Today I have received the last model of my unique Polish Combination Padlock. It has been printed at Warsaw University of Technology in Rapid Prototyping Laboratory on Formiga P100 SLS printer.
Here is first picture of this 10 000 000 combinations padlock.
I need to adjust all details now to make them work smooth and it will be ready for testing.
After assembly I realized that this padlock is super complicated and very difficult to operate as you need to allign all 7 wheels. I think this is maximum security level (not necessary good for padlock) and next variants whould have less wheels. Nevertheless I made this one to proof that 7 wheels are possible to made.
The body of the padlock is very compact but massive and allow to use different shackles up to 14mm thickness. Current one has 10mm.
The numbers are very badly visible and need to be painted but are too small (concave) to do it correctly so I need to leave them as they are for testing. For sure the metal version must have super visible numbers.
The open/close knob is very tiny comparing to last models and this will complicate the operation and decoding as well. I think the user will use this just in case of opening/closing but attacker will have real pain to operate many times such a small knob.
I will make soon next video to show you this super secure padlock with all protection features inside incl. neodymium magnets.
Hello, you can watch this short video explaining how Polish Combination Lock will be protected against all known decoding methods (laser and cardboard).
PCL protected against all known decoding methods.
I hope you enjoy it as I am and you understand the mechanism and this protection.
Hello, today I found finally the way to protect the mechanism against laser or cardboard decoding attack.
You can see below the mechanism that will be use in the first full metal prototype of my Polish Combination Lock. It will be inside 10 000 000 combo padlock (7×10 numbers).
Neodymium magnets protect the machanism against all known possible attacks.
There will be two neodymium small cylinder magnets mounted inside the mechanism. They will work as an magnetic force joint between red wheel and green shaft. The red wheel will be not fixed with green shaft with the thread.
First one 4mm in diameter and 5mm height will be placed inside the central open/close shaft (green).
Second one with 3mm in diameter and 3mm height will be placed inside the new designed wheel (red one) half gear , half cylinder.
Both magnets will work together during normal operation however when you will try to use some extra force i.e. during the decoding attack they will dissconnect or misslead the attacker and the open/close shaft will rotate freely 360 degree. They will start dissconnect slowly so the laser method will show inconsistent results. This solution eliminate any rubber need or super accurate machine tollerances inside the gates.
This small mod solve in my opinion all potential decoding known attacks and make this mechanism top-notch secure.
Hello, Swynndla has made his video on decoding my PCL combination padlock, small version. Here is his video on decoding this padlock.
I am very glad to hear that the PCL mechanism is working smooth and easy. He decoded sucessfuly this small padlock as expected. Swynndla used reference cardboard sheet which is ok in this case. This model is not so secure as the metal version will be beacause there are big gaps and bad tollerances due to 3D printer limits. Nevertheless user experience feedback is very important here.
The second important feedback from all decoding attemp is that we know now what should be improved to eliminate laser or cardboard method of decoding. All those adjustments will be apply in full metal version.
Swynndla will make some new decoding experiments with black version and we will see soon if he can eliminate “the stair” effect which enable laser or cardboard method to work here. The secret is to use teflon plumbing tape and to eliminate unnecessary gaps between the internal wheelpack with the gates.
I expect that if Swynndla will eliminate “the Stair” effect using this teflon tape. Than he would not be able to decode using those two methods. It must be confirmed and this feedback is very crucial for further full metal development.
I have asked him to make such a experiment. I like his creativity and helpfull attitude to my project. I am quite sure that this long jurney is necessary in order to produce best combination mechanism.
Thank you Swynndla for your feedback. For me this is the only way to objectively test without my personal emotional engagement.
I am considering new setup 7 wheels but only 0-9 (ten numbers) on each knob. This padlock have 10 000 000 unique combinations. The body size is 60mm width x 35mm depth and 100 mm high. It is now ready for production. I need your support to start first metal version. Please donate any funds counts.
Here is how the heart on this mechanism would look like:
10 000 000 combinations setup
Here is the front view of newest padlock with 10mm shackle.
10 000 000 combinations front view of padlock with 10 mm closed shackle. It could have up to 14mm shackle in the same body.
Here is back view of the newest padlock with 10mm shackle.
10 000 000 combinations back view of padlock with 10 mm closed shackle. It could have up to 14mm shackle in the same body.
Hello, I would like to thank HelpfulLockPicker from USA for his great unboxing video. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/i-xo_heHOJk
Please share this information widely. I like to share the new Polish Combination Lock mechanism with people. It is worth to think of it and understand its strong and weak points. I think the best way is directly through lock sports community.
I am working now on full metal prototype. This new mechanism will be examined by best in class people from sport lock community. The goal will be to find any weak spots before final design and production.
I am waiting for HelpfulLockPicker in-depth review coming soon.
Please stay tuned and do not forget that you can donate and support me.
Hello , this time small combination padlock with Polish Combination Lock mechanism inside is going to Swynndla for next review. This small padlock has very similar construction to previous lock however it works very smooth. You do not need any force to rotate the knobs and almost zero force needed to open it. It will be nice to see Swynndla opening this small padlock. It has in theory only 10 000 combinations but here due to 3D print limitations is only 1250 possible combinations therefore it is quite easy to open even going one by one.
Small combination padlock
Small combination padlock presentation
Swynndla however will not go “brute force” but as in previous lock he would like to find the way to decode it. This is not 7 days challenge rather I asked Swynndla to do everything in front of camera since he unpack the lock till the final opening. In theory he should open it in less than one hour by going all possible combinations. I hope he will show his attempt and share his video with us.
The goal for me from Swynndla next review is to find out how ease is to operate this padlock. User experience of holding it and operate is the key for me to understand if anything should be improved here. Of course the numbers in metal version will be much more visible here the visibility is rather limited. This is no issue for me now. The most important is ease of operation and overall feedback. I hope Swynndla will like it as comparing to previous model this one operates without any force needed.
This small padlock has Seeger mounting ring (steel one) inside instead of the nut. This means Swynndla will not be able to change the code after opening it while special tool is needed to remove so small Seeger from the central shaft. Therefore fun is only one time game for him. I am very much interesting to see his impression about this small padlock and most important the user experience from operation, it will be all time pleasure because everything is working there without any special force needed.
This review would give me additional hints towards full metal prototype.
Current metal project assume that first full metal padlock will have 10 x7 knobs = 10 000 000 true combinations (each knob could be rotated 10 times to change the code).
I think that this time laser method will not works because of the size of this padlock but we will see soon what Swynndla will do with it.
Finally I have added some final words in my Next Step article:
11 July 2019 Swynndla has decoded my lock mechanism and therefore the challenge is over. You can watch Swynndla video where he explains how he decoded my mechanism. I would like to thank Swynndla for his participation, his passion and creativity in decoding. Here is his video: https://youtu.be/h1MYWwpqH2s
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
The mechanism has been decoded by Swynndla using a laser. In my thoughts section I have written what I think about it. I like to invite you to read the article “Next Steps“.
