Printer Logic Board

[GeckoinWA]

I've been reading this forum in my spare time for weeks now and I know for a fact that I haven't read everything possible and I know I'll still be a "noob" for however many months as is standard on any forum. Having said that and now that I finally have something to post I figured I'd simultaneously introduce myself and show you all something I came across today to see what you all think.

I'm a long-time scrapper of IT equipment but only recently have decided to dive into a joint effort with my 10 year old so we're beginning a journey into gold and other metal recovery. Usually, I would pick up surplus equipment and part it all or just sell it online so this will be a fun new way to expand my efforts.

I just took apart a printer to remove the gears (they're fun to play with) and the logic boards and my question is about the section of the button board (the part under the rubber 10-key buttons) that I can't tell if it's gold or not. The board above it in the picture has two lines of gold (wow, sounds like I'm snorting a drug) but the bits under the rubber keypad are unfamiliar to me. I'm sure one of you has dug one of these boards out before so if you wouldn't mind giving me some insight that would be lovely. Before anyone asks, yes I did search on the subject for awhile but I didn't have any luck finding a similar topic.

 

[maynman1751]

Welcome! Yes, I would say that the areas in question are indeed gold, but very little of it. You will need quite a few of these to even realize any return. Keep collecting until you have enough to bother processing. Please check out the entries (in blue) beneath my signature line. There is a good place to start.

 

[g_axelsson]

The keyboard is carbon coated, no gold there.

The display connector is gold plated, or more exactly probably ENIG and is really thin. Nice to look at but takes huge amount to get even a gram, probably several kilos.

Göran

 

[GeckoinWA]

Thanks for the replies. Carbon coated explains why the connectors under the 10-key pad are so dull compared to normal fingers and such.

Also, thanks for the links in your signature. I have been using them for a few weeks now but only just now have the opportunity to thank you "in person" so to speak.

I know neither board carry much of a yield but the printer was scrap and it was fun working with my kid taking it apart and seeing what we could find. I've never taken apart a printer I didn't intend to put back together so this time we got to get nitty-gritty if you catch my drift. I think I'll hang onto the 10-key board and do some acid tests on it and the LED connector board will go into my pile of boards for eventual gold recovery. I'll try to remember to report back what I find but if anyone else has more info that has already been given, please share.

Respectfully,

Gecko

 

[g_axelsson]

If you have any black plastic IC:s or a lot of wires going into a black plastic blob on the card you probably have one small gold wire per connector, bond wires. Look at Patnor:s long thread on black IC to see how to refine it. That is one of the largest sources of gold in electronics.

Thanks I guess, if you were talking about my wiki, didn't know anyone used it except spammers.

Göran

 

[johnleivers15]

Printer head may contain gold too.

 

[nickvc]

I like the idea of sharing your experiences scrapping materials with your young son but be sure to read all the safety advice before your go any further, recovery and refining has many dangers and as much as you and your son want to go that extra step do so with full knowledge of exactly what risks are there!
Whatever gold you have will always be there unless you lose it through lack of understanding, keep you and your son safe and get reading, maybe both of you as you can then be doubly sure of doing the safe thing.

 

[mwaurelius]

If you have any black plastic IC:s or a lot of wires going into a black plastic blob on the card you probably have one small gold wire per connector, bond wires. Look at Patnor:s long thread on black IC to see how to refine it.

Göran

Second Göran's statement. The blobs he mentioned will degrade if you hit them with a heat gun for a couple minutes (or a torch I imagine, but electricity is cheaper than gas) and you can then remove them. Just do it outside because of the fumes, use something to hold to hold the board, and be carefull of the end of the heat gun so you don't get burned fingers.

See this post for a picture.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=21892

Oh, and get a loupe. Really useful items, those; let me see the bond wires in the epoxy.