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The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

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Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#21

Post by showerst »

billengineerguy wrote: post #19
showerst wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats! I've got a three year old and she's certainly added a few years to the age of my back, but it's was a happiness engineering optimization that was well worth it =).

Indeed, well there are a few things I should have been told before I became a father -- e.g., how much time I'd spend near the floor of a porta potty with a five year old in a full leg cast -- it is worthwhile and fulfilling. It was not, though, a good way to increase the number of videos I create!

C'mon Bill, you don't want to go full time and start making SHOCKING EVENTS, ENGINEER REACTS!! videos?

I think your viewers appreciate quality over quantity.

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#22

Post by jerf »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

Velcro tape. Super handy. Along with being in essence a two-sided tape, it also fits into a re-usable, removable niche that becomes very useful. For instance, my Steam Deck's Dock is hooked up to an HDMI cable that is heavy and tends to pull it off of where it lives, but I also want to remove it sometimes. Velcro solves both problems.

Don't underestimate its strength. My father was a brake tester for a car company when PC laptops started to become practical to mount in the cars for instrumentation. Someone tasked a mechanic to mount it in the car, and after trying a few things, they decided to use velcro. So, naturally, they coated the entire underside of the laptop in velcro and had a matching velcro pad in the car. Took a crowbar to get it off. You don't need much.

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#24

Post by masto »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

I thought I knew the basics of tape, but as always I learned a lot from that video. The one that went through my head is mastic tape. I used some on actual ducts and I don't know if it's just an extra thick layer of goo or if there are also more engineering secrets. But dang it is sticky and messy.

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#25

Post by cuSetanta »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

Others have mentioned some nice tapes, as a person who makes a living from taping spacecraft together here are some of my favourites:

- Kapton P-224 - Excellent all purpose tape with good adhesion and no residue. High thermal performance and insulation

- Black Kapton 100XC - Great for increasing thermal radiative communication. Pressure Sensitive Adhesive forms a very strong bond that can be easily removed with IPA/Acetone.

- Cho-Foil - thick Aluminium tape, much stronger than the normal off the shelf aluminium tapes, commonly used for electrical grounding. Conductive adhesive, decent thermal range.

- ST150 Vacuum Sealing Tape - Used with plastic liners to create a vacuum around odd shapes. Niche, but very reliable and fun to work with (texture like taffy).

- Teflon tape - plumbers and space nerds love it for sealing things, very easy to use too much of it though.

- Glass fibre tape - excellend performance in vacuum, useful for labelling or protecting something that may be exposed to rubbing or friction.

There are a whole host of thermal tapes out there to give you lots of different optical properties that are very useful for cooling/heating: https://sheldahl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/RedBook.pdf

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#26

Post by acadavid79 »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

Gorilla’s tape. I’ve solved many water leaks with it

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#27

Post by bingaling »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

cloth hockey tape, great for adding soft grip to tools

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#28

Post by mrguyorama »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

Anisotropic conductive tape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HZ35CyHVxQ

This is tape full of conductive microspheres that, as long as you use it right, conducts ONLY along the direction through the tape. Two contacts right next to each other will not conduct to each other, but two contacts one above the other will.

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#29

Post by goldcd »

cuSetanta wrote: post #25
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

Others have mentioned some nice tapes, as a person who makes a living from taping spacecraft together here are some of my favourites: - Kapton P-224 - Excellent all purpose tape with good adhesion and no residue. High thermal performance and insulation - Black Kapton 100XC - Great for increasing thermal radiative communication. Pressure Sensitive Adhesive forms a very strong bond that can be easily removed with IPA/A…

rummages in box of tapes and lubricants

3M VHB (Very High Bond) is awesome double-sided foam tape, that comes in a variety of thicknesses and bond types. I last used some to re-attach a piece of rubber seal around a car door.

"Gorilla Tape Crystal Clear", which I think is a "repair tape". Size of Duct tape, looks like regular clear tape - but much thicker and much stickier and waterproof. Ideal for say repairing a tear in a paddling pool. Or a crack in a roof-box, where Duct tape would look bad.

3M Super 33+ It looks like standard black vinyl insulating tape - but is a pleasure to use. I don't think the existence of insulating tape is going to blow minds, but I'm just mentioning it for those who "thought it's all the same" and are "annoyed by it".

Self-Amalgamating Tape. Black, thick, rubbery tape with a pull off backing. Not very sticky, so doesn't immediately feel useful. What it does do though, is bond with itself. Not 'stick', but as the name says 'amalgamates'. If you've ever wrapped a load of tape around something to keep water out, this is what you should have used.

I wouldn't normally inflict this list on anybody, but 'tape' is this wonderful area of technology where everybody knows what it is - but there's seemingly endless specialization for every conceivable use case. Finding/collecting these tapes feels like I'm assembling a box of solutions - and a tape-suitable problem is an opportunity for happiness.

Re: The Engineering of Duct Tape [video]

#30

Post by iancmceachern »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #9

Any other types of tape one might want to be aware of beyond gaffer's, duct and painter? Every time I discover a new type it opens up a whole new world of possibilities of solving neat little problems around the house in a slightly more elegant way.

VHB, the 3m stuff. It's incredible

Also check out prepreg fiberglass and carbon fiber tape.

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