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Solder Pot Volume reducers

Views: 3128

#73063

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 13 November, 2014

I will soon be filling an electrovert solder module which is only going to be running one (lambda) nozzle/pump. this leaves quite a bit of solder volume I am going to have to put $$ into. Has anyone here used iron bars or spacers or bricks or other materials which will take up volume, remain stationary and not contaminate the solder in any way?

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#73064

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 13 November, 2014

could always use a potato? http://www.smtnet.com/Forums/index.cfm?fuseaction=view_thread&CFApp=1&Thread_ID=9994&#Message56920

But seriously.. best idea is to stay away from any metal as the tin will likely dissolve and contaminate your solder pot. I haven't done this but I would recommend a stone more dense than solder because you wouldn't want some brick floating round the pump space. You would also want it to be clean and crack free so no bits of silica can get free and cause a grinding affect on the pumps, imagine it would act like sand paper. maybe even some bricks that have been Vitreous enamel (this is what our steel solder pot is lined with)as it would act like a conformal coat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitreous_enamel

Best of luck.

All else fails you could just fill the pot with solder. lead free look into SN100C.

P.S. reducing the solder pot volume could actually cause unforeseen cooling of the solder during production, the volume helps to keep a stable temperature due to thermal mass.

P.P.S Would pay to check where the elements sit, if there is an element on the bottom of the solder pot it would potentially cause additional warm up issues/heat management issues due to the bricks isolating it.

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#73065

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 13 November, 2014

I have used glass marbles. I'm not excited about the prospect of you putting metals into your solder pad because of the corrosiveness of tin.

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#73067

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 13 November, 2014

AH! nice one, I didn't consider glass marbles.

I'm curious though, how did this affect your heating/thermal stability? Did the marbles ever float?

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#73075

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 14 November, 2014

Rock can contain a little bit of moisture. Bake the rocks for a long time before placing them in solder so they don't explode. The glass marbles may be the safest idea. Or start heating the tank with the solid mass already in there.

Did I just write about putting rocks in a solder tank? I don't recall this in my engineering classes.

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#73084

Solder Pot Volume reducers | 14 November, 2014

Thanks for the comments, I will take the rocks out of my head, throw in a little lead from my ___ and save some $ on solder........... Seriously, will look into some of these ideas, or some iron weights/slabs from metal store

P

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