1. The stuff is amazing. As an experiment, I completely coated an 802.15.4 temperature sensor in a thin coat and threw it into an autoclave (to test the temperature claims, etc). It held up.
2. Customer service has been amazing. The Sugru I received came from a batch with a slightly shortened shelf-life because of mixture issues, so they sent me a second order for free. No questions asked, no forms, nothing. Just an email "sorry about that, the replacement is in the mail."
Despite the clever marketing (and it is quite clever), hand-formed room-set silicone has been used in the building trades for almost a decade--mostly for long-run ductwork dampening and high-service-interval electrical junction box seals.
It's precisely analogous to when cyanoacrylate adhesive compounds were re-marketed as Krazy Glue.
Merely "clever" doesn't seem quite strong enough. Taking something already well-known and useful in some specialized context, thinking of a way it would be useful for some non-specialized target market, and then successfully marketing it to that demographic is a very elegant move, and potentially quite lucrative if successful!
In fact, if I was going to critique this at all, I'd question the choice of marketing. They're targeting younger, geeky DIY-type internet people well, which is not a bad market at all to be sure, but there's definite potential for something like this in going for older, less tech-oriented demographics (I bet I could get my mother interested, for instance).
But I suspect they've already thought about that sort of thing--sounds like they can't keep up with the current demand as it is, so reaching new markets is probably not a priority!
there's definite potential for something like this in going for older, less tech-oriented demographics (I bet I could get my mother interested, for instance)
That is not the demographic that orders random puttys from the UK in anticipation of perhaps needing it someday. To be successful in that demographic, it needs to be marked through traditional means, and it needs to be available at the store. That is expensive and difficult. Making a website and some Youtube videos is much easier, and less likely to be a financial problem if there is no interest.
It does mean there's room for an existing manufacturer who has production capacity to start selling existing products into the market segment they just pioneered.
Someone could play Microsoft to their Macintosh and produce a cheaper and cheesier version with greater availability.
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Dow Corning® 795 Silicone Building Sealant is a one-part, cold-applied, non-sagging silicone material that cures to a medium modulus silicone rubber upon exposure to atmospheric moisture.
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Don't know the exact details of Sugru's formulation. But per the data sheet this stuff sets up to be a relatively stiff non-tacky surface in three hours and comes in a variety of colors.
You can buy variants at your local home improvement store. It's usually sold as silicone caulk.
Is that flexible after it cures, though? My bet is not; it's what you use to repair a cracked engine block. Sugru is for fixing stuff like your flip flops. Different use cases.
What's with introducing female engineers and designers as "lovely"? That's generally speaking, since it's probably just precious copywriting in this case.
Lovely _and_ Irish, how twee. I am a female Irish engineer and I would be very disappointed and a little insulted if a copywriter couldn't find a better description other than 'cute with a funny accent'.
1. The stuff is amazing. As an experiment, I completely coated an 802.15.4 temperature sensor in a thin coat and threw it into an autoclave (to test the temperature claims, etc). It held up.
2. Customer service has been amazing. The Sugru I received came from a batch with a slightly shortened shelf-life because of mixture issues, so they sent me a second order for free. No questions asked, no forms, nothing. Just an email "sorry about that, the replacement is in the mail."