Last week, Nancy and I assembled the “Transformer” USB drives, lovingly modeled by Duann, so we could offer them as giveaways at the office opening party we threw last week. What ensued was a fascinating crash course in how WSF responds to adhesives.

If you’re not already familiar, an earlier version of Duann’s model can be seen in action here.

In theory, this would be a relatively simple procedure, where we could just use a dab of hot glue on the edge of the USB stick, insert it into the 3D printed transformer and let it sit.

The problem was that even though Remco at our Eindhoven printing facility worked really hard to clean these things out, there was still a significant amount of SLS powder on the inside of them. So much, in fact, that it prevented the hot glue from keeping the USB drive in place. After a few failed attempts, we decided I’d take the transformers home from the office, run them through my dishwasher, and try again.

I returned the next morning with significantly less powdery transformers, but when we tried again, the hot glue still wouldn’t quite take. So I ran out to get some super glue. Creating an ad hoc assembling line, I hot glued the plastic end of the USB drive, then brushed super glue onto the metal part (being careful to apply it only where the metal came in contact with the WSF) and handed it over to Nancy to hold it in place while it set. After leaving them be for a few hours, I came back and tested each one to ensure that they not only stayed together, but that the USB drives were functioning properly.

The results were mostly great, but there were still a handful of stubborn models. At this point, hours before the party, I engaged in a quick regluing process.

The final result? One of the wildest party favors anyone had ever seen.

This informed me and the rest of the team a whole lot about what the cleaning process of SLS can look like, and where we can improve it. We’d like to hear, what’s the wildest post-production feat you’ve ever accomplished?