Clear USB Drive

by rjones3 in Circuits > USB

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Clear USB Drive

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After the my cover broke off my Cruzer 512 MB USB drive, I decided to fashion my own case. I saw several ideas floating around on the internet such as cases made of Lego, pez dispensers, and and even a Barbie doll. I cast the USB stick in clear casting resin used to make paperweights out of scorpions or flowers. I picked it up at my local Hobby Store for about $15. It comes it two parts: the resin and the catalyst. If you're making a cast, test it out on some scrap bits and pieces to make sure your ratios are correct.
Check out http://www.tcnj.edu/~jones37/usb.html

The Specimen

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Very Stylish Duct tape case

Open Case

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Crck open / otherwise dismantle the case

Molding Rig

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This is a molding rig created with scrap pine wood and clamps. The pine was covered with clear packaging tape to prevent the resin from sticking to the wood.

Resin

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I obtained resin from my local hobby shop.

Pour the Resin

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The long part. The casting was done is several parts. Everything was done in about two days time.

Done!

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USB Stick in see-through glory.

Lanyard

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I drilled a small hole to fit the rope back on so I could still hang it on the lanyard that I got with it. A small bit of J-B Weld attached the rope back to the clip.

Admire Your Work

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This picture was taken after about a month of use. I don't think I got the ratio of catalyst to resin quite right. This caused the top surface to become mottled. Otherwise, there have been no problems as a result of the casting.

Check out http://www.tcnj.edu/~jones37/ for my other projects!