First Small Batch...I'm Hooked!

[TBoom27]

Hi all,

I am new forum member, but have been reading / lurking for a long time. I want to thank everyone here as I finally felt I was ready processed (~490g) of well trimmed fingers via AP. I credit Hoke and the these forums for a successful first run, knowing what I was doing and knowing when I should step back and be sure of what I am going to do next. In the end everything went as it should and I am hooked.

My first run resulted in 2.7g (pic attached) of what I think is good looking powder (to be accumulated before re-refine and melting in a bigger batch.)



As soon as I refine my bucket/bubbles setup. My next batch(s) will be ~20lbs out new naked RAM PCB cards that have never had chips installed. I need to decide if I should separate the fingers from the PCBs and run them as two separate groups or just leave the cards whole. My gut says whole is fine, my anxiety says separate them so no gold from the fingers has the opportunity to cement inside the board if something gets out of balance in the solution. Either way, second batch should get started this weekend. Woot!

Thanks!

 

[butcher]

Nice looking gold,

 

[Liquidau]

Hi all,

I am new forum member, but have been reading / lurking for a long time. I want to thank everyone here as I finally felt I was ready processed (~490g) of well trimmed fingers via AP. I credit Hoke and the these forums for a successful first run, knowing what I was doing and knowing when I should step back and be sure of what I am going to do next. In the end everything went as it should and I am hooked.

My first run resulted in 2.7g (pic attached) of what I think is good looking powder (to be accumulated before re-refine and melting in a bigger batch.)

View attachment 48180

As soon as I refine my bucket/bubbles setup. My next batch(s) will be ~20lbs out new naked RAM PCB cards that have never had chips installed. I need to decide if I should separate the fingers from the PCBs and run them as two separate groups or just leave the cards whole. My gut says whole is fine, my anxiety says separate them so no gold from the fingers has the opportunity to cement inside the board if something gets out of balance in the solution. Either way, second batch should get started this weekend. Woot!

Thanks!

Very nice cocoa powder! Well done. Lucky you to have found the GRF and Hoke before you ever started; I muddled my way through a few batches learning lessons the hard way until I found the light here.
I also have 25 lbs (~12 kg) of RAM cards with fingers to process. But these are fully populated with chips, so first I place them on a hot plate to soften the solder and easily remove them with a paint scraper. Now I’m also considering trimming off the fingers or processing them whole. A knowledgeable Home Depot guy suggested a small band saw, where the blade always runs down (safer). But the cards are only 1” (2.5cm) wide, which means your fingers get kinda close to the blade. Need to rig up some sort of wooden block spacer and pushing stick device to do this safely and quickly. Anybody out there have any suggestions or have done this before?
Cheers!

 

[FrugalRefiner]

A bandsaw will produce a lot of dust you do not want to breathe.

Dave

 

[galenrog]

Cut fingers with a bandsaw for a few years. Lots of dust. Proper filtering mask and dust collection is a must. Have not done it in several years.

Time for more coffee.

 

[Liquidau]

Cut fingers with a bandsaw for a few years. Lots of dust. Proper filtering mask and dust collection is a must. Have not done it in several years.

Time for more coffee.

I hear you. Got a better way to deal with RAM fingers, or just don’t bother cutting them?

 

[MicheleM]

You could use pincers and a transparent plastic bag , put the RAM module inside the bag and cut it with the pincers to avoid dust

 

[AMS-Pro]

A 6in. straight jaw sheet metal seamer, and a utility blade. Clamp the seamer onto the gold finger and score the ram stick down the edge of the seamer. Snap the green board section off, then open the seamer to remove the remaining gold finger. Voila.
Alternatively, another option is a manual guillotine paper cutter with a clamp.

 

[Martijn]

Manual metal plate shears is what i use. Clean cut, no dust.
Added advantage is the fingers are curved by cutting them, keeping them apart and not sticking together in the AP.

If those ram sticks are free from chips, are there any other components on them? Or solder? If not, then don't bother cutting them.
If you're using AP (without the H2O2), no gold will dissolve, So no gold can cement out.

 

[lanemfg]

I have an old paper cutter like what we saw in grade school many moons ago, that I took the blade and backing off, and made that to mount on on of my steel work tables, works like a charm for cutting off fingers from ram or slot cards. I have also used it with great success to cut motherboards into smaller pieces which makes them easier to burn off in a wood stove to get rid of plastic and resin before moving forward with that kind of thing.

 

[galenrog]

I hear you. Got a better way to deal with RAM fingers, or just don’t bother cutting them?

No, I do not. All circuit boards that now come my way are sold to various buyers that sell to end recyclers.

Time for more coffee.

 

[kurtak]

Manual metal plate shears is what i use. Clean cut, no dust.
Added advantage is the fingers are curved by cutting them, keeping them apart and not sticking together in the AP.

Yap - that works great - if you have a metal shears

OR -----------

I have an old paper cutter like what we saw in grade school many moons ago, that I took the blade and backing off, and made that to mount on of my steel work tables, works like a charm for cutting off fingers from ram or slot cards.

That's what I did

picked the paper cutter up at a yard sale for like $5

using the blade from this type paper cuter

https://www.uline.com/BL_506/Paper-...p.ds&msclkid=8abb5edb648d191537b53cc9d3f95d5e
tried every other method you can think of - this works best (IMO)

The edge of the metal table needs to be a sharp edge - like the edge of a 1/4 inch piece of plate steel

When I wore out the original paper cutter blade I just made my own blade out of 1/4 inch steel (sharpened the cutting edge with a curve)

fingers fall off into a bin under the table

Kurt

 

[Liquidau]

Manual metal plate shears is what i use. Clean cut, no dust.
Added advantage is the fingers are curved by cutting them, keeping them apart and not sticking together in the AP.

If those ram sticks are free from chips, are there any other components on them? Or solder? If not, then don't bother cutting them.
If you're using AP (without the H2O2), no gold will dissolve, So no gold can cement out.

Thanks

Manual metal plate shears is what i use. Clean cut, no dust.
Added advantage is the fingers are curved by cutting them, keeping them apart and not sticking together in the AP.

If those ram sticks are free from chips, are there any other components on them? Or solder? If not, then don't bother cutting them.
If you're using AP (without the H2O2), no gold will dissolve, So no gold can cement out.

Thanks Martijn,
There are 5 flat pak chips on each, about 1cm square. Surface mount so not much solder. AP should be fine. Just need a bigger bucket or use fewer per batch I guess….

 

[GoIdman]

I hear you. Got a better way to deal with RAM fingers, or just don’t bother cutting them?

Since I am not pressed by time to refine my fingers and I am doing it mostly for hobby, i have a different approch to fingers. I try to separate them mechanically and delay to work with acids as much as possible (obviously until refining) and create as little waste as possible.
I have made a video posted on youtube ( )of removing finger foils with soldering iron. I am working to develop the best way of processing RAM sticks with almost zero waste (half way there, the process exists I just have to build the machinery for it ).
Right now like others stated trimming with a metals sheet cutter works, then AP then refining.

Be safe.

Pete.

 

[Liquidau]

Since I am not pressed by time to refine my fingers and I am doing it mostly for hobby, i have a different approch to fingers. I try to separate them mechanically and delay to work with acids as much as possible (obviously until refining) and create as little waste as possible.
I have made a video posted on youtube ( )of removing finger foils with soldering iron. I am working to develop the best way of processing RAM sticks with almost zero waste (half way there, the process exists I just have to build the machinery for it ).
Right now like others stated trimming with a metals sheet cutter works, then AP then refining.

Be safe.

Pete.

Thanks Pete, an interesting approach I had not seen before. I can’t seem to find what you did for depopulating the RAM chips. Is there a link? Cheers!

 

[Liquidau]

Thanks

Thanks Martijn,
There are 5 flat pak chips on each, about 1cm square. Surface mount so not much solder. AP should be fine. Just need a bigger bucket or use fewer per batch I guess….

On second thought, perhaps the exposed solder will provide a problem by dissolving in the AP and potentially fouling up the gold recovery. Should they be HCl leached first to remove all tin/lead/antimony?

 

[GoIdman]

Thanks Pete, an interesting approach I had not seen before. I can’t seem to find what you did for depopulating the RAM chips. Is there a link? Cheers!

This was my first and only video i made so far, since i do not have too much spare time (i have two small "daredevil" children i have to deal with ), but i have a setup with an electric heat gun and perforated sheet rotating drum, which helps to depopulate the remaining chips from the sticks which will go for further processing to recover the remaining gold plating and copper and the fiberglass.
The video is the first of the "0 waste" series i am about to do.

Be safe.

Pete

 

[CoinzCollector]

Very Nice! This is why I am here, to be quiet and learn. Im not old but older and want something to do after I retire. Love coins as well.

 

[dpgold]

Hi all,

I am new forum member, but have been reading / lurking for a long time. I want to thank everyone here as I finally felt I was ready processed (~490g) of well trimmed fingers via AP. I credit Hoke and the these forums for a successful first run, knowing what I was doing and knowing when I should step back and be sure of what I am going to do next. In the end everything went as it should and I am hooked.

My first run resulted in 2.7g (pic attached) of what I think is good looking powder (to be accumulated before re-refine and melting in a bigger batch.)

View attachment 48180

As soon as I refine my bucket/bubbles setup. My next batch(s) will be ~20lbs out new naked RAM PCB cards that have never had chips installed. I need to decide if I should separate the fingers from the PCBs and run them as two separate groups or just leave the cards whole. My gut says whole is fine, my anxiety says separate them so no gold from the fingers has the opportunity to cement inside the board if something gets out of balance in the solution. Either way, second batch should get started this weekend. Woot!

Thanks!

How did the rest of the batches turned out? Did you process entire rams?

 

[dpgold]

some rams have gold beside the fingers, I am thinking how I could get rid of the lead and thus de solder the chips at the same time and separate MLCC's or whatever smaller electronics are there as well. The AP without H2O2 just the bubbler, is great but I still don't know if solder (which cold contain lead) is going to affect everything. According to the reactivity series table the lead will make the copper which was dissolved to become solid (cement out) and then you need to separate gold from lead? Removing lead first with an acid bath?