# Masimo SpO2 adhesive Pulse oximeter



## das schnellste (May 7, 2013)

Has anyone ever done any PM recovery on these. I have been collecting them for the past year and I usually bring home about 50-80 of them per week. They are heavy for a connector, so I figured there is something to the amount of gold on them. I haven't tried to soak a batch yet. The wife is starting to get a little upset because there are a few thousand of these in my office. I only keep the connector with the gold pins. I have taken apart the probe end a few times and only found copper, but there may be silver there also.
Also, how would you suggest I remove the plastic, so that I get all of the pin, instead of just the tip?
Has anyone had any experience with these?


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## das schnellste (May 7, 2013)

I just spent my entire breaktime trying to remove the pins from one of these connectors, and I made a discovery. My pliers scuffed the pins, but they did not change color. Is it possible that these are solid gold pins? I have heard of medical grade equipment having a higher content of gold, but never being solid. What are the odds?


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## srlaulis (May 7, 2013)

Solid gold... highly unlikely. Most likely heavy gold plated.


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## CBentre (May 7, 2013)

Try scraping a few with a blade, majority of times if it's continually golden colored throughout its brass. Hope this helps. I can't really tell from the pictures.


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## macfixer01 (May 8, 2013)

das schnellste said:


> Has anyone ever done any PM recovery on these. I have been collecting them for the past year and I usually bring home about 50-80 of them per week. They are heavy for a connector, so I figured there is something to the amount of gold on them. I haven't tried to soak a batch yet. The wife is starting to get a little upset because there are a few thousand of these in my office. I only keep the connector with the gold pins. I have taken apart the probe end a few times and only found copper, but there may be silver there also.
> Also, how would you suggest I remove the plastic, so that I get all of the pin, instead of just the tip?
> Has anyone had any experience with these?




It all depends on the properties of the plastic involved. If it's a brittle plastic you may be able to lay one on concrete and hit it with a hammer to crack or crush it, then pick out the gold pieces. If it's a softer plastic that will just deform, then you may have a hard row to hoe. Putting the plugs in a freezer or in a small cooler with dry ice first may help? Other options could be cell de-plating the pins still in the plastic, or maybe a crock pot method to dissolve the base metal inside the pins, but in either case you probably wouldn't get all of the gold.

Since I'm not in this as a business doing high volumes, I always physically remove as much junk at the start as I can so I don't have to deal with it later. So it would be the last resort for me, but incineration is the other option several pro's here may recommend. That's a bit hard to do unless you're out in the country since plastics tend to generate noxious and toxic fumes like hydrogen chloride when they burn. If you go that route then anything you can remove easily would still be beneficial in decreasing the total mass that needs to be incinerated. If you knew how far the plating extended you might for example cut off the plugs just past that point with a bandsaw? The plastic body appears to be maybe five times as long as the visible portion of the pins, and I don't imagine they're plated much further than where they enter the plastic? Even removing those plastic edge tabs as you have is helpful though. Good luck!

macfixer01


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## das schnellste (May 8, 2013)

The plastic is soft. The little tabs on the side come off easy, but the main block is pretty tough. I tried smashing with a hammer and it ended up just disfiguring it. There are way too many of these to whack them all with a hammer. I will try the saw idea. Maybe if I cut them in half I can pull the pins out? I will run a hundred of them and let you all know what the values are.


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## Shaul (May 28, 2013)

I've dealt with every different type. My tool of choice: heavy diagonal-cutters. First cut off the tabs, then the corners, then the rounded surfaces. The idea is to expose the inside so you can cut away the scrap. You can also cut the cable flush with the connector. With some types, just by gripping the tabs with the cutters and pulling (like peeling an orange) will remove the outer plastic. What you'll be left with is a piece of plastic approx 1/4" square X 1/2" - 3/4" long with the pins embedded in it. A couple thousand of those would fit in a shoebox. Some types of Pulse/Ox connectors contain a tiny circuit board as well. Might also be values in the cable and sensors.

Shaul


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## g_axelsson (May 28, 2013)

das schnellste said:


> I just spent my entire breaktime trying to remove the pins from one of these connectors, and I made a discovery. My pliers scuffed the pins, but they did not change color. Is it possible that these are solid gold pins? I have heard of medical grade equipment having a higher content of gold, but never being solid. What are the odds?


The odds for solid gold pins are slight less than zero.

It looks like the layout is the same as a 9-pin D-SUB connector. I guess the housing is injection molded around the pins.
Looking carefully on the picture I can see that the pins are formed by folding a brass sheet into a tube and the end is rounded off, just as most modern low cost D-SUB connectors today. It would surprice me a lot if the gold plate should extend the full pin, it is most probably only plated a mm or two below the surface of the plastic.

The best suggestion so far is to use a band saw and cut the plated end off, then you could tap the pins with a hammer and get them out off the plastic.

Let us know what's inside the plastic body when you manage to penetrate it.

Göran


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## das schnellste (May 29, 2013)

I used a Dremmel to cut the connector in half and found the the pins are almost the entire length of the base section, and they are plated the whole way down. They are injection molded, so removing the plastic will have to be done with heat. I have 150 of them in AP solution right now, just to see what I get. The foils I am seeing are quite a bit thicker that any of the other stuff I have processed. I am excited to see what my numbers will be tomorrow, when I finish and melt the foils.
I am guessing I will have to lay a bunch of these on a pan and throw them in the oven in order to melt the plastic off. Or does anyone have another routine they follow?


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## trashmasters (May 29, 2013)

This is what I would do is put A few 5 or 6 in A metal container.... Anything metal that will hold WATER and heat them for 10 -15 min. Just under A boil. and very carefuly take them out , as they will be HOT.Hold them down and try to pull the pins from them ... You might have to play with the heat time to get it right.


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## das schnellste (Jun 4, 2013)

trashmasters said:


> This is what I would do is put A few 5 or 6 in A metal container.... Anything metal that will hold WATER and heat them for 10 -15 min. Just under A boil. and very carefuly take them out , as they will be HOT.Hold them down and try to pull the pins from them ... You might have to play with the heat time to get it right.




The only problem with that process, is that I have around 5000 of these connectors. There has to be a faster way.


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## Ianfmorgan (May 9, 2022)

If anyone still follows this thread, the manufacturer got back to me. The pins are gold plated to no less than 2 micro inches thickness. I have maybe 50 of them. I haven’t done the math to see how many connectors add up to a gram of gold. But I’m sure it’s a lot.


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