pm_dude 26 Posted August 19, 2014 in Using solder wire to print Good Day! A friend just asked me if it would be possible to print solder wire used as a filament. Something like this melt at 219C but is just too thin. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-Finest-WBT-4-RoHS-Lead-Free-Silver-Solder-250g-73m-239-Spool-WBT-0825-/291127551374?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43c88de58e Its made of Tin and Silver. It could give an interesting result if the diameter would be bigger. Did anyone ever tried that? I wont unless I have a second nozzle that I can use for the test... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pm_dude 26 Posted August 19, 2014 in Using solder wire to print http://3dprint.com/5737/affordable-metal-3d-printer/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j3d 0 Posted August 20, 2014 in Using solder wire to print Some of the alloys containing Bismuth have a much lower melt temp. Would be interesting to try. http://www.indium.com/solders/bismuth/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nallath 527 Posted August 20, 2014 in Using solder wire to print I remember once reading that the tin in solder degrades your nozzle quite fast. Not sure where I read this though, so don't attach to much weight to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Titus 169 Posted August 20, 2014 in Using solder wire to print Also, most solder tin is way to soft to be fed by a extruder. You would need some sort of different mix, giving it hardness to be extruded. Other than that, it seems plausible. @ColorFabb, something for you guys to design ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brett-bellmore 1 Posted August 20, 2014 in Using solder wire to print I recall some of the early rep-rap work involved using extruded solder to make conductive traces. The biggest problem seems to be that it beads up on you. You couldn't use a eutectic solder, you'd need one that only partially melted, so that it went from solid to paste, not liquid. It's something I've wanted to try, but we'll have to get a backup printer and multiple heads before we do any experiementing of that sort. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pm_dude 26 Posted August 23, 2014 in Using solder wire to print Yes its also mentionned in the articule above. The nozzle went from 0.5 to 2 during his tests. But I suspect that reaction to occur more at higher temp. The guy was saying his wire was melting at 274C which is really high compared to 219C or even lower with bismuth. I'll have to look at where his tests are getting to. If only Ultimaker was selling replacement nozzles for the UM2... I would try it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoev89 72 Posted August 23, 2014 in Using solder wire to print The nozzle will have oxidation quite quickly using solder wire. Just look at the old copper soldering iron's. Only if you have a high quality soldering tip with a special protection layer the solder does not deteriorate the point. So I would guess the same would apply for a printing nozzle. And sure liquid solder does like to stick to the tip. Material properties are quite different, on the other hand the idea is a nice one. Likely with the proper materials it could be done I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daid 259 Posted August 23, 2014 in Using solder wire to print http://blog.reprap.org/2011/06/new-approach-to-printing-metals.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pm_dude 26 Posted September 3, 2014 in Using solder wire to print Great article. I guess its not quite there yet. But it will come Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
