Bravo for the chain mill Engineer! One suggestion if I may- a cheap rectangle "floor vent" from a AC Duct cut to fit the curve on the bottom would be an effective "chute" with a known diameter for an outlet. Great job as always! Thank you for posting!
Yep, great idea, was thinking about doing something like that, if you directed the outlet into a large sealed container, you could then also connect the vacuum cleaner to the container, that would have a nice effect where it would suck air through the machine, meaning you wouldn't get any dust getting out anywhere other than the intended location at the bottom!
@@successfulengineer true that on the vacuum cleaner for dust mitigation... Using a water trap would also assist with the micro dust... Check out Smock Knives Grinder Dust video for his water trap. I collect my gold and silver dusts from my buffer with a water trap setup and it's increased my return and extended my filter life. And anytime I can cut down on dust and schmutz all over the bench I'm happier! Bravo again!
Thanks for the comment, very happy of it gives you a bit of inspiration. I think you could probably improve on the design by driving the smashing part through a pulley where you increase the rotational speed. This direct mounting solution works OK, but will have to see how long it lasts.
I tried pretty much everything else I could think of, this is really the only thing that has worked so far. Some pins have great Gold, but just takes too much time to process by hand!
It gets a bit loud when you just place a new part in, and I would probably still wear hearing protection, but it's definitely not as loud as I would have expected. Luckily I don't have any neighbors nearby !!
Always thought something with some swinging / smashing action would do the trick for stuff like that!, very cool build in the Successful Engineer Garage :-)
'n Boer maak 'n plan - lyk my julle Kewi boere maak sommer baie planne! Liking you videos - I need to learn fast because I think I can get access to quite a lot of scrap!
Yeah, I'm looking forward to trying it on a few more things. I didn't want to make the video too long, but tried a few other connectors and boards and it did a great job on pretty much everything!
I believe they were from backplanes from 1980's mainframe computers. My expectation for fully plated wirewrap pins is usually around 3.5g Gold per kg. I usually only come across nice stuff like this once or twice a year, make sure all your friends know what you're up to and are keeping their eyes open for you, will be amazed what some random people come across!
great build, thanks for sharing! probably no wear/armor plates necessary for running brass core pins and plastics. i hope it all float seperates nicely for you! i highly recommend Mount Baker Mining and Metals channel to you if'n you're not already watching- search "mbmmllc" i think? you've probably seen how one could make a lower feed height by cutting the feed tube in half, joining the two pieces with a 90, and joining that assembly to the mill with a 135- to prevent ricochet. then again, i like your simple solution tall tube. the pin connectors would just get caught in a 90, unless you had a bigger tube. next project: belt/auger feed hopper!
Hey Travis, yep, I get a lot of my inspiration from MBMMLLC, love their stuff! The tall tube seems to work OK, but I do still get a few bits flying out if I don't cover it, I think probably a blanked off tube with feed neck off an angle would be a very good solution. I spent today making a few more tweaks, pretty happy with how it's running now. Next video will probably be trying a few different ways to separate the plastic from the pins, unfortunately the plastic doesn't float and the pins aren't magnetic!
Yep, I started doing that and then realized that at the rate I could pull them out I was earning about $6 per hour. Spent a day investing in the machine, but it should keep going for a long time!
Early thought on separating the output, without knowing the grade of polymer used. Toss that pan full in a bucket of water. I'm thinking the plastic will float and can be skimmed off? Maybe.
That was my first idea, unfortunately that plastic sinks surprisingly quickly! Also tried a strong magnet on the pins, which unfortunately also didn't work. I've got some ideas to try this week, will post a video next week if one of the plans "pan out" :)
Suggestion, if you had an air knife with a variable pressure regulator blowing across the screen in the direction of rotation, the lighter plastic bits would be thrown farther than the metallic bits, thereby seperating more of the plastic from the discharge.
This is by the way roughly how U235 was separated from U238 (electromagnetic fields were used instead of air pressure of course) the U238, being ever so slightly heavier was thrown farther due to its inertia than the U235. In this instance we woukd be doing the opposite, the metallic bits, being denser would fall straighter than the plastic...
Yep, I actually have a setup like that in one of my videos, tried a system like that by itself, and yes, it did do a pretty good job of separating by density. (And also created a ton of dust !)
Hey man cool idea .i just put them in boiling water and the plastic softens up enough were you can pull out 4 or 5 at atime .id like to try that machine. For ceramic cpu.
Hey there, I don't really buy plated pins usually, I was given these connectors by friend, I believe they were used as a backplane for some 1980s mainframe computers.
I never got round to trying this on ICs, would probably do a pretty good job of breaking them up, but might struggle to get them fine enough to release 100% of the bond wires.
U could have cut those pins off with a dremel....put those pins in a vibratory tumbler with glass beads and vibrated until the gold was off the pins...the glass is coated with the gold...it is dark grey...then proceesed the glass after u separate the pins from the glass then you could have hamer milled the other to separate the rest.
Hey, could you do a video sometime on your fume hood? I have been looking into making one myself, but I didn't want to start something until I got a good idea. Thanks!
Hey Chris, I was thinking of doing a "basics" to get started video at some point. My fume hood system is about as basic as they come, a large wooden box with a safety glass sheet on the front that I can lower down if needed. For extraction I just use a sealed-ish 150mm extraction fan that vents externally a reasonable distance away from animals / plants / the house through some 150mm PVC tube. The real trick is to always keep the fumes down as much as possible, I always work with reasonably dilute HCl, and never let acid boil!
Hey@@successfulengineer, thanks for the info! I was thinking about doing something similar, but I wanted to put in pieces of HDPE sheets all around the inside in case their is a spill, nothing gets through, and protects the wood. I was having a real hard time with the ventilation though. I saw some people using a fan that you are describing, but that will eventually fail over time. I was looking for a HDPE ventilation fan, like what would be in an industrial fume hood, but they are like $2-5k each, and I will not spend that.
Yeah, my fans seem to last for a year or so before needing replacement. When I get a new one, first thing I do it completely disassemble it and cover all the metal parts with grease, this provides quite a lot of protection. The base of my box is also HDPE sheet, on top of that I have a large plastic catch container that the hotplate sits in. Then I take things one step further by having a pyroceram casserole dish as a catch container in case a beaker breaks! The biggest single thing you can do to make your extraction fan last a long time is avoid having to move heavy acid fumes. So I like to work with reasonably dilute solutions and also never boil any acid! Good luck, look forward to hearing how you go!
Another very informative video. Sir please tell me, have you looked into buying Ewaste from Alibaba or AliExpress and if so what are your thoughts on it? The prices seem ok but I don't know if the suppliers are legit.
Hey Ash, thanks for the comment, I have been lucky that there is quite a lot of Ewaste available where I live, so I have never looked at buying it from overseas. If you find a reliable supplier, it could be good though!
Have you ever though about using the cyanidation for gold extraction? I would imagine it should be more practical than the reverse electroplating. You might be required to obtain a prospector's license before you could purchase cyanide though. Or you can make it yourself, but obviously the TH-cam won't allow a video about a cyanide making.
Yeah, it is definitely something I have wondered about, you are correct that it is not something I can buy here in New Zealand, it is fairly strictly controlled. I have a little bit of fear too, but I'm sure as long as you keep the pH at the right level you are pretty much fine. I was just wondering earlier tonight how I'm going to do the Gold recovery from all the pins, there could easily be 10kg all up.
@@successfulengineer I have the same problem with gold plated parts, plus where I live the Nitric acid is a controlled substance so Aqua Regia is either very expensive or impossible to get.
Pyrolisation / Incineration of epoxy ICs is not too bad for smoke and fumes, but plastic from connectors creates large amounts of toxic smoke. You can try it on small scale for a particular sample if you want. There is a system that turns perform pyrolisation in a sealed environment and extracts liquid hydrocarbon from plastics, that would probably be quite a good way. You would end up basically dust and metal.
I've been trying to extract pins from IC chips using a ball mill but the process is very slow, very inefficient. Your chain mill should be a much better option. I'll be building one soon following your project. Many thanks.
Hey, yeah, I had some luck breaking ICs apart in my "ball mill" (without incineration), but it was very slow going! Mine is really more a crushing mill as it only has 1 large ball. If incineration is possible for you, it is definitely a much better way to go. Otherwise smashing them into 1mm size pieces in a impact mill like this before running them through the ball mill might also be a good idea.
@@successfulengineer Yeah, I think that's a good idea, because with IC's and other chips you need much more crushing power, and a chain slamming against the Bast****s should be better than balls rolling over the material. Maybe if I put a big ball at the end of the chain it would be better.
They are a pretty brittle kind of plastic, so would probably work OK, but I tested the pins from RJ45s once upon a time and got a terrible result, certainly not worth the effort!
Hi I currently live in Tauranga but moving to Whakatane next year. Which part of NZ are you in? Are you on face book or messenger would like to corrospond with you.
@@successfulengineer Thanks for the reply. I'm new at this gold recovery idea but will retire in December and will look closer at the idea then. Like what you are doing on the video's.
@@royhopkins974 Hey Roy, yeah, Gold recovery can definitely be a rewarding hobby in every sense. It is something that suits someone who can work precisely and patiently while being as safe as possible. In terms of just pure money-making, you would probably do a lot better with a job at Mitre10, but the Gold stuff is much more fun.
@@successfulengineer any pins magnetic I break with hammer and hover magnet over so all the pins stick to it. If there not magnetic then but harder but can just remove all by hand lol. That's how I do it anyway.
You could have done 2 methods to separate the pins. One is put them on a hot sand bath using a bbq grill with the pins facing the sky so the heat will loosen the bottom and then you can simply pick them up one by one and pluck them out using a plier or whatever. This method is better as you can put alot of pins in the bbq grill. Second method is put the pin slots in a vice grip and get a heat gun and heat it from the bottom part so it loosens and then get a plier and simply pluck the pins out. Works like a treat by takes a bit longer as you have to do it one by one. Hope this helps for next time.
Easiest most practical build of impact mill I have seen to date. great job
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Mark. Yeah, bit of cutting and welding, but it has done a great job with no problems so far.
good on yu mate , a job well done, nice to see a Kiwi with good ideas
A really nice design for a one-day construction.
Thanks for the comment Alan, spent a bit of time thinking about it and collecting the bits, but then it went together surprisingly painlessly !
This is very clever 👍. I like when a "problem" is solved...now can't wait a big gold recovery video of all that material. 😀
I know exactly what you mean, real feeling of achievement when you get something done that solves a problem that has been around for a while!
I don't know how I missed this series. Great videos, loved the cell.
Especially love the idea of the quick clamps holding the side on.
WOW! Thank you for this! This is so inspiring to me, you have no idea... Thank you
this will inspire me to use an old lawnmower, swapping out the blade with chains, and covering the bottom.
Let me know if you ever upload a video about that, would love to see it in action !
probably a bad idea lawnmower's tend to be cast aluminium (if thay are no9t plastic)
@@TheCooperman666 I have an electric lawnmower that was built in the 70s, solid steel construction
Wow! Very creative and awesome tool very handy. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the comment :)
Bravo for the chain mill Engineer! One suggestion if I may- a cheap rectangle "floor vent" from a AC Duct cut to fit the curve on the bottom would be an effective "chute" with a known diameter for an outlet. Great job as always! Thank you for posting!
Yep, great idea, was thinking about doing something like that, if you directed the outlet into a large sealed container, you could then also connect the vacuum cleaner to the container, that would have a nice effect where it would suck air through the machine, meaning you wouldn't get any dust getting out anywhere other than the intended location at the bottom!
@@successfulengineer true that on the vacuum cleaner for dust mitigation... Using a water trap would also assist with the micro dust... Check out Smock Knives Grinder Dust video for his water trap. I collect my gold and silver dusts from my buffer with a water trap setup and it's increased my return and extended my filter life. And anytime I can cut down on dust and schmutz all over the bench I'm happier! Bravo again!
I think I'll be building one of these to process black ICs.
Awesome video and thanks for sharing, thumbs up
Yes, I haven't tried putting a few of those through yet, but I'm sure this will be pretty much the fastest way to get the job mostly done!
Wow, a really good idea!!!
thats some clever ingenuity my friend! goodluck with the refining,im sure your hobby will be very rewarding.
Thanks for the comment mate :)
Brilliant idea Tim from Australia
Thanks Tim, nice to hear from you again! Hope everything is going well!
Real sweet set up.🇨🇦👍
Thanks for the comment!
Great idea for a chain mill. Good idea for me to make mine from for processing gold ore.
Thanks for the comment, very happy of it gives you a bit of inspiration. I think you could probably improve on the design by driving the smashing part through a pulley where you increase the rotational speed. This direct mounting solution works OK, but will have to see how long it lasts.
Very good. Thanks for sharing. 👍
Thanks for the comment Dave.
Very cool I will have to try that. I also have a lot of pins I have to separate from the plastic
I tried pretty much everything else I could think of, this is really the only thing that has worked so far. Some pins have great Gold, but just takes too much time to process by hand!
Loving it!
Thanks mate, always nice to hear from you.
@@successfulengineer tried this with a grain hammer mill - worked like a charm
Half-way making similar for the same purpose. Yours is simpler. Well done!
Quieter than I expected.
It gets a bit loud when you just place a new part in, and I would probably still wear hearing protection, but it's definitely not as loud as I would have expected. Luckily I don't have any neighbors nearby !!
Manually that would've taken possibly weeks to separate!
Have a GREAT Day My Friend!!!
Always thought something with some swinging / smashing action would do the trick for stuff like that!, very cool build in the
Successful Engineer Garage :-)
Yep, gave up pretty quickly doing it the manual way, spent today doing a few more refinements, very happy with how it's running now! Thanks mate.
perfect. I have the exact same situation and was wondering how the best way it would be to do this. THANKS for the video!
Hey Jay, thanks for the comment, very happy to provide a bit of inspiration!
'n Boer maak 'n plan - lyk my julle Kewi boere maak sommer baie planne! Liking you videos - I need to learn fast because I think I can get access to quite a lot of scrap!
Hi, dankie vir die boodskap, laat weet as jy vashak iewers en help nodig het. Groete
@@successfulengineer Dankie! It may be a while before I get going - I have to build a shed first! 😁👍
Brilliant !!
Thanks for your comment mate!
nice, will shred just about anything!
Yeah, I'm looking forward to trying it on a few more things. I didn't want to make the video too long, but tried a few other connectors and boards and it did a great job on pretty much everything!
Can you tell me what machine those great pins come from? I'd love to find some of that stuff here, haven't yet.
I believe they were from backplanes from 1980's mainframe computers. My expectation for fully plated wirewrap pins is usually around 3.5g Gold per kg. I usually only come across nice stuff like this once or twice a year, make sure all your friends know what you're up to and are keeping their eyes open for you, will be amazed what some random people come across!
@@successfulengineer Yep, we should never underestimate the value of networks, the human ones.
great build, thanks for sharing! probably no wear/armor plates necessary for running brass core pins and plastics. i hope it all float seperates nicely for you! i highly recommend Mount Baker Mining and Metals channel to you if'n you're not already watching- search "mbmmllc" i think? you've probably seen how one could make a lower feed height by cutting the feed tube in half, joining the two pieces with a 90, and joining that assembly to the mill with a 135- to prevent ricochet. then again, i like your simple solution tall tube. the pin connectors would just get caught in a 90, unless you had a bigger tube. next project: belt/auger feed hopper!
Hey Travis, yep, I get a lot of my inspiration from MBMMLLC, love their stuff! The tall tube seems to work OK, but I do still get a few bits flying out if I don't cover it, I think probably a blanked off tube with feed neck off an angle would be a very good solution. I spent today making a few more tweaks, pretty happy with how it's running now. Next video will probably be trying a few different ways to separate the plastic from the pins, unfortunately the plastic doesn't float and the pins aren't magnetic!
I understand that. I spend hours pulling pins.
Yep, I started doing that and then realized that at the rate I could pull them out I was earning about $6 per hour. Spent a day investing in the machine, but it should keep going for a long time!
could you use the same on ram and pcb board to liberate the gold or do you get gold losses?
Excelente.
Obrigado brilhante ideia.
Obrigado pela mensagem
use hex nuts on the clamp bolts and run them on with a socket on a driver
Early thought on separating the output, without knowing the grade of polymer used. Toss that pan full in a bucket of water. I'm thinking the plastic will float and can be skimmed off? Maybe.
That was my first idea, unfortunately that plastic sinks surprisingly quickly! Also tried a strong magnet on the pins, which unfortunately also didn't work. I've got some ideas to try this week, will post a video next week if one of the plans "pan out" :)
Suggestion, if you had an air knife with a variable pressure regulator blowing across the screen in the direction of rotation, the lighter plastic bits would be thrown farther than the metallic bits, thereby seperating more of the plastic from the discharge.
This is by the way roughly how U235 was separated from U238 (electromagnetic fields were used instead of air pressure of course) the U238, being ever so slightly heavier was thrown farther due to its inertia than the U235. In this instance we woukd be doing the opposite, the metallic bits, being denser would fall straighter than the plastic...
Of course these days high speed centrifuges are used, but they still rely on the slight difference in mass.
Google "Calutron" for more information.
Yep, I actually have a setup like that in one of my videos, tried a system like that by itself, and yes, it did do a pretty good job of separating by density. (And also created a ton of dust !)
👍
Hey man cool idea .i just put them in boiling water and the plastic softens up enough were you can pull out 4 or 5 at atime .id like to try that machine. For ceramic cpu.
Nice idea, will definitely give that a try too!
where did you buy plated pins ?
Hey there, I don't really buy plated pins usually, I was given these connectors by friend, I believe they were used as a backplane for some 1980s mainframe computers.
If you lived in the US, I would pay you to build one for me!
Have you tried this on IC chips? wondering if it would work for that.
I never got round to trying this on ICs, would probably do a pretty good job of breaking them up, but might struggle to get them fine enough to release 100% of the bond wires.
U could have cut those pins off with a dremel....put those pins in a vibratory tumbler with glass beads and vibrated until the gold was off the pins...the glass is coated with the gold...it is dark grey...then proceesed the glass after u separate the pins from the glass then you could have hamer milled the other to separate the rest.
Like 👍👍👍👏👏👏
This is really cool. How about a copper wire granulator?
Not something I have ever considered, but something like a garden shredder might be able to be converted for copper wire granulating.
Successful Engineer thanks
Hey, could you do a video sometime on your fume hood? I have been looking into making one myself, but I didn't want to start something until I got a good idea. Thanks!
Hey Chris, I was thinking of doing a "basics" to get started video at some point. My fume hood system is about as basic as they come, a large wooden box with a safety glass sheet on the front that I can lower down if needed. For extraction I just use a sealed-ish 150mm extraction fan that vents externally a reasonable distance away from animals / plants / the house through some 150mm PVC tube. The real trick is to always keep the fumes down as much as possible, I always work with reasonably dilute HCl, and never let acid boil!
Hey@@successfulengineer, thanks for the info! I was thinking about doing something similar, but I wanted to put in pieces of HDPE sheets all around the inside in case their is a spill, nothing gets through, and protects the wood. I was having a real hard time with the ventilation though. I saw some people using a fan that you are describing, but that will eventually fail over time. I was looking for a HDPE ventilation fan, like what would be in an industrial fume hood, but they are like $2-5k each, and I will not spend that.
Yeah, my fans seem to last for a year or so before needing replacement. When I get a new one, first thing I do it completely disassemble it and cover all the metal parts with grease, this provides quite a lot of protection. The base of my box is also HDPE sheet, on top of that I have a large plastic catch container that the hotplate sits in. Then I take things one step further by having a pyroceram casserole dish as a catch container in case a beaker breaks! The biggest single thing you can do to make your extraction fan last a long time is avoid having to move heavy acid fumes. So I like to work with reasonably dilute solutions and also never boil any acid! Good luck, look forward to hearing how you go!
YeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaa
Another very informative video. Sir please tell me, have you looked into buying Ewaste from Alibaba or AliExpress and if so what are your thoughts on it? The prices seem ok but I don't know if the suppliers are legit.
Hey Ash, thanks for the comment, I have been lucky that there is quite a lot of Ewaste available where I live, so I have never looked at buying it from overseas. If you find a reliable supplier, it could be good though!
Have you ever though about using the cyanidation for gold extraction? I would imagine it should be more practical than the reverse electroplating. You might be required to obtain a prospector's license before you could purchase cyanide though. Or you can make it yourself, but obviously the TH-cam won't allow a video about a cyanide making.
Yeah, it is definitely something I have wondered about, you are correct that it is not something I can buy here in New Zealand, it is fairly strictly controlled. I have a little bit of fear too, but I'm sure as long as you keep the pH at the right level you are pretty much fine. I was just wondering earlier tonight how I'm going to do the Gold recovery from all the pins, there could easily be 10kg all up.
@@successfulengineer I have the same problem with gold plated parts, plus where I live the Nitric acid is a controlled substance so Aqua Regia is either very expensive or impossible to get.
That's a nice mill you built.
But wouldn't incineration be much easier?
Pyrolisation / Incineration of epoxy ICs is not too bad for smoke and fumes, but plastic from connectors creates large amounts of toxic smoke. You can try it on small scale for a particular sample if you want. There is a system that turns perform pyrolisation in a sealed environment and extracts liquid hydrocarbon from plastics, that would probably be quite a good way. You would end up basically dust and metal.
How many hp?
I've been trying to extract pins from IC chips using a ball mill but the process is very slow, very inefficient. Your chain mill should be a much better option. I'll be building one soon following your project. Many thanks.
Hey, yeah, I had some luck breaking ICs apart in my "ball mill" (without incineration), but it was very slow going! Mine is really more a crushing mill as it only has 1 large ball. If incineration is possible for you, it is definitely a much better way to go. Otherwise smashing them into 1mm size pieces in a impact mill like this before running them through the ball mill might also be a good idea.
@@successfulengineer Yeah, I think that's a good idea, because with IC's and other chips you need much more crushing power, and a chain slamming against the Bast****s should be better than balls rolling over the material. Maybe if I put a big ball at the end of the chain it would be better.
Put the pins in liquid nitrogen before you put them in the hammer/chain mill!! Lol!
Ciao sono componenti degli compiuter e oro
Try and use a magnet to pick up all the pins if they are magnetic
Gave that a try first, unfortunately even a hard drive magnet has no effect on them!
I wonder how that would work on RJ45's?
They are a pretty brittle kind of plastic, so would probably work OK, but I tested the pins from RJ45s once upon a time and got a terrible result, certainly not worth the effort!
try floating your crushed 'ORE' in soapy water???? The plastics should FLOAT away from your gold laden pins ????
Hi
I currently live in Tauranga but moving to Whakatane next year.
Which part of NZ are you in?
Are you on face book or messenger would like to corrospond with you.
Hi Roy, I am north-west of Auckland, not on any other social platforms, don't like the lack of privacy.
@@successfulengineer Thanks for the reply. I'm new at this gold recovery idea but will retire in December and will look closer at the idea then. Like what you are doing on the video's.
@@royhopkins974 Hey Roy, yeah, Gold recovery can definitely be a rewarding hobby in every sense. It is something that suits someone who can work precisely and patiently while being as safe as possible. In terms of just pure money-making, you would probably do a lot better with a job at Mitre10, but the Gold stuff is much more fun.
I just break with hammer lol
That would definitely work too! I was hoping to automate the whole process a bit, don't think I've got it 100% figured out yet!
@@successfulengineer any pins magnetic I break with hammer and hover magnet over so all the pins stick to it. If there not magnetic then but harder but can just remove all by hand lol. That's how I do it anyway.
You could have done 2 methods to separate the pins.
One is put them on a hot sand bath using a bbq grill with the pins facing the sky so the heat will loosen the bottom and then you can simply pick them up one by one and pluck them out using a plier or whatever. This method is better as you can put alot of pins in the bbq grill.
Second method is put the pin slots in a vice grip and get a heat gun and heat it from the bottom part so it loosens and then get a plier and simply pluck the pins out. Works like a treat by takes a bit longer as you have to do it one by one.
Hope this helps for next time.