A message was posted earlier this month concerning a company reworking
Metcal soldering system tips. It is very difficult to put a new tip on a
cartridge without stressing the heater element and so the life
expectancy and reliability of a reworked cartridge does not compare with
that of a brand new one. We have Metcal systems throughout our factory
and if you train your operators to look after the cartridges (as other
contributors to the debate have already pointed out) the cost is not
significant.

In many ways it is better that an operator has to replace a Metcal
cartridge that fails definitively, than they carry on using a
conventional soldering tool tip far beyond the time when they should
have been thrown away.

More importantly, I have it on good authority (from a friend who works
at Metcal) that re-tipping their cartridges is a very bad idea indeed.
Firstly, Metcal themselves do not re-tip their cartridges nor do they
encourage this. It is important to note that the company doing this are
not part of the OK/Metcal group (even though they may act as sales reps
for their product) and is currently subject to a patent violation action
brought against them by Metcal and users of their service could in
theory be subject to a collaboration charge.

Nigel Burtt
Production Engineering Manager
Dolby - European HQ
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 01793 842132
Fax: 01793 842101

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