What are the best substances that a firing pin can be made out of

[flexsr]

I Imagine there are benefits and drawbacks to all... but strictly from making the best contact with the battery and providing I guess the strongest voltage the battery has to the 510 connection given all other resistances are the same which firing pins have the best um conductivity (if that is the right word)

Back when I bought a prodigy (mechanical tube mod) the connection was so so - I ended up tossing it in the bim when this thing called a vape mate made by super t manufacturing was suppose to drip juice onto the atomizer worked like crap and I soon found reo bottom feeders and been in love with them (reos) since

However, I dusted the 2 inch thick amount of dust off the prodigy and lent it to a friend who needed it - right before I gave it to him I found some fix for the prodigy online which mostly included using a different type of firing pin/screw that made contact with the battery completing the circuit .

I couldn't believe how much more powerful and better connection this made - it was amazing - I wanna say brass screw but I can't find the video or the prodigy for the life of me -

Which leads me to ponder which materials make for the best battery connection ? I know there are many more things involved than just the substance used but taking those parameters out how do some different firing pin substances rank - I imagine it involves it's conductivity ? Do I just look at conductivity chart for metals and alloys ?

I realize if other factors in the build cause serious resistance it won't help much but I wanted to have more knowledge about this for e cigs and for other reasons - if anyone can shed some light or point me to the right webpages I would appreciate it

 

[ScottP]

The best conductor is gold. I don't even want to see what adding gold would make things cost though.

 

[happydave]

the best conductor of electricity is silver..
but that's gonna be over kill.
brass has a high copper content and that should do just fine. if you want to get really technical about it use "naval brass"
you need to consider, if and how the pin will wear with use
if the part gets a decent amount of heat you will need to think about the CTE, and what that will mean for the life span of the contact and surrounding materials.
if it will oxidize or tarnish with use or age and how that might effect conductivity

what contact are you calling the "firing pin"

 

[ScottP]

the best conductor of electricity is silver..

While that is technically true, silver would likely corrode too fast in a PV type application to merit use. Gold is much more corrosion resistant and is a better choice...but as you say would be overkill. Copper and thus brass also tends to corrode as well which is why so much of what we use is made of stainless. For our purposes stainless offers well enough conductivity that doesn't corrode. While brass can be used and may provide better connectivity, you will need to be more mindful about keeping it clean.

Oh I think he is talking about the center pin screw on an atomizer.

 

[happydave]

While that is technically true, silver would likely corrode too fast in a PV type application to merit use. Gold is much more corrosion resistant and is a better choice...but as you say would be overkill. Copper and thus brass also tends to corrode as well which is why so much of what we use is made of stainless. For our purposes stainless offers well enough conductivity that doesn't corrode. While brass can be used and may provide better connectivity, you will need to be more mindful about keeping it clean.

silver does not "corrode" on its own in the atmosphere. its surface tarnishes and that layer of tarnish does not effect conductivity.

 

[ScottP]

silver does not "corrode" its surface oxidizes and that layer of oxidation does not effect conductivity.

Pardon the incorrect terminology. There is a reason that gold is used over silver for various high end wiring. I am pretty sure it has to do with corrosion/oxidation or something like that. It been years since I cared enough to find out though. Maybe I am remembering wrong.

 

[happydave]

Pardon the incorrect terminology. There is a reason that gold is used over silver for various high end wiring. I am pretty sure it has to do with corrosion/oxidation or something like that. It been years since I cared enough to find out though. Maybe I am remembering wrong.

yes it has to do with its corrosion resistance. basically you can plate a lot of contacts on a PCB (printed circuit board) with gold.
then use some chemicals on other parts of the same board and not worry about washing away your contacts..
technically copper is more conductive than gold. conductivity is not solely based on the number of electrons in the valence ring. the other rings and nuclei play a big factor.

 

[ScottP]

yes it has to do with its corrosion resistance. basically you can plate a lot of contacts on a PCB (printed circuit board)
then use some chemicals on other parts of the same board and not worry about washing away your contacts..
technically copper is more conductive and gold. conductivity is not solely based on the number of electronics in the valence ring. the other rings and nuclei play a big factor.

Yeah I know..knew..all that. It's been 20 years since I was in those classes though. Lol. It's amazing what you forget when you don't use it. I wish I got to use my education in my job. Now it just seems like wasted time. Although I probably wouldn't have my job without the paper.

 

[Bunnykiller]

as far as conductivity goes...
silver
gold
copper (oxygen free)
copper ( standard run of the mill stuff)

but silver oxidizes (tarnishes) and reduces the surface conductivity, copper also suffers the same issue...

if you could make a silver contact devise sealed and loaded with an inert gas ( nitrogen,etc) then you would have a nice switch...

 

[Bunnykiller]

silver does not "corrode" on its own in the atmosphere. its surface tarnishes and that layer of tarnish does not effect conductivity.

tarnishing/oxidizing is the process of oxygen combining with the material which reduces available free electrons in the base (silver) thus reducing its conductivity... this also occurs with aluminum to such a degree that the oxidized surface can become an insulator.

 

[happydave]

tarnishing/oxidizing is the process of oxygen combining with the material which reduces available free electrons in the base (silver) thus reducing its conductivity... this also occurs with aluminum to such a degree that the oxidized surface can become an insulator.

what i should have said was "internal conductivity".

 

[happydave]

as far as conductivity goes...
silver
gold
copper (oxygen free)
copper ( standard run of the mill stuff)

but silver oxidizes (tarnishes) and reduces the surface conductivity, copper also suffers the same issue...

if you could make a silver contact devise sealed and loaded with an inert gas ( nitrogen,etc) then you would have a nice switch...

copper is more conductive than gold, at least that is what Cambridge is teaching its students
Conductivity

 

[Dusif]

#1 Gold
#2 Silver
#3 Cobber
#4 Brass


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[Bunnykiller]

copper is more conductive than gold, at least that is what Cambridge is teaching its students
Conductivity

it is, I just listed them but not in order of conductivity... just the top ones I could remember

 

[happydave]

it is, I just listed them but not in order of conductivity...

"as far as conductivity goes"
then a list.
threw me off...

 

[Bunnykiller]

#1 Gold
#2 Silver
#3 Cobber
#4 Brass


__________________________
M16 helio 0,35
Galileo helio/chimbus 0,5/0,4
Bolt carto tank
Vamo vivi/protank
Kts+ igo-w 0,7

how did you get the "P" to be upside down?

 

[happydave]

#1 Gold
#2 Silver
#3 Cobber
#4 Brass

Very Facepalm, Such WOW.

 

[Dusif]

how did you get the "P" to be upside down?

Loool must have mixed up danish and english for a moment... Here its spelled kobber


__________________________
M16 helio 0,35
Galileo helio/chimbus 0,5/0,4
Bolt carto tank
Vamo vivi/protank
Kts+ igo-w 0,7

 

[Dusif]

Very Facepalm, Such WOW.

Hey thats what i was taught in school... As in whats best to use in wires... But it is many years ago i must admit that


__________________________
M16 helio 0,35
Galileo helio/chimbus 0,5/0,4
Bolt carto tank
Vamo vivi/protank
Kts+ igo-w 0,7

 

[Funk Dracula]

#1 Gold
#2 Silver
#3 Cobbler

#4 Brass

Fixed that for you.