Is Your Cartridge Killing Your Machine? Understanding Membrane Hardness and Motor Longevity

To a large number of trendsetters of tattoos, the cartridge is regarded as nothing more than a needle delivery system. But when it comes to high-performance rotary pens, the cartridge, in fact, is a mechanical element that is in contact with the motor of your machine. When you have noticed that your machine is getting hot, or making odd noises, or losing its power over time, it might not be the motor to blame, but rather the hardness of the cartridges you are using.

What is "Membrane Hardness," and why does it matter?

Silicone or rubber membrane, almost always, is found inside nearly all present-day safety cartridges. The purpose of this membrane is two-fold: it must result in a barrier to prevent backflow (i.e., fluid entering your machine), and it must be a spring that moves the needle back to its position in the housing after each stroke.

The resistance or tension of this material is known as the membrane hardness.

·         Hard Membranes: These ones are hard and need a lot of force on the part of the motor to eject the needle.

·         Soft Membranes: Are less resistant, and the needle can move freely.

When a membrane is too tough, then the motor of your machine will need to pull the cartridge over time, to overcome the internal tension of its own, before it even enters contact with the skin. This constant mechanical stress may result in premature motor failure after a prolonged session.

How does a stiff cartridge membrane physically damage a rotary motor?

Rotary machines, and, in particular, pen styles, use small, precision-made DC motors. These motors are configured to work at a given range of torque.

·         Overheating: In cases where a hard membrane has a high resistance to a motor, it will experience more current (amperage) to sustain its velocity. This high power consumption causes surplus heat. The first killer of electric motors is heat because it destroys the internal lubricants and makes the electromagnetic coils weak.

·         Heightened Friction: A resistant membrane exerts the back-pressure on the cam and bearing system. This may cause accelerated wear and tear on the moving components, which convert the rotation of the motor to the linear movement of the needle.

·         Brush Wear: With a brushed motor, the higher current draw results in greater sparking at the brushes, which causes the build-up of carbon, resulting in a failure of the motor.

What are the warning signs that my cartridges are straining my machine?

You do not have to be a mechanic to realize when your machine is struggling. Be on watch for these four red flags (2):

·         Overheating: When the grip or body of your machine feels too hot to touch after 20 minutes, then it is probable that the motor is working hard with cartridge resistance.

·         Varying RPMs: When you hear your machine start to play the tune of the power drooping when you begin tattooing, and when you hear the machine like it is struggling to rotate, then the motor is being overworked.

·         High Start-up Voltage: When you have a machine that will not start until 5V, and must hold the crank button to 8V to have the needle in motion, the tension in the internal membrane is excessive to allow the motor to overcome at low power.

·         Strange Acoustic Feedback: Rattling or grinding noise may mean that there are some high stresses on the motor or that the tension on the cartridge is causing the drive bar to vibrate intermittently.

How can I test the membrane tension of my cartridges?

To test membrane quality, one can use a simple "thumb test" to test.

1.      Use a new cartridge and push the needle bar forward by using your thumb.

2.      The Feel: Should be smooth and contain a fair, moderate, and snappy rebound.

3.      The Warning: When it seems like you are struggling with a heavy-duty spring, or the needle is not snapping up quickly, the membrane is either not soft enough or made badly.

Are "Premium" cartridges safer for my motor than budget ones?

Generally, yes. The major brands such as Cheyenne, Kwadron, and Bishop spend a lot on the properties of their silicone as far as its hardness (durometer) is concerned. Instead, they tune their membranes so as to offer sufficient tension to be safe without overstraining professional-grade motors.

Budget cartridges incorporate relatively low quality, as well as sometimes sporadically dense or hard rubber. Moreover, other inexpensive cartridges do not rely on silicone membranes, but on metal springs. Metal springs are less taxing to a rotary motor and offer linear resistance, which increases as they are pushed further, which is a lot harder on a rotary motor than the constant flexing of high-quality silicone.

Does using a wireless battery pack change the impact of hard membranes?

Yes, and often for the worse. Battery wireless lies have low amperage. When a cartridge is stiff, it must force the battery to discharge at a faster rate to maintain the motor rotating at the required voltage.

Not only does this accelerate the death of the motor in your machine, but it also creates great losses with regard to battery life per charge. A soft-pull, or soft, setup of wireless pen utilization is always necessary to ensure the most out of wireless pen usage.

Conclusion

The starting point in protecting your investment in a high-quality tattoo machine is what you will be plugging into the front of the machine. The selection of cartridges containing premium, medium to soft silicone membranes gives you less heat, maintains the torque of your motor, and a longer lifespan of your equipment. Ordinarily, do not make a cartridge worth 2 in order to kill a machine in the order of 1000.

FAQs

Can a hard membrane affect the quality of my lines?

Absolutely. When the motor is finding it difficult to go past the membrane tension, it might not possess sufficient residual torque necessary to enter the skin in a cleaner way. This causes snagging or discrepancy in depth, giving rise to wavy lines or spots of light that fall out of the image as the healing process progresses.

Will using hard cartridges void my machine's warranty?

The warranty of some reproducers of high-end cartridges, including Cheyenne, gives a special condition that the warranty is only applicable when used with cartridges that are of a particular size and tension. Misuse can be reported as using cartridges that are not verified and of high resistance (when the motor is apparently experiencing electrical over-stress).

Are there machines specifically built to handle hard membranes?

Machines fitted with high-torque brushless motors (such as the Bishop Power Wand or FK Irons Flux Max) are more able to contend with resistance than smaller, brushed motors. Nevertheless, the lifespan of even these high-end machines will be increased in the event that they are used with properly tensioned cartridges.