Awesome Bouncy Kids Camera Made With Sugru

Three- to eight-year olds are most likely budding artists. They are passionate about drawing, painting and building. Why can’t they also be great photographers? Perhaps because kids’ cameras don’t work well. Who wants to spend money on a digital camera when their child is likely to drop it and break it within five minutes? With a little bit of Sugru, and a lot of creativity, your children can become talented young photographers. You can make a camera drop-proof by covering it with soft Sugru walls. This will prevent even the wildest child from breaking it. This hack starts with the creation of walls. It’s easy once you have that down. Enjoy.

Step 1: The Original Kids Camera from Stefan

Step 2: Open your Sugru.

Wash your hands and then take out the Sugru you will need to make the wall. The red line should be cut along. Next, open the packet by pulling the sides apart. You might need more than one packet depending on how large your wall is, but it’s best to start with one. Sugru sticks well to itself so you don’t have to buy another.

Step 3: Mold Your Sugru

Move your Sugru around in your hands once you have taken it out of the package. This should take around 10 seconds. After it is done, roll it into a long sausage that runs the length of your wall. You should make the sausage about 1 cm in diameter. Make sure to use enough Sugru.

Step 4: Make your Sugru Wall Foundations.

Make sure the surface where you plan to build is clean. Next, place your sausage in the area you wish your wall to be. You should make sure that the bottom of your wall is securely attached to the surface, but don’t let the sausage fall flat.

Step 5: Make your wall tall.

Then, use your index and thumb fingers to build the wall starting at the base. Your wall should be built from the base. However, you must keep the base firm so your wall is more vertical with the wider base at the bottom. This will help to keep the Sugru securely attached to the surface.

Step 6: Finish your wall

By pressing with both your fingers, you can achieve nice square sides. To achieve a shiny finish, smoothen the Sugru surface with your fingers. Allow your wall to dry overnight. Curing is most effective when the wall remains vertical. Once you are familiar with the Sugru wall, you will need to place the pieces in the correct place on your camera.

Step 7: The Lens Wall

The most important part of hacking is building the lens wall. The Lens wall is built in the same way as any Sugru wall, but it must be circular and high enough to cover the lens (approximately 4.5cm). It is best to make it in two pieces using TWO sausages because of its height. Begin by making two sausages that are equal in length to the circumference of the lens. To ensure a strong wall, your sausages should measure approximately 1 cm in diameter.

Step 8: The Sausage Foundations.

Place the first sausage around the lens, making sure the bottom edge is securely anchored. To ensure your Sugru wall does not protrude, turn on the camera. Ensure that you do this every time you build the wall. To continue shaping the wall, place the lens on the ground. Next, squeeze the sausage as before to start the construction of the wall. The wall should be half the length of the lens. This should be squatter than the wall you tested. These foundations will allow you to build your taller lens wall.

Step 9: Build your wall.

After you have made a foundation using your first sausage, place your second sausage on top. Continue building the wall the same way you did before, until it is taller than the lens. To achieve a clean finish, smoothen any joins gently using your fingers.

Step 10: Lens Wall Tip

When building the lens wall, I noticed that it sometimes grew outwards instead of straight. To fix this, fold the walls over and push them together. Next, smoothen the joint with your fingers. Continue to check that the lens opens properly. Keep building your wall up until it is taller than your lens.

Step 11: Finish your Lens Wall

It is a good idea to add a little bit of strength to the edge in order for the lens to be protected. To give the edge a little more thickness, fold it slightly but keep it higher than the open lens. You can smoothen the surface with your fingers, but you must be careful not to damage the wall. To cure the wall, place the camera on its back.

Step 12: Walls Walls Walls ….

It’s now time to cover the camera with enough walls that it can be dropped from any angle. The walls do not need to be as tall as the lens wall. I recommend a minimum of 2 cm. It seems appropriate to use all the Sugru colors as this camera is intended for children. You should build your walls one side at a while (top, bottom, front, and back), then let them cure overnight before you start the next side. You won’t damage walls that have been built and continue to build them. To keep the walls straight, leave them vertically while allowing them to cure. These top tips will help you …… before you start wall building.

Step 13: Extra Sugru

There will be times when you might have leftover Sugru while building your main walls. Do not just toss it in the trash. Take a look at the camera and search for areas where extra Sugru chunks might be of use. It would be shame to find out that you have more Sugru than you had before.

Step 14: Grip tips

It is important to consider how a child might hold the camera when building walls. Your walls may help guide and enhance their grip. Consider where they would place their fingers and shape your walls accordingly. Keep in mind that children may have smaller fingers than yours.

Step 15: Functionality tips

It is crucial that you don’t cover the camera with walls, as there are many parts (such buttons, dials, and battery cases). You must make sure that your walls do not cover these parts so that the camera can be fully functional after the hack is completed. Don’t be discouraged if you make mistakes. There are many things you can do.

Step 16: The “OHNO I”VE RUINED It ALL!” Tip

When I was building my camera, I got carried away and forgot that I had made a wall to block the opening for the battery. It is possible to correct mistakes with cured Sugru. Simply remove the Sugru from the surface by carefully tearing it off. You can scrape any remaining Sugru off the surface with your fingernails. Then, finish off with tissue paper. Don’t panic. Try not to repeat the same mistakes again.

Step 17: Finishing touches

A few finishing touches can make it easy to hack. To make it easier to find the shutter button and press it amongst all of those walls, add a little Sugru to it. A little extra Sugru protection is added to the lens wall’s edge for an extra protection. This gives it a fancy finish.

Step 18: Verify Your Hack.

After you feel you have completed your task and left your last walls to cure for 24hrs (this is important for an aggressive hack like this), it is time to make sure your camera is completely protected before you hand it over to your child. You can check that the Sugru walls are sufficient to protect your camera by placing it on a table from every angle. Once you feel confident that the camera is protected, start dropping tests. I recommend starting with 10 cm and moving up. It is safer to be safe than sorry, so build more walls if necessary.