That is great, because in your post to which I replied you seemed to just add NaOH to the MLCCs.
It looks about a gram in there maybe a little less maybe little more.
Of course. I'm not saying anything to cause offense. I just didn't understand where I was unclear in my description of my steps up to this point. So thanks for your help, everytime anyone responds I am truly grateful.
If it isn´t hot, reduction is sluggish or even non-proceeding. Regular sugar is more than good for this. Just need to be still very basic and HOT. At least 90°C, and add the sugar in small increments with stirring, as it will quickly heat up and eventually can boil.
I use a qtip
Hi Kurt,
Remove as much solder as you can, way you want, pyro or hydrometalurgically. Then smelt. There are multiple possibilities on fluxing, but bear in mind that alumina and barium titanate are not fluxed properly by many common fluxing agents - mainly sodium fluxes. Sodium carbonate or borax won´t help you here.
Crushing to fine powder required for this? Or keep it regular?
silica sand and dehydrated boric acid?
Ive read about this in your other posts as well where you've mentioned the benefits of an induction furnace, but well its kind of out of my pocket at the moment. all I can do is build a bit larger furnace and use coke(fuel) with a blower otherwise coal would have to be my best bet.
It is not true that magnetic MLCCs cannot have palladium. They can. Altough it is less likely than nonmagnetic. Also, it is not guaranteed that nonmagnetic do contain Pd.There actually are so many ways to skin a cat! it clears up my perspective as well as any complications beforehand however, a request about the following :
1,
Crushing to fine powder required for this? Or keep it regular?
2,
silica sand and dehydrated boric acid?
3,
Ive read about this in your other posts as well where you've mentioned the benefits of an induction furnace, but well its kind of out of my pocket at the moment. all I can do is build a bit larger furnace and use coke(fuel) with a blower otherwise coal would have to be my best bet.
And electric furnaces here dont go that high. Barely 1000c. And others that do are again quite pricey. So ill weigh my benefits and lean on the side that plays to my advantage
Although Ive a clear picture now of how to go about it, Ill skim them through for the non magnetic ones before heading on.
Will share a listed plan once Im ready to proceed with these.
Thanks for your time
With due respect here, I've encountered numerous folks on this forum mentioning to throw away the magnetic ones and aim for the nonmagnetic only, but now that you have laid it out, it'll be worth a try.
If the outer solder is removed, then would it be feasible to proceed with crushing?
Small scale only boss, I don't think it'll ever go to that point. I would've sold these had they been on for good price, but its kind of hard to find the non-trading buyers. They literally buy a throw away price. Will keep the level in mind before proceeding though, halfway should be more than enough for a safe charge?
I aim to purchase the white ceramic silica crucibles for this work, they seem to have a longer life than the grey graphite ones, Specially considering the oxidizing nature of borax that eats the graphite away.
I would love to, but I do have a lot to do on my hands, so this could take some time. However, even if it is a mess, it is still coming up here.Certainly put some pictures if you will smelt with "flame" furnances - we are very curious about the result, since I only smelted these in induction. This could make a good example of what to expect
Agreed, makes it a much lesser complicated process with just dumping it all in, BUT - per the bold - we're not risking our health for this?
My question already answered, also boric acid is an easy find and buy
Sounds great! Can't wait to get started - Although may take some time, BUT from nothing at all it is now going to pure smelting!
It is not true that magnetic MLCCs cannot have palladium. They can. Altough it is less likely than nonmagnetic. Also, it is not guaranteed that nonmagnetic do contain Pd.
Don´t crush anything, it makes removal of solder much harder. And regular SMD MLCCs are small enough that you don´t need to crush them for smelting.
Yes, silica sand or dehydrated boric acid. If you intend to smelt them with boric acid, it is wise to dehydrate it first, and then smelt. As boric acid is dehydrating, it tends to slime and bubble like borax. On smaller scale it does not matter that much, but bigger charges can slime some out, if you fill the crucible too much.
All in all, you don´t need necessarily use induction, but it should go above at least 1250 °C. I can imagine using coke furnance, as it can certainly go past that temperature... But I don´t know what material of crucible you use - as boron oxide is very aggresive flux, and I always used it with graphite crucibles - which cannot be used in open flame furnances due to obvious reasons. Boron oxide nicely flux also magnesia... Maybe alumina is more resistant. Then, silica would be a possibility, but bear in mind that with silica you need to go to higher temperatures than with boric.
Certainly put some pictures if you will smelt with "flame" furnances - we are very curious about the result, since I only smelted these in induction. This could make a good example of what to expect
Good luck.
Definitely not. If you ever seen molten glass, you know why
No one want slag that thick. Sodium anything will thicken the slag, mainly if it isn't neutral slag. Sodium slags can be used for basic smelting of low melting things, because melting points are low. However solubility of titanates is low in sodium slags.
Ok thanks for answer Orvi. Its shame it is unusable as it would be pretty cheap, but oh well now i knowDefinitely not. If you ever seen molten glass, you know why
Also, at high temperatures sodium oxide start to vaporize and glow is nearly unbearable. Everything is smoked out with white fumes od Na2O... Not plesant. I prefer calcium slags, despite the fact you need to go to higher temperatures.
Yeah, glass is free... But sand is also very very cheap. You don´t even necessarily need to buy it if you have some sandy deposits nearby... But a 25 kg bag of sand costs around 5 euros here... That will last you for 2 eternities if you are a hobbyistOk thanks for answer Orvi. Its shame it is unusable as it would be pretty cheap, but oh well now i know
I live in the NJ Pine Barrens. It's nothing but sand!Yeah, glass is free... But sand is also very very cheap. You don´t even necessarily need to buy it if you have some sandy deposits nearby... But a 25 kg bag of sand costs around 5 euros here... That will last you for 2 eternities if you are a hobbyist
Silica sand is also good to level up any molds or crucibles if you are smelting. Just pile it onto the surface and level the mold in it. Nothing will catch fire and any spill will be nicely contained. With very high melting point, it is also good for high temperature smelts as some "spacer" between hot crucible and brick surface underneath. It usually starts to sinter around 1400-1500 °C.
