FB Ronnie - Handmade: Tutorial - Steampunk USB Flash Drive in Polymer Clay

Bine v-am regasit!

Hello again!

Astazi doresc sa va prezint un tutorial despre cum putem transforma un banal Memory Stick intr-unul personalizat, in stil steampunk, cu ajutorul lutului polimeric FIMO si a catorva minuscule piese de ceas.

Today I invite you to follow a tutorial about how to transform a common USB Flash Drive in a steampunk style USB Flash Drive, using nothing but FIMO polymer clay and some little watch movement pieces.

Iata la ce ma refer:
Here is what I'm talking about:

Mai intai, materialele:
First, things we need:

1. lutul polimeric - eu am folosit FIMO, dar e la alegerea voastra;

1. polymer clay - I'm using FIMO, but any polymer clay will work just fine;

2. piese de la mecanisme de ceasuri - rotite dintate, suruburi etc. (eu le-am demontat din ceasuri mecanice, dar si unele modele de ceasuri cu quartz au rotite dintate metalice bune de folosit in steampunk);

2. little watch movement parts - gears, screws etc. (I dismantle them from mechanical hand watches, but some quartz watches have some metallic gears and pieces that are also good for steampunk);

3. Memory Stick - USB Flash Drive;
3. Memory Stick - USB Flash Drive;
4. Adeziv;
4. Glue;
5. 2 ace cu cap
5. 2 headpins
6. Lac pe baza de apa.
6. Water based varnish.

Si acum, cum procedam?
And now what?

Mai intai trebuie sa demontam stick-ul de memorie pe care vrem sa il transformam intr-un accesoriu special. De obicei, aceste produse sunt din plastic, deci ne va fi usor. Putem folosi un cutter sau orice alta lama pentru a incerca sa desfacem cele doua parti de plastic care invelesc partea electronica. Aveti grija sa nu bruscati prea mult stick-ul. Capacul il vom lasa asa cum este.

First you need to dismantle the USB Flash Drive that you chose for upgrading it into a special accessory. Usually, the flash drives in the market are plastic covered so are easy to dismantle. We can use a cutter or any other blade and try to unbind the two plastic parts that wrap the electronic part. Handle the flash drive with care. We'll leave the cover of the flash drive as it is.

Acum vom alege culoarea de polimer dorita si o vom framanta in palme pana devine moale si maleabila. Am ales FIMO Effect Copper - 27:

Now we choose the desired polymer clay color and condition it in our hands until is soft and malleable. I'm working with FIMO Effect Copper - 27:

Cu ajutorul unui roler sau a unei masini de taitei sau masini speciale pentru polimer vom intinde un strat de fimo avand grosimea de 2 milimetri. Luam dimensiunile dupa bucatile de plastic care alcatuiau stick-ul original si decupam cu ajutorul unui cutter 2 bucati de polimer avand dimensiunea potrivita.

We need to stretch a 2 millimeters layer of polymer clay, using a rolling pin or a pasta machine or a special polymer clay machine. We then use the plastic covers of the original flash drive to get the right size for our custom covers. We'll cut out the 2 pieces using a cutter.

Mai apoi incepem sa decoram cele doua bucati de polimer. Aici totul tine de imaginatie. Eu am ales sa le decorez in stil steampunk, dar se pot face fel si fel de modele, folosind o multime de culori si forme. Mai intai am imprimat cateva linii si puncte, ca si pe un circuit electronic.

Now we begin to decorate the two parts we just cut out. It's all about imagination and creativity at this step. I've chose to decorate them in steampunk style, but there are many ways you can decorate them, many forms and colors. First I imprinted some lines and dots, imitating an electronic circuit.

Mai apoi am ales diverse rotite dintate si suruburi pe care le-am presat in polimer.
Then I picked some gears and screws and pressed them onto the polymer piece surface.

La final am rulat niste bucatele subtiri de polimer si am facut marginile interioare ale viitoarei carcase, avand grija sa potrivesc mecanismul stick-ului pentru a fi sigura ca se va aseza bine dupa coacere. Puteti lua modelul marginilor apasand usor mecanismul in polimer, ca un sablon.

In the end I've rolled small pieces of polymer clay for the interior edges of the future flash drive case, making sure the mechanism fits in just well. You can model these edges using the mechanism as a cast or mold, pressing it gently in the polymer clay.

Punem apoi piesele la copt (eu am mai lucrat cateva intre timp, pentru a nu lasa tava goala). FIMO-ul trebuie copt in cuptor cu gaz sau electric (NU microunde!), la 110 grade Celsius, timp de 30 de minute.

We then need to bake the pieces (I've worked several other items meanwhile in order not to leave the tray empty). FIMO polymer clay must be baked in gas or electric oven (NOT microwave!), at 110 degree Celsius, for 30 minutes.

Atentie: In cuptor vom coace doar bucatile de polimer, in nici un caz nu vom introduce mecanismul stick-ului inauntru.

Warning: We'll only bake the polymer clay pieces, make sure you don't introduce the flash drive mechanism in the oven.

Dupa coacere lasam piesele la racit. Apoi va trebui sa fixam mecanismul stick-ului in noua carcasa. Daca nu va fi bine fixat, mecanismul se poate smulge atunci cand folosim stick-ul la calculator. Nu e bine sa fie lipit cu adeziv, de aceea trebuie fixat folosind alte mijloace. Din fericire, mecanismul pe care l-am folosit avea un fel de urechiuse gaurite, facute anume pentru fixarea in carcasa. Am gaurit bucata de polimer cu ajutorul unui burghiu subtire.

After baking we need to let the pieces cool down. Then we'll have to mount the flash drive mechanism into it's new case. If we won't do that, the mechanism could be pulled out when used on a computer. It's not good to fix the mechanism using glue, so we need to find another way to do that. Fortunately, the flash drive I've used had two little pierced handles especially for that. I've also pierced the polymer clay using a fine drill.

Am folosit doua ace cu cap pentru a prinde mecanismul in interior. Capetele au ramas pe exterior, am trecut acele prin urechiusele mecanismului si le-am indoit capetele cu ajutorul unui cleste.

I've used two headpins to mount the mechanism in the interior of the case. I've inserted the headpins from the exterior, put them through the two holes of the mechanism, then used a pliers to bend the headpins inside.

Iata:
Here:

Acum folosim adeziv pentru a lipi laolalta cele doua parti ale proaspetei carcase. Aveti grija sa nu ajunga lipiciul si pe mecanismul stick-ului - s-ar putea deteriora. Punem cateva picatri de adeziv pe marginile celor doua piese pe care urmeaza sa le unim.

Now we have to use some glue to stick together the two pieces of the future case. Be careful not to glue the mechanism too - it may deteriorate. We use a few drops of glue only on the edges of the polymer clay pieces.

In final vom acoperi stick-ul cu doua straturi de lac pe baza de apa. Aplicam un strat de lac. Lasam sa se usuce. Apoi aplicam cel de-al doilea strat de lac.
In the end we'll use water based varnish to apply on the polymer flash drive. We apply one layer of varnish. Let it dry. We then apply a second layer of varnish.

Punem capacul original la stick si gata. Putem, eventual, sa mai facem o gaura unde sa prindem un lantisor de breloc, numai sa avem grija sa il facem la capatul opus mecanismului, pentrui a nu gauri din greseala partea electronica.

We use the original cover for the flash drive and that's it. If we want, we can drill a hole for a key chain, but we must be careful to drill it in the opposite side of the mechanism in order not to deteriorate the electronic circuit.