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Ortofon cutting back on boron cantilevers as well

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They also use beryllium in cantilevers. How would that compare to boron? One interesting fact I found out about beryllium is that the dust can cause lung granulomas if inhaled. I found this in a physiology book which gave a list of things that can cause lung granulomas. I don't think there would be a problem with using beryllium cantilevers, I just thought it was interesting.
 
Scifi said:
They also use beryllium in cantilevers...
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Not any more. Too much of that granola stuff you were talking about. Seriously, no one's made a beryllium cantilever for ten years, maybe longer.
Boron is a little ahead of beryllium in the characteristics you want in your massless-but-infinitely-stiff hotshot cantilever. However, beryllium is far easier to form into little tubes, which is why Shure chose pre-existing X-ray tube windows made of beryllium foil for the V15 Type V. Technics had to make their boron tubes using vapor deposition.

sqlsavior said:
I don't get it. Wouldn't one 20-mule team be able to haul out enough borax to get a fifty year supply of cantilevers for the whole world?
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One would think so. As one wag said on another thread, we'll have to start washing our clothes in 20-mule-team corundum.
 
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Scifi said:
They also use beryllium in cantilevers. How would that compare to boron? One interesting fact I found out about beryllium is that the dust can cause lung granulomas if inhaled. I found this in a physiology book which gave a list of things that can cause lung granulomas. I don't think there would be a problem with using beryllium cantilevers, I just thought it was interesting.
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Berillium has been pretty much phased out of audio for the health risks in manufacturing not being worth the result.
Mono crystal alumina and Boron have replaced it in cart cant's where alu tubes aren't used.
 
muovimies said:
OMG I can't believe this, I already read that thread when you first started it but somehow completely forgot about it and then came upon that announcement from Ortofon again last night and figured it was news at Audiokarma :) Oh well, I suppose the world will survive the duplicate :)
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I'm not so sure. It could be a sign of the apocalypse. ;)
 
You may be right! Boron and beryllium were both used to moderate or generate neutrons for those fission reactions we used to hear about. Theoretical conspiracists, start your engines.
 
IIRC, boron compounds are used at the 'last ditch' shutdown systems for boiling water reactors, and also as chemical shims for pressurized water reactors. In fact, I'm pretty sure PWRs run with their rods totally out in normal operation, since this gives them the most 'bite' to shut down. They're also used in some composites and wood treatment, I think...
 
Once you use gold plated boron cantilevers, it's hard to go back! AT stopped making the AT-150MLX due to this reason I believe. The Cantilever on my OC9ML/II is gorgeous, maybe I'll get another just in case...
 
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