what is sugru? | sugru | Hack Things Better

sugru is the exciting new air-curing rubber that can be formed by hand. It bonds to most materials and turns into a strong, flexible silicone rubber overnight.

Developed by a team of product designers and materials scientists, sugru’s patented technology is unique in its combination of hand-formability, self-adhesion and flexibility when cured. It feels like modelling clay, and it’s that easy to use too. Once cured, its durable properties mean it’s comfortable in extreme environments from the dishwasher to the ocean to Antarctica.

Read the sugru story

Hand formable

sugru can be formed and shaped by hand for up to 30 minutes once it has been removed from its packaging.
Sticks to almost anything

sugru is designed to stick to as many other materials as possible. It forms a strong bond to aluminium, steel, ceramics, glass, wood and other materials including some plastics like perspex and ABS and rubbers like silicone and butyl rubber.
Air cures at room temperature

sugru is like modelling clay when you take it from its pack. Once it’s exposed to air, it cures to a tough flexible silicone overnight using the moisture in the air. Working time = 30 mins. Cure time = 24hrs (3-5 mm deep)
Strong + durable = great outdoors

sugru is stong and durable. Once cured, it will also stand up to anything the weather throws at it, wet or dry, hot or cold it will be great. It also won’t fade in the sun and it’s fine with sea water too!
Flexible when cured

When sugru cures, it’s flexible rather than rigid. Which means that you can repair things that need to be able to move like textiles, cables, or shoes. It’s also electrically insulating – how awesome is that?
Soft touch & grippy

As sugru is a silicone rubber, it feels soft to touch when it has cured, but is also grippy. This makes it perfect for handles and grips as it is comfortable but non-slip.
Stable at High and Low temperatures

sugru is resistant from -60°C to + 180°C. It gets hot and cold but it won’t get softer or harder or melt.
Waterproof

Once it’s cured, sugru is pretty much like other silicones – so it’s completely waterproof. It’s easy to clean with soap and water, and it’s durable in the harsh conditions of your washing machine and dishwasher, and even in the sea.
Removeable

Once cured, you can remove it with a craft knife and then remove residue with fingernails and tissue paper.

Tens of thousands of people in 76 countries use sugru to help with everything from fixing their sink to paragliding and deep sea diving. Here are a few of our favourites.

Jim trekked to the North Pole with sugru grips on his ski poles, where it needed to be the most comfortable shape for him and withstand temps of more then -25C.
Tom re-lined the inside of his wakeboarding boots, where he needed to reseal the foam, make the boots fit perfectly and be smooth enough to make them super easy to step in and out of.
Stefan redesigned his camera to be dropproof so his 3 year old could take pictures where it needed to dampen vibration and bounce.
John modified his water sprinkler to stop it shooting beyond his lawn where it needed to be durable enough to cope with constant wet conditions and water pressure.
Franklin and loads of other people repairing their dishwashers where it needed to withstand harsh detergents and high temperatures.
David resealed a link in the cooling system of his car where it needed to withstand temps of 80C and high pressure too.

So sugru is pretty amazing, and you should definitely buy some but what else do you need to know?

Shelf life

sugru will stay fresh for 6 months from the date you receive it. If you use it within its date, the cured sugru will last and last. (You’ll find a Use By date on the back of each individual minipack). PRO TIP: If you keep sugru in the fridge, you can increase its shelf life by up to 2X!
Food safety

Once cured, sugru is inert, but people can be allergic to anything, so we have to tell you to be careful. sugru isn’t certified as food safe yet, but we’re working on it. For now, please resist the urge to eat it.
sugru + Kids

Kids love sugru — it’s just like play dough when it comes out of the pack — but it’s not certified as child safe, so it shouldn’t be used by children.

See Full Technical DetailsThe material properties

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The bit for material scientists, chemists and general nerds.

Have the normal people gone yet? Great. Let’s talk technical.

sugru is a formulation of Formerol — the patented formable silicone tecnology invented by Jane. It’s Formerol F.07, to be precise. We call it sugru, because that’s its superhero name.

Formerol can be designed with variable physical properties, but sugru is the best version for most people.
sugru and Formerol are both listed in Material Connexion, MateriO Materia.nl, and universities around the world including Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, Delft University of Technology, and Harvard University Design School
sugru has a Shore A hardness of 70, Density of 1.3g/cm3, Tensile Strength of 1.89 Mpa, Youngs Modulus of 5.59MPa, an Strain to Failure of 211%, DIN Abrasion Resistance of 24% ARI index (Standard used ISO4649 Method A), Electrical Resistivity – Surface 1.40 × 10^14 Ohms (Standard used BS903), Electrical Resistivity – Volume 2.55 × 10^14 Ohms (Standard used BS903), and a Williams Plasticity of 160mm. Phew.

If you’re still awake, you’re one of us, and you probably want more technical details. Happy to help. You can download a PDF of sugru’s Technical Data Sheet (TDS) or sugru’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).