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Disc Eraser: A Revolutionary Device that Wipes Data from Discs

Breakthrough:
Wade Sun has developed a quick and easy way of wiping data from CDs And DVDs without destroying the discs. It features a patented Optical Strip technology that protects against identity theft, and it promotes recycling because the discs stay intact.

Inventor:
Wade Sun, United States

Financial reward:
$100,000+

The Story:
Disc Eraser: A Revolutionary Device that Wipes Data from Discs

Former test engineer turned inventor and entrepreneur Wade Sun is something of a computer geek. Over the years he has burned hundreds of CDs and DVDs containing huge volumes of data. But what do you do when you want to erase all that personal information?

Sun’s initial solution was to hammer, crack, cut, and tear the discs apart. Whilst reasonably successful at destroying the confidential material, he was left with potentially dangerous shards. So he invested in some CD shredders which were fine for his large collection of discs, but it got him thinking about what people would do if they only possessed a few discs. And so started the journey to create a technology that he believes will revolutionize the way the world disposes of unwanted data discs.

Data Security Fears

With data security becoming an ever more crucial concern as the Internet and IT technology expand at exponential rates, Sun put his mind to work on finding a safer and cheaper technology, one that would disable a disc without demolishing it physically. He came up with a method he calls “Optimal Disc technology” that is used in a product dubbed the Disc Eraser. It is a tiny plastic disc destruction device that slashes and scrapes quarter-inch wide tracks out of the back of CDs or DVDs rendering them unreadable. It is a quick and neat way to destroy discs and helps to prevent identity theft. To wipe out the data you simply align the disc with the center and outer hubs, then drag the slider over it, and hey presto your data is gone!

What makes the disc destroyer so innovative is that it only takes a couple of seconds to operate, is smaller than many of the contraptions that currently demolish discs and it’s safer than cutting and breaking. And it doesn’t create any waste because the disc stays intact which means that it can be recycled - an option that’s not available to you if you popped a disc in a shredder. Like many of the best ideas, its beauty is in its simplicity.

Scratching the Surface

When Sun began to develop his device he played around with the idea of scarifying CD surfaces, making deep cuts with a blade, and then varying the pattern and the location of the cuts, to see if the disc could be read. He found that some discs were rendered unreadable and others were not because the foil layer remained in place. He deduced that this was because different manufacturing processes used different adhesives, and so it was back to the drawing board to come up with a way of disabling the discs, with the foil layer staying on.

And so Sun used some wood putty to bind four razor blades together, which he dragged across different types of discs and it worked; the scratches were deep enough so that when he popped the discs into his DVD player – the NO DISC message appeared. Success! To check that his invention really did work he took a pile of unreadable discs to a data recovery company, and they were unable to retrieve data from them.

From his research Sun discovered that patents had been granted for data removal technologies and so he knew that this was a widely recognized problem. He also spotted a gap in the market. He figured that if he could create a small hand operated tool for his method, one that was compact enough to fit in a pocket then he would be onto something.

Developing the Prototype

Believing that the easiest and quickest way to create a prototype is to modify an existing device Sun adapted a personal paper trimmer. He took the slider out, and found that his four blades and putty contraption could fit inside. That was the first prototype. He continued to work on various prototypes which involved refining both the molds of the base plate and the simple sliding mechanism.

After developing a few prototypes that he was happy with Sun sought out licensees. But he came up against several stumbling blocks, “Licensing is difficult, most companies will not look at outside ideas. They will not be as passionate about it as you are, and are very slow and difficult to negotiate with ….. Therefore I decided to manufacture it myself.” Friends, family, and inventor groups advised him to continue down the licensing route. But he was now adamant that that was not the way forward, and he worked with his father to find a manufacturer in China. In fact Sun credits his father with instilling in him the importance of keeping things simple and easy.

At the same time founded his company SunZag to develop, manufacture, and market the Disc Eraser.

During his first month in business in 2006 Sun sold thirty Disc Erasers at $14.99 each through his website, Amazon.com, and eBay. It had taken two years to get from concept to market, and he did it on his own, spending less than 10% of his engineer’s salary. He’s now hoping for even bigger success and is looking for a business partner or big company to bring the product to electronics and computer stores to make the kind of revenue that can make your head spin.

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