Make your own molds for USB flash drives. Original case for a flash drive with your own hands
USB drives have become a part of our lives. With their help, you can transfer information from one computer to another, view images and videos on TVs. The flash drive is compact, durable and lightweight. But most manufacturers offer boring oblong cases that differ only in size and color. Although, the appearance of this gadget is a real field for creativity.
This collection contains original ideas enclosures for flash drives, which you can create with your own hands.
Instructions for a homemade USB case
Many people are interested in the question of what a body can be made from at home. A small one is suitable for these purposes. wooden block, a Lego brick, a keyboard button, a used lighter, or a small children's toy.
The flash card shell made of amber-colored epoxy glue looks unusual, in which you can wall up a small object or insect. Lovers polymer clay can mold a body of any shape. And if there are empty cartridges left on the farm, you will get a real military gadget.
And although you can always find available materials at home, you still have to buy some consumables.
Let's shop
When the issue with the drive shell is resolved, it’s time to check the availability necessary materials and tools. The minimum set we need:
- an old flash drive for analysis, for example Transcend JetFlash 2 GB;
- sharp knife;
- pliers;
- a heat gun with a minimum power of 20 W and rods for it.
On the Internet you can find photos of homemade flash drives with LEDs. Then it’s worth additionally preparing LED light bulb, 300 Ohm resistor, soldering iron and screwdriver.
Disassembling an old flash drive
The first step is to disassemble the old device and remove the board. For collapsible structures It is worth prying with a sharp knife with a thin blade the seam along the body, separating the two halves from each other.
If your old device had a molded case, then we proceed in the same way - open the latch located near the USB connector with a sharp object.
Preparing a new building
For clarity, we will show how to make a case for a flash drive from a children's toy. To do this, divide it with a knife into 2 parts, one of which will be the lid. Hollow rubber or plastic blanks do not require modification.
Another thing is toys with a “filling” of stiffeners or jumpers. Using pliers, we break out everything unnecessary inside, simultaneously cutting off the sharp edges with a knife. A cavity should form inside the workpiece, sufficient to install the flash board and LED.
In order for the latter to glow during connection, a screwdriver is used to drill into the body of the toy through holes with a diameter of 2-3 mm.
Soldering the LED
We take the LED and visually determine its positive pole by smallest area electrode. Using a soldering iron we connect this pin to a resistor. Install heat shrink tubing to the ends and begin soldering contacts to the flash drive board according to the following scheme:
We connect the “+” of the LED (the soldering point with the resistor) to the rightmost leg of the board;
“-” is soldered to the leftmost leg.
Assembling a flash drive
The last stage of updating and repairing a flash drive with your own hands is installing and fixing the board in the toy body. We insert a flash card with an LED into the toy and fill the cavity with glue using a heat gun.
Irregularities, excess adhesive composition can be cleaned stationery knife, and dull burrs or sharp edges with sandpaper.
In order for the improvised lid, the second part of the toy, to close faster, you can attach a small magnet inside it.
Checking the new device
After assembly, you need to check the drive for functionality. If everything was done correctly, then when connected to a PC it will work LED lights and the card will be ready to use. But if something went wrong, then don’t be upset. It is enough to know the main faults of flash drives and how to fix them. All breakdowns are divided into mechanical or physical, electrical and software errors.
Mechanical damage
Most often they are the result of user negligence. A flash card used without a protective cap is susceptible to static, and the USB connector may bend. Therefore, portable assistants should only be stored closed or in special cases.
It is not uncommon for a drive to be stepped on or dropped from a height. In this case, the USB pins or contacts on the board responsible for power supply may become unsoldered.
The defect can be eliminated by re-soldering the extreme contacts of the plug. If after this the flash drive comes to life and starts blinking, but still does not work, then the likely reason is that the data transfer pins are coming off. The same soldering iron will come to the rescue.
Electrical faults
The most common culprit of electrical damage is water that gets inside a flash drive. Such a device is not recognized on the computer. The flooded device must be thoroughly cleaned of salt and dirt deposits and immersed in isopropyl alcohol and dry thoroughly before use.
Other causes of electrical breakdowns include soldering defects, static discharges, overheating due to poor heat dissipation in the case, and power surges. Here you will have to resort to hardware restoration - replace non-functioning parts, solder defective areas again.
Software (logical) faults
These include damage invisible to the eye - firmware or microprogram failures. To fix them, you can use special utilities or format the drive. Periodically check the flash card system for errors, use only safe removal from the ports and do not pull out the device while it is in operation.
DIY photo of flash drives
We welcome all beginners as well as experienced life hackers on this site!
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Almost everyone has USB flash drives today. But despite all the diversity, the range of housings for such devices is quite limited. Why not make a case for the flash drive yourself? It's not as difficult as it seems, you just need to spend a little time. But you will become the owner of a unique thing.
So let's get started! Following step by step instructions, we will make a case for our USB flash drive from bricks from children's construction set Lego.
This is what she will look like
Tools and materials
Penknife
Pliers
Several Lego bricks
Super glue
Sandpaper
Metal polish
Flash drive
Step 1: Body Base
Internal elements are broken
USB memory cards are available different sizes. We will be packaging a fairly large board. Therefore, we will need a Lego brick of 6×3 cylindrical seating elements (let’s agree to call them “dots”).
You need to cut everything with a penknife internal partitions bricks and then break them out using pliers.
We use two more low-profile bricks with dimensions of 4×2 and 2×2 “points” to create the lid. Also for the lid you will need a low-profile element 1x6 “dots” (for the lid you can use other combinations of construction parts, or you can simply take exactly the same brick as for the base of the body (6x3) and carefully cut off its upper part with a jigsaw parallel to the horizontal plane).
Using superglue, glue the lid elements together to create a part measuring 6x3 “dots”.
Step 2. Install the board
Board in case
At the end of the case we cut out a groove for the USB connector, and after a little adjustment using a penknife we install the device into the case.
Step 3. Mounting the board
Fill the body with silicone
We place brick scraps on the bottom of the case and ensure that the board is parallel to the horizontal plane and does not press through. We fill all the remaining space in the case with transparent silicone, sealing it to reduce the possibility of any movement of the flash card inside the case.
It is important to use transparent silicone, since the indicator LED will need to shine through it.
Step 4. Gluing and polishing
Cleaning the edges
Polishes of different abrasiveness
To ensure that there are no gaps between the lid and the body, take sandpaper, place it on a flat surface, and level the bottom plane of the lid on it.
After we have glued the lid to the body with superglue, using the same sandpaper we remove burrs and glue smudges from the side edges of the body.
Then we finally polish the body with polish.
Step 5. Completion
The case is ready
Compare your exclusive and mass consumer goods
Looks stylish!
But the creative possibilities for creating exclusive flash drives do not end there. On the contrary, there can be an infinite number of types of cases for them.
Look what other craftsmen have done.
Do you have an original flash drive? What ways of individualizing this mini-media do you know?
Meanwhile, the mini-magazine still contains some unread curiosities: a visionary video about the medicine of the future; gadgets - stationary cellular telephone and a bottle for tourists to disinfect water. and don't miss anything!
It always looks bright and unusual, especially if it is a flash drive in a wooden case. However, this will require a lot of time and effort, but believe me, the result will be worth it. In order to make an original flash with your own hands you will need: three boards, a sharp knife, a cutter, wood and metal drills, a needle file, a file, epoxy resin and super glue.
DIY case for a flash drive made of wood
First you need to cut three boards that will be larger in size than the board from the flash drive. One board should be made from a different type of wood from the other two - this will give the craft an interesting and stylish look.
In the end, this is exactly what your three blanks should look like.
Now you need to make a hole in the central plate into which you should attach the flash card. The hole should fit very well, and its edges can be coated with super glue.
Now you need to make a hard layer so that the flash drive does not break under significant physical activity. For example, it often happens that flash drives simply break out of their plastic cases, then what can we say about wooden ones.
A ruble coin is perfect for this and needs to be thoroughly cleaned. sandpaper. (Almost polish). Then using epoxy resin glue the metal blank to the wooden body. In advance, of course, using a drill and a file, we make a hole in the coin into which the USB connector will go.
You should end up with a “rough” flash drive like this, which will still require a lot of work. In the same way, following the above instructions, you should make a lid for your designer craft. Please note that after all the operations performed, the craft still does not look stylish.
In order for the author’s flash drive to acquire a truly “saleable appearance,” the workpiece must be carefully processed with a file. After this, the surface can be treated with varnish (or you can leave the natural wood covering intact) Agree that such a craft will really original accessory. I bet that you will not find such a flash drive in anyone’s possession.
Hello, friends. Creating unusual cases for flash drives has long been a separate trend in modding. Many craftsmen work exclusively with flash drives and, moreover, even sell their mods through online stores and auctions. It would seem like an ordinary compact USB drive - why exactly has it become so popular? Before the advent of flash drives, almost every PC was equipped with a floppy drive for reading and writing floppy disks. Unfortunately, floppy disks were not very convenient and significantly limited the capabilities of users. A flash drive has become a step forward - a compact device, characterized by reliability, lightness and the ability to accommodate a large amount of memory. A flash drive has become a constant companion for many people, because carrying disks or bulky external HDDs with you is very inconvenient and it is much easier to take a neat keychain that stores all the necessary information. Since this thing is always at hand, many began to think about the external design and style of USB drives. does not require a huge amount of materials, large financial costs and time. Ways to decorate your flash drive or make it a full-fledged custom case with unique design great amount and many can be done even by beginners and inexperienced modders.
Modding flash drives in steampunk style.
Steampunk appeared relatively recently, but its popularity is only growing with each passing year. Many designers have even begun to focus exclusively on steampunk, as the demand for such unusual and original things is growing at a tremendous speed. Steampunk occupies a special niche in the style. Particularly popular is the direction of alternative-historical steampunk, which is based on stylization of the real historical world of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
Modder Rob Smith, also known under the nickname Back2root, became famous in the foreign modding scene precisely thanks to his high-quality work on creating custom cases for flash drives. For all his mods he uses wood, elements from old mechanical watch for styling and small inserts made of copper and brass. Everyone is different interesting design and a comfortable body. Here, for example, is a stylish flash drive capable of storing up to 16 GB of information in a new case in the steampunk style:
Modder -=ReBiT=- built his flash drive into the body of an old Zigigalka using an ordinary school eraser. An example of simple, cheap and. Despite the simplicity of modding, such a case will perfectly protect the filling of the flash drive from mechanical impact.
A peshka is a modern and very symbolic gift that everyone will appreciate. But the plastic cases of USB drives don’t look very presentable. If you want to make your gift pleasant not only from the point of view of the attention you give, but also aesthetically impressive, take the trouble and make a wooden case for the flash drive with your own hands.
Materials
To make a wooden case for a USB drive with your own hands, prepare:
- the flash drive itself;
- a block of wood of any species;
- wood glue;
- linseed oil or stain;
- hot glue;
- milling machine or hand tool for wood processing;
- saw;
- grinding machine;
- sandpaper.
Step 1. From the bar you have, cut a piece 6 - 7 mm thick. The cross-section parameters in this case were 55 x 55 mm.
Step 2. After cutting the block, sand it thoroughly for further work.
Step 3. Considering the parameters of the plastic case of the flash drive you have chosen, sketch out its prototype on paper. Attach it to the cut piece of wood, and then start making a groove for the internal filling of the flash drive. The depth of each groove should be 2.4 mm.
Step 4. Cut part of the block with shaped grooves into two parts of the flash drive body. Sand them down.
Step 5. Disassemble the plastic casing of the flash drive, leaving only its internal components and the port.
Step 6. Place the flash drive circuit in one of the wooden case blanks. Secure it in place in the correct position with a dab of hot glue.
Step 7. Lubricate the wooden frame halves with wood glue. Clamp it and place it in a vise. Remove excess glue immediately.
Step 8. After the glue has completely dried, cut off band saw edges, giving the body a streamlined shape. After this, sand the product. If desired, you can cover the body with stain or linseed oil to highlight the texture of the wood or shade it.
