Currently, there are essentially only two companies producing new Nixie tubes at a reasonably high scale: Dalibor Farny and Millclock. Dalibor Farny offers just one type of tube, while Millclock produces two. I believe the primary reason for this is the difficulty in optimizing manufacturing processes to the point where the tubes can be sold at a price that people are willing to pay. In my experience, large side-viewing Nixie tubes tend to be more popular with most customers, making it economically sensible to concentrate production efforts on them. Just look at how much cheaper IN-12s are than IN-14s, for example, even though they are technically almost identical. Also, top viewing Nixie tubes basically require the pins to be embedded directly into the glass envelope. I think Dalibor Farny is currently working on a process to get reliable seals using this method but isn't quite there yet.
HikariFaith <[email protected]> schrieb am So., 1. Dez. 2024, 18:15: > My initial thought had been that maybe it was too difficult to justify the > IN-12-type body with side-view nixie bodies being pretty much just glass > tubes with the other components inside of it, but that still didn't quite > explain why no one has even approached that yet. I would've thought that > once they had the easier form factor down they would've gone right to the > more difficult one that's similarly as popular. Maybe it has to do with the > IN-12 being more widely available? > > On Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 11:07:48 AM UTC-5 J Forbes wrote: > >> I'll answer the easy question first. The reason they don't make end view >> tubes is that it costs a lot of money and take an incredible amount of >> work to make tubes. So, they need to make the most of the tubes they make, >> and this means being able to get the most money for them. So they have to >> be beautiful, large, expensive tubes. The character size in an end view >> tube is limited, vs that in a side view tube, so they only make side view >> tubes. It's what people will pay lots of money for. >> >> >> On Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 8:58:16 AM UTC-7 HikariFaith wrote: >> >>> I have a few niche questions related to the making of nixie tubes I >>> can't seem to find definitive answers to anywhere. I have a feeling someone >>> here would be able to help me figure them out. >>> >>> 1. I understand that the cathodes need a certain amount of separation to >>> prevent arcing, but has anyone tried alternative methods of cathode >>> production in an effort to make that space smaller? The two that >>> immediately come to mind are sputtering tungsten coatings on an insulating >>> material and the inverse of that, which is coating the back of the tungsten >>> wire with an insulating material. I had also been wondering if it would be >>> possible to prevent arcing some other way. >>> >>> 2. When working borosilicate during the tube construction, how hot do >>> the components inside get? I'm thinking both in terms of components >>> directly touching the heated glass and those not touching (including >>> indirectly). I'm asking to figure out what thermal tolerances I should look >>> for in materials used to make a nixie tube. >>> >>> 3. How thick are the walls of a borosilicate nixie tube? Ideally, I'd >>> have as specific an answer as possible. >>> >>> 4. Why haven't new manufacturers of nixies made any top-view nixies like >>> the IN-12? >>> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "neonixie-l" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/dc70fcc9-f1df-4ad8-88a1-a35a79eef924n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/dc70fcc9-f1df-4ad8-88a1-a35a79eef924n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAPt9zv%3DkQOg1EKztZtqybxnQoYuwO6g3yD1CN_MxUz0A_vt49A%40mail.gmail.com.
