Solder recovery system

#As is well known, the cooling system for most internal combustion engines includes a radiator, water pump and the necessary conduits to carry the cooling fluid to and from the engine itself. Since it is desirable to keep the amount of fluid at a minimum the radiator has been specifically designed to capture the flow of air and utilize it to its maximum to cool the fluid passing therethrough. Because of the desire for maximum cooling effect of the flowing air, the radiator core contains a plurality of small conduits to carry the cooling fluid which have air channels thereby. To increase the efficiency of cooling, the conduits within the radiator which carry the fluid are extremely thin walled and thus subject to leakage.

#The initial and replacement cost of a radiator can be substantial and therefore an industry has been built upon the necessity and desirability of repairing radiator cores. Traditionally, for reasons of economy, the repair of a radiator has been accomplished by utilizing a high intensity heat source to remove all solder upon the radiator whether placed there during construction or previous repair. There has been no attempt made to collect or reuse the solder removed since it was allowed to fall upon the floor and thus it was most economical to simply sweep up the particles and deposit them in a suitable trash receptable along with the other debris. With the ever increasing cost of basic materials as well as the concern over total shortage of materials it has become imperative that the solder removed be reclaimed and reused.

#It is acknowledged that the standard method of producing a strand of solder is to utilize a billet of the prescribed combination of components and then extrude the billet into a continuous strand which is wrapped upon spools of suitable size. These known prior art devices are for obvious reasons such as economy and efficiency, extremely large, utilize a long stroke and usually operate upon a horizontal bed. Since the known devices operate on a horizontal bed it is possible to place the ram and its operating mechanism upon a truck of some nature such that the ram can be completely extracted from the die chamber to accommodate the insertion of another billet. Whereas this method is economical and feasible when the extruder is in continuous or almost continuous operation the utilization of an apparatus of this type for the recovery within a small radiator repair shop is impractical both from the expense and from the unwarranted use of space standpoint.

#FIG. 1 is a pictoral representation of the mechanism necessary for the inventive recovery system.

#FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the three main elements necessary for the inventive recovery system.

#FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the novel extruding apparatus in its ready position.

#As seen in FIG. 1, the inventive method and apparatus includes a plurality of interdependent and interrelated machines. The premolded billet is trimmed to remove any impurities in the automatic trimming mechanism designated generally as 2. Following the trimming the billet is placed in the extruding mechanism designated generally as 4 and extruded out the bottom of said mechanism, fed over a pulley wheel 6 and wrapped upon a spool 8 by means of motor 10 and clamping mechanism 12. Each of the elements 2, 4 and 10 are operated by fluid under pressure from a single source and, therefore, interconnected and simultaneously controlled by an operator.

#As more clearly seen in FIG. 2, the trimming mechanism 2 includes a rigid base plate member 14 and a similar rigid top member 16 rigidly interconnected and spaced by means of two interconnecting rods 18, one at each corner. Rigidly mounted to the upper plate 16 is a double acting hydraulic ram 20 having an outwardly extending shaft 22. Mounted to the bottom plate 14 is an anvil structure having main body portion 24 having reciprocably mounted therein a guillotine-type trimming blade 26 controlled by the shaft 22. Mounted directly below the guillotine blade 26 is the anvil element 28 upon which the billet of solder 30 rests during the trimming process. As noted above, the solder scraps are melted and molded into billets and the foreign particle matter rises to the top of the billet during the solidifying process. In order to have a usable strand of solder, the impurities must be removed, and this is accomplished by trimming prior to the extrusion process which will be described hereinafter.

#The extrusion mechanism itself herein generally designated as 4 is similar to the trimming mechanism in that it includes a rigid upper plate member 32, a rigid lower plate member 34, and had plate members 32 and 34 interconnected by four vertical rods 36 such that the plates are rigidly held in proper relative position both during extrusion and rest. Extending downwardly from opposite sides of upper plate member 32 are a pair of trunnions 38 which have mounted therebetween a horizontally displaced shaft member 40. The interconnection and shaft mechanism per se are described in greater detail hereinafter. Pivotally mounted to the shaft member 40 is a double acting ram 42 having an outwardly extending shaft 44. As noted above, the ram 42 is rigidly mounted to the rod 40 which is pivotally mounted between the trunnions and is properly located in position for extrusion by means of locaters or bumper members 46 mounted upon two of the vertical rods 36. For ease in moving the shaft 44 from its driving or extrusion position to a position somewhat removed for insertion of a new billet a control device is provided. The control device is mounted to leg 36 and includes a securing collar 48, a handle 50, and a shaft contacting arm 52. Handle 50 and shaft contacting arm 52 are interconnected by means of a horizontal rod or shaft 54 rigidly connected to both the handle and the shaft contacting means 52. Movement of the handle thereby results in movement of the shaft contacting arm 52 and thus controls the location or placement of the two-way ram 42 and its operating shaft. As will be explained hereinafter the shaft can be pivoted out of alignment with the extrusion dye chamber 56 to permit insertion of another billet. As noted in this figure the extruded solder S exits from the bottom of the dye chamber through a hole bored in bottom plate 44.