Any nerd considering learning guitar should also, as they are resistant to Chee-toe residue.
Gripe: can you guys find a way to coat the upper B and E strings?
why is my $15 Walgreens watch waterproof to a depth of 20 meters, but if I sneeze on my $400 Android / iPhone it's ruined and I voided the warranty?
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
It is no doubt that nanocoatings are going mainstream what with the latest solar paint that can harness the sun http://www.infobarrel.com/Solar_Nanopaint_-_Paint_With_Quantum_Dot_Solar_Cells and coatings for jets and other aircraft to provide excellent aerodynamic properties. Then you have nanocoatings for engines and http://againsttheodds.hubpages.com/hub/Nanodiamond-Lubricants-And-Lubrication-Particles and countless other applications on the horizon. It is an exciting time and there is still plenty of room at the bottom.
... are just the thing for rabid technophiles!
Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
I was convinced when they took off the back cover of the HTC Thunderbolt and resubmerged it. It would be nice if phones started being shipped with this preapplied. Didn't DuPont already make hydrophobic coating for pants?
Water resistant, yes.
Water proof, no. Try dropping your treated item in 10+ feet of water and get back to me if it's insides don't need drying out. Then I'll be impressed.
I went straight to Ziebart!
* Carthago Delenda Est *
My friend knows these guys and had his iPhone done. I didn't believe it, but it's legit.
I'm curious how this will react with the moisture in our skin as we tap away on said gadgets.
"That's either incredibly asinine or the most brilliant troll I've ever read. Not sure which." -Anonymous Coward
Side-effects may include instant death.
Brian Fundakowski Feldman
That thinks this is actually kinda awesome? Sure it's completely geekish and totally limited in the potential buyers. But I can't help look at this and think that it is very neat. It's not nearly effective enough for me to do go through with it, but it is still a very slick approach to a neat step in the right direction. I think if I could walk in and get it done without losing my device during shipping + paying the shipping costs of sending it from Canada I would give it a lot more thought. The price doesn't even seem all that bad.
- Tarpan
my wife likes to use her ipod touch and kindle in the bath, I'm just waiting for the inevitable accident. waterproof gadgets would rock!
How could you coat the interior of a microSD card slot that's covered with a loose-fitting cover and make it waterproof? If the nano-coating doesn't conduct electricity then any card you insert won't make contact with the contacts. If it does conduct, then it's useless as a waterproofing seal over electronics. The same would seem to hold true for any earphone plug or charging port, right?
When they told me hydrophillic was the next big thing!? Well, these things are cyclical I suppose...
Yea but do you have to recoat your phone after taking the back off and reseating or replacing the battery? I have to reseat my cell phone all the time because it gets so dang laggy, I'd hate to have to recoat my phone with this stuff every time.
I guess this will eliminate employees "upgrading" their company crackberries by dropping them in the toilet.
Just another idiot with mod points.
Why did that video feel so much like "How It's Made" on Discovery?
There are many more liquids in the world than water. How does this coating stand up to something as corrosive as salt water or Coke?
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
The only two differences between this product and NeverWet are 1. This product is available now (sort of) while we have to wait a few months for the latter and 2. You have to send in your gadget to Liquipel HQ? Sorry, I would rather wait for the stuff to come out to the market than to trust sending my electronics somewhere to be coated.
What I've read in the media of this process suggests that it's parylene. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parylene
If so, it's not revolutionary, but a good application of an old coating technology. When I get my iPhone 5, I'll probably send it to these guys for coating.
And I can think of many uses besides cheap stuff like cell phones and laptops
.
I have a decent chunk of change invested in digital cameras and very often do get caught out in rainy weather.
If this stuff will work on a DSLR I have a few I'll be sending in.
Hopefully they'll do some testing soon and verify that Nikon DSLRs can be done.
I guess this will eliminate employees "upgrading" their company crackberries by dropping them in the toilet.
Yah, that could make for a problem buying used phones on ebay.... you'd never know why someone is selling a "perfectly good and working phone" for a discount.
We need oleophobic coating to eliminate the fingerprint smudges on the glass of a smartphone.
Forget phones and TVs, I want a set of dishes and cookware coated in this stuff!
I'm not sure if I should believe the video, it looks like an infomercial, and the disclaimer flashed at the end doesn't instill confidence that it really exists and works...
--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
Prior to studying Computer Science in University, I went to college and studied Electronics Engineering. I worked for an industrial electronic design and manufacturing company for 3 years between one and the other. Most products went into the oilfield. Scada, wellhead controllers, remote sensing equipment, etc. When manufacturing circuit boards 50 at a time, they would put them into a commercial *DISHWASHER* to get all the water soluble solder flux off and wash the board clean. Because chips follow the original Texas Instruments Mach32 procurement process (as outlined by the US Air Force in the 1960's and 1970's), they are hermetically sealed, must past gross leak, and fine leak tests, thermal shock, high altitude testing, centrifuge tests, and other tests, water won't 'leak' into the chips and wreck them. When power is applied, damage can happen. When there is no current, electronics are inert. To keep things 'dry' under power, silicone spray can keep the rest of the electronics from creating short circuits (due to conduction through water, etc.). This was also important in highly corrosive environments (hello petrochemical plant). They also used Hall-effect keyboards and switches to eliminate any chance of an electric arc in hazardous environments (when a seal fails in a methane/ethane/propane plant and you need to press a button to shut off a pump to stop the leak, and pressing the switch blows up the plant you have failed). As stated previously, you can enjoy this new 'wonder technology', or you can get a can of silicone spray. Have fun!
Maybe the company should keep some old original crackberries and maybe a couple of RAZRs on hand as replacements for 'broken' ones... That will fix the problem faster than anything...
--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if the coating was applied to a boat. Would the boat be fouling proof? Also, would it go even faster because it's coated in a hydrophobic substance? Hmmmm...The geek in me wants to get a toy boat, test its performance, then have them coat it then test it again and see if the performance improves by a measurable amount.
Also with a booth at CES is HZO. It looks like they use a similar technology that allows electronic devices to last a few hours underwater rather than 30 minutes as with Liquipel. For most cases, 30 minutes would be plenty in the case of an accidental drop or splash. Also, Liquipel is available direct to the consumer rather than only offered at the manufacturing level. Would be nice to see a comparison with how technically the two technologies differ.
Someone's going to try it and end up at the hospital.
"Waterproofing and Bioproofing are different. (your body rusts things that water don't"
Best material? Glue from a glue gun, according to Lepht Anonym.
And PCBs are a no-no, but that might change too with the appropriate coating.
Full talk at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_JpPMIriAI
I think Lepht is still in "repairing Lepht" mode, so she probably won't be trying this new nanocoating. But it could definitely help hedge cybermancers who practice in their kitchen.
Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
you insensitive clod!
Zagg seems to be marketing something similar these days.
http://hzo.me/
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Their site reads:
If my electronic is accidentally exposed to water after being Liquipelled what do I do?
Do not panic! Please follow the aftercare instructions such as drying the device as much as possible, powering down the unit (if it is not an emergency and you do not need to make a call), removing the battery and battery cover if possible and not restarting until it has dried. Please note not to charge your device for 24 hours until it has dried out.
Most electronics will survive water contact if dried out. After all, one of the last steps in PC board manufacture is a pass through a dishwasher-like device. This "nanocoating" starts to sound like a placebo.
It's lame that phones have connector holes in them at all. With inductive charging, Bluetooth headphones, and WiFi or cellular for everything else, why should there be connectors at all. I'm surprised that Steve Jobs didn't eliminate holes years ago on uglyness grounds.
There are at least three phones on the market designed to survive immersion in water. It's not rocket science.
... their video didn't sound and look like a cheap infomercial straight out of the eighties.
I think It's cool because you could take your phone to the bar and not worry about anybody spilling a Bud Light on it.
We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
Simply pot it. Now that's efficient.
aaaaaaa
Conformal coating is nothing new. That someone thought to apply it to the touch surfaces of a device is not surprising.
Been selling car/boat/airplane (you name it) waxes and coating products for the past 10 years. There is nothing revolutionary about this ... I've been coating (and "waterproofing") all sort of things for ages with the standard products.
It's a different thing to make a solid surface hydrophobic than to actually waterproof all the seams to prevent water/moisture getting in a product.
waterproof or water-resistant? There is a significant difference.
Saline water has always been the bane of electronics: pure, de-ionized water is an insulator.
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
"Waterproof" or not always depends on the pressure you apply, or not. "Up to 50 bar", for example ( see on the back of watches ). I mean: even a Dutch submarine will let water leak inside, if brought to a depth of 30000 feet. Although it is perfectly waterproof at 900 feet....
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
"Completely water proofs", huh? How well does it work when submerged at 1 atmosphere? What about 10 atmospheres?
This coating might make things mildly water resistant. But definitely not water proof.
Imagine it: Coat a phone with that stuff. Now press a button. A physical one.
Either the coating will make the button immobile, so you can’t press it anymore.
Or the coating will break, creating a way for water to get in.
And how will the power connector still work with an isolating (or short-circuiting) layer?
Either they are really fuckin' stupid... or really fuckin' evil. ;)
And "Ooh sorry, I'm just being stupid. *drool*" is the easiest fuckin' excuse in the book of social manipulation. So I'm not falling for that. (Still works great though, since there are always enough idiots around, parroting "Never account to evilness what you can account to stupidity.". Then again, most people are really fuckin' stupid. But hey, they can also be both!
I call fraud and snake oil.
Where can I buy, how long before it hits the commercial market?
never heard of it? http://www.corrosionx.com/corrosionx.html
It's used in RC world for years now. I also read that some guys sprayed a TV and put it in a water tank, it worked for 8 or 9hours!
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
My watch is waterproof to 70 meters. I never understood why my watch needed to be waterproof at 70 meters. If I'm underwater at 70 meters I already know what time it is....it's TIME FOR SOME DAMN AIR!!!
I wish my Android was semen proof....I found out the hard way. The warranty was difficult to prove.
This place is practicing Puffery (Legal Lying) when they say their coating "Water Proofs" Your phone. From their own website warranty page "WE NEVER SUGGEST OR RECOMMEND THAT YOUR DEVICE MAY COME IN CONTACT WITH WATER OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF LIQUID. We do not warrant that the coating of your device will work perfectly or that it will work under all conditions." So .. Send us your phone Let us put a coating on it that might destroy it. If it does we will gladly coat your next phone. (We will not pay for any damage we do to your phone). If it gets wet and craps out We will gladly recoat your next phone (We will not pay for any damage water does to your phone). Any coating that can protect your phone from water will render any external electrical contacts useless. If the coating stops water it will stop electrical conduction. If it were electrically conductive it would short out your phone. If the coating scrapes off, Then your phone is not protected. Save your money- Put your phone in a zip lock bag when you go to the beach.
Sounds a lot like Parylene, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parylene) although the masking might be a challenge for some devices. I wonder badly this coating effects the quality of the microphone and speaker...
A consumer ready waterproofing service is already available for your electronics on www.waterfi.com today. Every product comes with a one year warranty and a convenient return policy so you there is no risk of it not working. Our product has been available to consumers for a while, so you can check out product reviews to hear how well they work directly from our customers rather than from us. Check it out!
How hard is it to not put your phone into the same pocket as your keys or spare change?
Well, in general, I agree with your post, but for this, I have to say: if I didn't put my phone in the pocket with my keys or the pocket with my spare change, it would have to go into one of the pockets I sit on.
I don't think that's really all that good for it, either.
However, I have an Otterbox Defender case for mine, since I have known for years that I tend to be hard on my devices, not through conscious uncaring, but through clumsiness and carelessness.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
A few years ago I bought a waterproof cordless phone, then use a VOIP gateway to connect it as an extension on my office PBX. Why, you ask? Because my clients have this uncanny ability to call me when I am in the shower. Doesn't matter when, or what day, if I am in the shower, they call. I tried the cell phone in a ziplock bag, but the waterproof phone works even better. I am not sure that waterproofing my cellphone would be an improvement. Sure it would work, but what about soap scum?
--- Generation X: The first generation to have SIG lines inferior to their parents... ---
LMAO -> http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2603836&cid=38588550
I'm a trans woman, coupled with an Eastern European Jewish ancestry, so I kind of lost the body hair lottery. But I'm a huge fan of laser hair removal. The way I've come to describe it? Expensive, painful, and awesome. If you have a medium skin tone and dark body hair, it works exceptionally well.
What a great product. We had some freezing rain, and at the curb, water and snow banks were covering a hidden pothole. My son, holding his nice new all-in-one cellphone (I wont mention brand name), stepped into the puddle, to discover it was a foot deep. He fell over onto his hand which was holding the all in one and.....
Water got in, road salt got in, and in 5 seconds, no more functional phone.
So a coating to protect a device against rain, or accidental exposure to water is a good good option.
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
does the Liquipel process nano-coat everything— including the internal components like chips and circuitry— or only the external exposed surfaces? Could the coating affect disassembly or repair processes? How about fasteners (like small screws)? Could the Liquipel affect them?
This is so obviously a hoax but omg great idea if it was actually possible and THAT practical.
My Droid Razr is SUPPOSED to be protected by a similar coating... My "testing" so far has been unintended splashes once in a while.
There's no reason the same treatment that makes some Docker pants stain and waterproof wouldn't work on other materials...
Sounds like a good idea to me!