DC-DC converter bricks & isolation modules
Half the weight is potting compound you can't burn cleanly, which drags a genuinely decent internal board down to mediocre grade.
How to spot it
Sealed metal-cased or epoxy-potted rectangles with a few thick pins, standing off a board — quarter, half, eighth and full brick formats, plus small SIP and DIP isolated modules. Vicor, Lambda, Artesyn, Power-One, Delta, Murata, Traco, Recom, XP. Telecom line cards, industrial controls, servers and medical gear.
Metal content
| Metal | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 0.08–0.3 g/lb | calculated — a decent internal board diluted by 40–60% potting compound; no assay found |
| Silver | 1–4 g/lb | MLCC terminations and Ag die-attach inside |
| Copper | ~90 g/lb | planar transformer windings, base plate and pins |
At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $24.3 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.15 g = $19.6, Silver 2 g = $3.80, Copper 90 g = $0.96. A refiner paying $8 returns about 33% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.
Safe removal
Working temperature: Hot air 390 °C with preheat
Big pins into heavy planes — hot air at 390 °C with a preheater, or cut the pins and desolder the stubs. Watch for white BeO substrates and washers in older high-power modules; never abrade those.
Hazards
NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.
NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.
NEVER grind, sand, file, saw, drill, abrasive-cut, sandblast, hammer, crush, shred, torch, melt or incinerate anything that might contain BeO. Sell or dispose of suspect parts intact. Broken beryllium parts are worth nothing; your lungs are worth everything.
NEVER dry-cut boards indoors without extraction.
NEVER short a large capacitor with a screwdriver. It welds the tip, blasts molten metal at your face, and can rupture the can.
Before you scrap it
The common trap
Questions
How much gold is in dc-dc converter bricks & isolation modules?
Gold: 0.08–0.3 g/lb. Silver: 1–4 g/lb. Copper: ~90 g/lb. At current spot that is about $24.3 of contained metal per pound.
How do you identify dc-dc converter bricks & isolation modules?
Half the weight is potting compound you can't burn cleanly , which drags a genuinely decent internal board down to mediocre grade.
How do you remove dc-dc converter bricks & isolation modules safely?
Big pins into heavy planes — hot air at 390 °C with a preheater, or cut the pins and desolder the stubs. Watch for white BeO substrates and washers in older high-power modules; never abrade those.
Is dc-dc converter bricks & isolation modules worth more working than as scrap?
The correct exit. Working Vicor, Artesyn and Power-One bricks sell $20–150 each into industrial repair, and even common Traco and Recom SIP modules fetch $3–15.
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