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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Thermal adhesive

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Does the arctic silver compound conduct electricity?

I'm wondering how well some stuff i made would work.
I cut the aluminum pieces by hand with a hack saw, so i end up with these huge piles of aluminum dust. So the other day i mixed it with some 5 minute clear epoxy.
I didn't measure the ratios of expoxy/aluminum, but it was enough aluminum that it didn't really stick together. I folded it in a piece of paper and smashed in with the vice and left it there over night.
The next morning i got a chuck of aluminum dust that was cold to the touch like pure aluminum, that i couldn't break with my hands.

So i'm wondering if i could just make my own thermal adhesive....This stuff seems like it would have decent heat sinking...
I would have to use a different adhesive though as this 5 minute epoxy will crumble if it gets hot. Maybe some of that 24 hour JB weld.
 





DTR

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According to their web page it does not.

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5

"Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)
 

HIMNL9

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How long does it take to dry...:thinking:
Does it have that vinegar smell when opening the tube....:thinking:
if not what does it smell like...

Jerry

The hardening time varies with the thickness, mainly, at least from the items that i usually glue with them ..... very thin layers exposed to air, becomes hard in an hour or less ..... thin layers, but enclosed between flat surfaces, can take a pair of hours ..... thick layers or "blobs", the external surface is "feeling dry" in an hour or few more, but you can feel the rest of the glue remained soft, pushing on it, and for a complete drying it require from 18 to 24 hours ..... same thing when i use it for fill all the space inside an aixiz module, for seal and insulate the driver and couple it thermally with the brass, it need to rest at least for a full day, before i "feel" it totally hardened, also inside .....

No, it don't smell like normal silicone, no acetic acid inside this one, or, at least, not enough for smell like the standard silicone ..... the smell is a bit strange to describe, it's like a mix of plaster and something acid (feel a bit irritant for the nose, i mean, like smelling an acid), but the glue itself don't look acid, at least when i use it on metals, it don't cause oxidations that i can notice .....

And it remain a bit elastic, but decisely not like normal silicone ..... can say, 10% of normal silicone.
 
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The hardening time varies with the thickness, mainly, at least from the items that i usually glue with them ..... very thin layers exposed to air, becomes hard in an hour or less ..... thin layers, but enclosed between flat surfaces, can take a pair of hours ..... thick layers or "blobs", the external surface is "feeling dry" in an hour or few more, but you can feel the rest of the glue remained soft, pushing on it, and for a complete drying it require from 18 to 24 hours ..... same thing when i use it for fill all the space inside an aixiz module, for seal and insulate the driver and couple it thermally with the brass, it need to rest at least for a full day, before i "feel" it totally hardened, also inside .....

No, it don't smell like normal silicone, no acetic acid inside this one, or, at least, not enough for smell like the standard silicone ..... the smell is a bit strange to describe, it's like a mix of plaster and something acid (feel a bit irritant for the nose, i mean, like smelling an acid), but the glue itself don't look acid, at least when i use it on metals, it don't cause oxidations that i can notice .....

And it remain a bit elastic, but decisely not like normal silicone ..... can say, 10% of normal silicone.

Well, using regular silicone as thermal compound isn't a good idea.

Sillicone thermal compound is different from 'normal' silicone seen in glue or sealant. It's formulated differently and sealant does not conduct heat well at all.

Also, all of the older Arctic Silver compounds were highly conductive, so this does come as a surprise. Perhaps they changed their forumlation recently. Ceramique was the traditional non-conductive one.

Us computer geeks had to be meticulously careful not to get it near anything that could be conductive. Having said that I hope this doesn't encourage carelessness (such as smothering the CPU, and the socket, in thermal paste).

Only way to find out is to test with a multimeter to make sure it doens't conduct. Better yet, don't use it where conductivity would be undesired.
 
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Thanks for the detailed info HIMNL9....:beer:

I've been using Arctic Silver Adhesive Epoxy in the shop for
over 4 years... and before choosing it we did conductivity
tests and found it not to conduct..

The Arctic Alumina Adhesive we have not yet tested.. It costs
a bit more that the Arctic Silver Adhesive... but is stated to not
conduct..


Jerry
 
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Thanks for the detailed info HIMNL9....:beer:

I've been using Arctic Silver Adhesive Epoxy in the shop for
over 4 years... and before choosing it we did conductivity
tests and found it not to conduct..

The Arctic Alumina Adhesive we have not yet tested.. It costs
a bit more that the Arctic Silver Adhesive... but is stated to not
conduct..

Jerry

Arctic Silver epoxy is known to be non-conductive, and has been that way for many years.

Arctic Silver compound, however, is the one in question. Unless it's been changed recently, it's conductive and has been conductive for the past 7 or 8 years.

Arctic Alumina does not contain metallic components, hence it cannot conduct.
 
Joined
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Arctic Silver epoxy is known to be non-conductive, and has been that way for many years.

Arctic Silver compound, however, is the one in question. Unless it's been changed recently, it's conductive and has been conductive for the past 7 or 8 years.

Arctic Alumina does not contain metallic components, hence it cannot conduct.

^^^ Sorry... ^^^:yabbem:

I was going by the Thread title...
I was sure we were discussing Thermal adhesives... :cool:

Jerry
 
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^^^ Sorry... ^^^:yabbem:

I was going by the Thread title...
I was sure we were discussing Thermal adhesives... :cool:

Jerry

Someone brought up the topic about Arctic Silver, so I decided to elaborate. :thinking:

But going back on topic, you can cut thermal compound with two-part epoxy to make your own thermal adhesive.

Arctic Silver cuts well. It reduces it's conductivity (earlier versions assumed). You can also cut Arctic Silver with Arctic Silver Epoxy, and adjust the strength of the bond.

If you use too much compound, the bond will become plastic. Use too little, and it will be strong, but have less thermal conductivity.
 
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I never though of cutting the Thermal paste/compound with epoxy...
I'll have to try that...

Jerry
 
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I never though of cutting the Thermal paste/compound with epoxy...
I'll have to try that...

Jerry

The end result, depending on how much you mix, can range from a plasticky paste to a rigid solid.

Try it out first, get the proportions right, then go for it. It takes a bit of trial and error, every brand of thermal goop and epoxy is different.
 




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