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Open4D writes:
"The Guardian has the story behind the creation of Sugru, which it calls 'the new wonder material.'
Its 'rise in popularity [was] initially among the tech and maker community,' but it's not something I've heard of through my usual channels of tech news, despite it being one of Time magazine's "50 Best Inventions of 2010".
According to Wikipedia, 'Sugru is malleable when removed from its airtight, moisture-proof packaging, retains its plasticity for thirty minutes, and is self-curing at room temperature after approximately 24 hours.' In other words, it's Blu-Tack that sets. You can see it in action on You Tube or see plenty of demo project photos on the Sugru website.
So, who else missed this? Would you now consider buying some to have available as an alternative to superglue or duct tape? And who has enountered it? Modern miracle or over-priced rehash?'
(Score: 5, Informative) by beckett on Monday March 17 2014, @12:05PM
I sealed fish tank seams for experiments with a recipe for oogoo from instructables. i ended up using GE Silicone 1 (acetic acid hardener, no anti-fungal agent) mixed with corn starch. i can vary the consistency by adding more or less corn starch, and could mould like play-doh to form around bulkheads and edges.
i ended up using 2 tubes of silicone 1 for 30 tanks, and a cup of corn starch. this would have been really expensive if i had resorted to sugru.
(Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Monday March 17 2014, @12:14PM
I hate to break it to you but silicone i only costs a few pennies under $1/oz and genuine guaranteed fish / invertibrate safe tank sealant is only a couple pennies over $1/oz. So adding corn starch to mess with the viscosity probably made the homemade stuff more expensive than using genuine aquarium seal.
I've had fish since the 80s, on and off, and I Could totally see fixing little gadgets with sugru or similar. Maybe not sealing the entire tank, but rather forcibly attaching the motor to the box filter when the little clip breaks off. Or sealing a now unused hole in the hood. That kind of thing. Wonder if sugru is fish-safe? Invertebrate safe just means it doesn't have copper, I think.
(Score: 2, Informative) by beckett on Monday March 17 2014, @02:47PM
I used OTC silicone I, and corn starch is about 50¢/lb. i'm not sure why you think that adding some cornstarch suddenly jacks up the price to caviar.
this was for a custom designed flume tank for experimental work. i needed a bunch of them, so i had to DIY what i had i work in the aquarium trade, and I work on recirculating aquaculture systems as part of my job.
the benefit of using oogoo in this application was it was mouldable while wet, and sandable after drying. Additionally, it didn't matter how thick the oogoo was: even if i made a 3"x3" cube, it would dry completely in about an hour. I was able to make large plugs to make bulkheads watertight on non-flat surfaces. i would normally use fish safe silicone, but if i needed to make 3d structures or create a raised surface silicone is not something that takes a shape really well. oogoo was able to make the shapes and structures i needed to support in the flume tanks, and did so for pennies.
n.b. "fish safe" silicone typically means silicone without antifungal agents you'd normally see in bathroom applications. these mildew/mould-free silicones typically contain arsenic for its spectrum of activity, and are toxic to fish.