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very snappy e-match


dave321

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  • 4 weeks later...

What about a magnesium based comp. It reacts very quickly and snappy when combined with an certain oxidizer almost like a vitamin F mixture.

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it looks like its a commercial product they are selling,

 

i'm gonna guess it might be a nano thermite, something like

 

nano aluminium and nano molybdenum trioxide, or even copper oxide

Edited by dave321
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Given the color of the smoke released I think we can rule out copper oxides. I would try a nichrome bridge wire with dipped in a mixture of KCIO4 and magnalum bound with NC lacquer you would need to be very careful while mixing this as it is a form of flash that is quite sensitive. There is also a potassium chlorate and antimony trisulphide mix you could give a go in a 50/50 mix and coat with epoxy or NC lacquer but again mix in very small quanities with all the precautions for the most sensitive flash and place it on a bridge wire.You could also try a sparkler comp on a piece of bridge wire but you would need to speed up the comp a little to make it faster. Or you could look up the patent to find the actual ingredients and then work out the exact mixture yourself. Outside of this I am out of ideas. Good luck with it.

Edited by Piccaso
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There is also a potassium chlorate and antimony trisulphide mix you could give a go in a 50/50 mix and coat with epoxy

 

Yes this works, but it is not what is being used.

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  • 2 weeks later...

i dont think so, it would be too sensitive to ship.

 

xmas crackers dont use armstrongs, they use a VERY small amount of silver fulminate.

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A small rolled tube wrapped in holiday wrapping (think toilet paper tube). The two end slide the wrapping off in opposite direction with a small snapper charge that pops-crackles. Inside are small toys or gifts for the receiver of the cracker.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
This would "maybe" only work for a firecracker & wouldn't work for a rocket or any ignition started pyrotechnic device as it wouldn't ignite because an explosion extinguishes fires. I'm thinking that the composition in that video to be potassium chlorate/red phosphorous.
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This would "maybe" only work for a firecracker & wouldn't work for a rocket or any ignition started pyrotechnic device as it wouldn't ignite because an explosion extinguishes fires. I'm thinking that the composition in that video to be potassium chlorate/red phosphorous.

 

its possible , but how would it be shippable ?

it would be too sensitive, so maybe no

 

bear in mind its not being used to ignite anything, but just to make noise

Edited by dave321
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Easy enough to make them yourself, lightly dab the strike side of a matchbox with a damp sponge, grab a sharp razor & scrape the phosphorous off & add potassium chlorate then mix in some nitrocellulose laquer or nailpolish & dip your nichrome in the paste then let dry. No need for shipping.
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Easy enough to make them yourself, lightly dab the strike side of a matchbox with a damp sponge, grab a sharp razor & scrape the phosphorous off & add potassium chlorate then mix in some nitrocellulose laquer or nailpolish & dip your nichrome in the paste then let dry. No need for shipping.

That flame will be nowhere near as hot as a metal-enhanced mix, but might be sufficient for assisting BP motor ignition. Picasso was on the right track in his earlier post in this thread. If possible, use water-free acetone to minimize wire corrosion/oxidation over time if storing.

 

And "snappy" is not always a good thing, though it might sound kinda cool. Many of the pyrogen kits for model rocketry use a plastic plasticizer instead of NC, and some folks redip in plain NC lacquer after a pyrogen/NC dip, to provide "protection". Both will contain/confine your burn and cause pop, but that'll do very little to enhance ignition. Plastic coatings actually risk inhibiting flame transfer between pyrogen and target, and NC coatings though flammable, don't burn as fast as your pyrogen (thus containing it) except at very high (gun chamber) pressures (but at least it's flammable...). Find what works. For hard-to-light items like AP rocket motors (for example) the heat of MgAl burning goes a long way.

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That flame will be nowhere near as hot as a metal-enhanced mix, but might be sufficient for assisting BP motor ignition. Picasso was on the right track in his earlier post in this thread. If possible, use water-free acetone to minimize wire corrosion/oxidation over time if storing.

 

And "snappy" is not always a good thing, though it might sound kinda cool. Many of the pyrogen kits for model rocketry use a plastic plasticizer instead of NC, and some folks redip in plain NC lacquer after a pyrogen/NC dip, to provide "protection". Both will contain/confine your burn and cause pop, but that'll do very little to enhance ignition. Plastic coatings actually risk inhibiting flame transfer between pyrogen and target, and NC coatings though flammable, don't burn as fast as your pyrogen (thus containing it) except at very high (gun chamber) pressures (but at least it's flammable...). Find what works. For hard-to-light items like AP rocket motors (for example) the heat of MgAl burning goes a long way.

 

this thread has nothing to do with trying to create an e-match for ignition purposes.

its all about creating a very snappy, LOUD bang "e-match" to produce noise or which could be used as a bullet hit effect in dry plaster board walls

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this thread has nothing to do with trying to create an e-match for ignition purposes.

its all about creating a very snappy, LOUD bang "e-match" to produce noise or which could be used as a bullet hit effect in dry plaster board walls

Aha, I see. Well, I still think Picasso is on the right track. Dip in an NC slurry and cover with a final dip in pure NC lacquer or just a plasticizer for a containment coating. Any semi-hot to hot FP can be made to burst loudly in small volumes. So will a dark flash that doesn't produce a lot of light output. Easy to whip up a few grams of various suspects/experimentals for cheap and test 'em out. Use a decibal meter to get active readings.

 

Big difference if you're looking for particleboard shatter/separation or sound, because bullets don't typically make exploding sounds on impact. Tons of established FX squibs already available,with MSDS showing basic comps but not details of construction. You shouldn't have any real issue replicating them. I can imagine some more brissant components more similar to that used in firearm cartridge primers that in low quantities could be coated for "safety" and easily snap with an electrical charge application. Would need to see if there'd different shipping regs for different formats--i can just walk into any sporting goods store and buy boxes of primers (when they're not in short supply like they are now some places). Simple to extract and reformulate, though obviously that's not what a commercial vendor is doing.

 

Will be interesting to see what you arrive at.

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I don't usually coat my ignitors as i never found corrosion on nickel/chrome because Nichrome wire develops an outer layer of chromium oxide, which makes the wire thermodynamically stable around oxygen. If i need it to ignite thermite or metal based pyrotechnics, i make a sparkler mix slurry & then coat it with nail polish. Different color nailpolish for different compositions so i know what to use them for.
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Using non-aqueous binders usually helps with any corrosion. Using non-nitrate based formulas, at least for the initial dip also generally helps. I'm familiar with a manufacturer who was experimenting with alternative formulas and processes to try to improve cost and reduce some sensitivity issues. Shelf life became an issue with some of the attempts within about 6 months if I recall.

 

Visually, those matches look to be a single composition. The potassium ferricyanide suggestion made is not a bad one. The red color would be consistent. Another distinct possibility would be a composition containing elemental boron. Finely powdered boron is remarkably reactive. I've seen some mentions that their Firewire igniters are based on "other thermite formulations". Something of this nature was brought up as a possibility https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/1.24915

 

Another thing I've been thinking of is an overcoat of something. Basically some sort of minor confinement to increase the noise level. I've seen some testers of e-match made with H3 and the same thing coated with BP by Octavio Aguiar. The BP coated ones threw off considerably more flame and seemed louder. He reported that they were allegedly safer due to the lack of exposed chlorate as well. It's been probably a decade, but I wouldn't say they were as loud as the FER initiators.

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