IC Tubing Cutter

[chromesphere]

The hot wire cutter would probably be effortless, but it leaves a bit of a messy edge, i've recieved tubes before that have been cut with one of those.  Didnt look pretty lol

Thanks for the feedback Billyboy, you raise some very important points.  So i wonder if this is the general consensus?  Tubes for the end user / hobbyist are really just a pain?  I have high density foam and i reckon it would be far less messing about for me to use those, but would most people prefer them packed this way?  I'm asking the question here, what do you guys think?  The only reason i go to the trouble of packing them in tubes is for durability more then anything. i just worry that the IC's will show up with crushed pins, but then maybe im a little paranoid there...

[mmlee]

I don't really like the tubes either, I find them a pain to store. I've received ICs from Farnell in between 2 pieces of anti-static foam inside a small cardboard box, I mean reaaallly small box.

[Willybomb]

Tubes are ok if you're ordering 10 pcs of pt2399 or 4558, but if it's one offs, a bit of antistatic foam in a ziplock bag makes me happy.

[selfdestroyer]

Tubes are ok if you're ordering 10 pcs of pt2399 or 4558, but if it's one offs, a bit of antistatic foam in a ziplock bag makes me happy.

I agree with this also.

I recently did a bunch of cutting of tubes when selling the TAPLFO chips and it was a pain. The tube shatters pretty easy. I ended up scoring it with a blade and then snapping it off in to smaller pieces but I would still get broken ones from time to time.

Cody

[chromesphere]

OK, i tend to agree with everybody here. 

I'll decide case by case (mn3008's will be in tubes for example ) but definitely 1's or 2's will be foam in a ziplock.  If anybody has trouble with damage in shipping please let me know.  I dont anticipate there will be.  I get IC's sent this way all the time and they are fine, but being a sending you have no idea what the person on the other end is receiving.

So that pretty well solves the problem!  90% of my IC tube cutting is for ones and twos! Glorious day

[samhay]

^This looks like the right thing:
http://au.rs-online.com/web/p/tube-cutters/0722198/

This is for cutting soft plastic and rubber tubing - think miniature rubber hoses. If you can get the IC tube to fit within its 'jaws' - which is doubtful -  it will probably work.

Edit - having thought some more about it, at IC tube might well fit. I can try on Monday if you like?

[chromesphere]

Yeah that would be great Sam, do you have one floating about?  Awesome mate, let me know how you go.  If it works and is easy enough to cut through im picking one up for sure.  Even though im going to pack more in foam now, still got alot of tube cutting to do!

[samhay]

We used to have one of the cutters at work, but it seems to have gone walkies. If I come across it, I will give it a try.

[chromesphere]

No worries Sam thanks for checking!  I'm thinking I will just get that tube cutter for $15 anyway.  Looks like it will do the job, gotta be easier then a pocket knife :|

[peterc]

What about a Dremel with a round cutting disc? Nobody's brought it up yet....

[chromesphere]

Order that $15 black tube cutter today, will update the thread let you all know how it goes!

[Willybomb]

What about a Dremel with a round cutting disc? Nobody's brought it up yet....

Having used a dremel type tool once to grind out part of a DD enclosure, I never want to use one again.  I say if Chromo can find something to just go "chop, chop, chop, done", go for it.

[chromesphere]

Can you still count to 10 willy?

[Willybomb]

If you'd seen my workspace and work practices in building pedals and pedalboards, you'd be surprised that I can still count to 20...

[cabintech]

Was there a consensus on what works well? I would not recommend any abrasive-action cutting tool (e.g. bandsaw, dremel, etc) - in our experience it always produces dust and debris that gets inside the tube. It is hard to tell from photos and descriptions if any given tool is sharp enough to cut an IC tube cleanly without crushing or splintering. Foam is not so convenient for surface mount packages.

Thanks for any advice...
-Mark