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?"

Warning

[2.7182]

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.

Shouldn't make a difference

[srmalloy]

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).

They're pretty tough

[tooth]

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 :-)

Liquid latex

[Spazmania]

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.

Epoxy

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Huzzah for Araldite

[Scytheford]

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.

Re:Shouldn't make a difference

[Myself]

Pack the USB connector with wax or clay in advance, then melt or wash it out when you're done. That should let you get careless with the epoxy or whatever you're using, and have more fun with the casing.

I'd suggest heat-shrink tubing, personally. It's pretty durable, and easily replaced if you don't like it. Not the most waterproof, but you could shellac the board first if you want that.

If you go the epoxy route, don't use JB-weld or anything else conductive. Look up "potting compound" for details. Try something a bit flexible, like silicone caulk or RTV, in a small mold. You want a squishy thumbdrive, don't you?

MMM Epoxy!

[dracho]

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.

Re:Go naked...

[djsmiley]

I woudln't trust a usb drive iwth critial data full stop. Backups ffs