i mix copper dust into , well about anything to see if i can concoct something, even into Arctic Ailver.
also have a LB of aluminum oxide dust, but i only used it once, because conductivity was of issue.
everytime i add these Dusts to the normal stuff it changes the properties quite a bit. it can turn them into playdough fast.
With the arctic silver, it seems to make it harder, then i realised (and somone else mentioned) the expansion and contraction of dissimilar metals, and temperature changes, the "flexibility" of the AS was probably very usefull, the dusts added to it soak up the oils (or something) and makes it more "brittle".
JB weld and copper dust worked interestingly too, i dont have thermal specs, but i used it when heat transfer speed is not a huge requirement. same thing happens depending on the dust added, its just like adding flour to bread, it keeps getting thicker, quantity has to be controlled, so metal per epoxy cant get too high.
Lots of my applications so much direct metal to metal contact existed with the epoxy only filling the gaps, so its hard to tell the effect. but JB slow epoxy is many many times stronger and better than the clear junk. its also a VERY slow cure time, providing a much longer working time.
i think the most important tip would be, is there going to be expansion and contraction that over time will damage bonding? because time takes all good ideas and ruins them
ok, ok, so they were bad ideas
but even AS gets harder over time.
I have seen thin clear glues under led star items come loose in a drop, and they pop off pretty easily when manually pressured, some cheeply manufactured products barely had the stuff even mounted, but it came up Easy
the metal to metal contact with some of the manufactured stuff was very poor too, i bet Mr Milkey could tell more about that.
lots of my stuff is stuck down with "the Pink Stuff" from the copper coloration added, so i can guess the formula used that time. havent had any problems yet.
I Always use WAY to much of any of it, its hard to try and 50-50 mix epoxies in teeney quantities, and the cure time makes it a one shot deal, so after clamping i always see $$$ going out the window. If you were assembling within the cure time, many items, and used Really THIN and only nessisary ammounts instead of piles of it, the 2 tubes of AS epoxy will go Very very far, many many items.
If you can pre-set-up a process for thin coating, alignment, and clamping, and move really fast, or work with help, a single mix of AS would go far, but without speed its to late to get a mass done before a partial cure, and a partial cure is already to late for a great thin layer on clamping.
