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Materials and Construction
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WaterWorksTM soluble concentrate is highly corrosive. The SST Station tank is
formed of light stainless sheet metal which is good. Unfortunately, the tank
is not designed for corrosive applications and the sheet metal and several
components are actually backed by aluminum. This is very bad.
Although page 8 of the Hakke DL30/W45 users manual specifically states "only
use Stratasys recommended fluids as bath liquid", page 17 states "Thermo Fisher
Scientific takes no responsibility for damages caused by the selection of
unsuitable bath liquid". Additionally, "Unsuitable bath liquids are liquids
which have corrosive characteristics or "tend to cracking" which accurately
describes WaterWorksTM soluble concentrate.
This is probably because: |
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According to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide ...
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as lye, caustic soda and (incorrectly,
according to IUPAC nomenclature)[1] sodium hydrate, is a caustic metallic base.
Sodium hydroxide forms a strong alkaline solution when dissolved in a solvent such
as water. It is used in many industries, mostly as a strong chemical base in the
manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as
a drain cleaner. Worldwide production in 1998 was around 45 million tonnes. Sodium
hydroxide is a common base in chemical laboratories.
A few transition metals, however, may react with sodium hydroxide in a vigorous way.
In 1986 an aluminium road tanker in the UK was mistakenly used to transport 25% sodium
hydroxide solution, causing pressurization of the contents and damage to the tanker.
The pressurization was due to the hydrogen gas which is produced in the reaction between
sodium hydroxide and aluminium:
2Al(s) + 6NaOH(aq) => 3H2(g) + 2Na3AlO3(aq)
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Aluminum is highly reactive with sodium hydroxide, the active ingredient of WaterWorksTM soluble concentrate. This means that during the course of normal operation purchasers can expect several components of their SST Station to immediately corrode and eventually dissolve completely, producing large quantities of potentially explosive hydrogen gas. |
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