In response to your question regarding the "core" of the Kester Ultrapure bar solder, I did some digging and received the following answer from a knowledgeable source: Kester bar solder is extruded and not cast as as done by many other solder suppliers. By casting and quick chilling a large billet of solder and then extruding the solder into a wire, we get practically no segregation that would be experienced in a cast bar. A large billet of solder is placed into an extrusion press, and the solder is pressed through a die to make ribbon, wire, bar or plating anodes. Obviously, when the bar is extruded and cut to length, we do not experience the "core inside the bar". You have to imagine a large slug of solder being pushed cold through a hole the size of the bar cross-section.When the solder is first entering the extrusion die, the center of the bar will be moving faster than the outside of the bar due to friction. However, very quickly the die will heat up and everything moves at the same speed. Initially, the bar will appear to have a separate core of solder until everything begins to fuse together. Of course, when the solder is placed into a solder pot, everything melts and the phenomenon disappears. I have an additional question for you regarding the "kleenox P". Does the reduction in the additions of solder to the solder pot including the reduction in dross reclaim override the cost of getting rid of the hazardous waste produced by the "kleenox P"? You can e-mail me either at the above address or at [log in to unmask] I would appreciate your insight on this question. -----Original Message----- From: Stephen R. Gregory <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Monday, August 03, 1998 7:09 PM Subject: Re: [TN] Questions about KLEENOX "P" >In a message dated 8/3/98 3:00:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, >[log in to unmask] writes: > >>>Thomas- > >>>We do use Kleenox to de-dross our solder pot. Its effects as an ongoing >preventer of >>dross are questionable as it seems to burn off after about an >hour (our pot is at 475F). It >>is effective in separating the dross from the >solder when actually removing the dross. >>The stuff needs to be mixed in >thoroughly with the dross and the dross seems to >>separate rather easily from >the rest of the solder. Its cost seems to be less than that of >>more solder >additions and more frequent dross shipments for reclamation. > >>>Ryan Jennens >>>Phoenix Engineering Design > >Moss, Thomas wrote: > > >>> Hello all, > >>> I've been lurking on the list for awhile, but I thought I'd come > >>> out of hiding to ask some questions. > >>> I want to try some Kleenox "P" to reduce the amount of dross > >>> from our Wave Solder pot. Does anyone out there have any good or bad > >>> experiences with its use? Will its repeated use leave a residue or > >>> contamination in the solder? Are there any downsides that I'm not > >>> thinking of? Lastly, was it cost-effective for you to use? > >>> > >>> Thanks in Advance, > >>> Tom Moss > >Hi Tom! > > Ryan pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as Kleenox goes...it >won't really prevent dross from forming, even though they claim it does. BUT, >like Ryan said, it DOES make the dross separate from the solder better when >you're cleaning your pot out, and you do save money in that sense. In a >typical mornin' pot de-drossing, I would throw at least a couple of pounds of >the shiny stuff in the dross bucket, but when using Kleenox that amount is >reduced by at least half... > > Speaking of wave soldering subjects, I have a pretty off the wall >question for anybody. Today I bought a very small static solderpot that we'll >using for tinning and what-not...after I unpacked it, I went and got a couple >of bars of solder to fill it. The bars were a little long to go in the small >static pot, so I cut them in half to put in the pot so they could melt easily. > >Well, when I cut the bars in half, I saw something I've never seen before (or >never noticed), inside the bar, at about the middle of it. There's something >that's tin/lead in appearance embedded inside the solder bar! Just what the >heck is that? Some secret herbs and spices? (Oh wait, the secret herbs and >spices is kentucky fried chicken's hook, not Kester's...hehehe) > >It doesn't appear like it's a different metal, but it does appear that >something was added there permanently to into the solder. Anybody have any >idea what that is? Oh, I'm using Kester Ultrapure 63/37...if you've never seen >this either and have some Kester bar solder, take a bar and cut one in >half...it looks like there's something a bit smaller than the diameter of a >pencil that is embedded inside the solder bar and runs almost the whole length >of the bar. It's weird, it's probably been there whole time, but I 've never >noticed before because I usually don't cut solder bars in half to fill a >solder pot. > >-Steve Gregory- > >################################################################ >TechNet E-Mail Forum provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c >################################################################ >To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: >To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TechNet <your full name> >To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TechNet >################################################################ >Please visit IPC's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information. >For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 >################################################################ > > ################################################################ TechNet E-Mail Forum provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ################################################################ To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TechNet <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TechNet ################################################################ Please visit IPC's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information. For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 ################################################################