The shell is 3D printed ABS with an EU-approved BFR flame retardant. The potting compound is a flame retardant, non-conductive epoxy. The legs are intentionally thinner - they make perfect contact anyway, do not fall out, and are a little easier to install/remove.
I made two jigs to assemble these. The first locates the cell very precisely while it epoxies in place. The second jig holds the four wires very precisely while the second epoxy layer dries. I have to do two epoxy layers to ensure there are no air bubbles. The first jig does one at a time, the second jig does 10 at a time. The slowest part is 3D printing the boxes, which takes 9 minutes each.
The cell is a Panasonic manufactured primary lithium cell providing 3.0 V, 560mAh nominal. Operating temp of -30C to +60C. In a GC or SGC using a MM58274CN-12 clock chip it will provide >6 years of active life, even if installed at the end of the 10 year shelf life.
The datecode of this first batch is April 2014, when these cells where manufactured.
Because this is a lithium metal cell, I selected it very carefully to meet the IATA regulations / UN3091 section II requirements. These cells were produced under a quality management program approved by the ICAO. This means I can ship up to two cells with no special warnings, packaging or etc. This is achieved by considering the cell as installed in the "equipment" which is the packaging you see. I can also ship up to 10 Kg of cells with special labelling. Lead/PCB/vinyl free.
Dimensions are slightly different than expected: 28mm x 28mm x 7.5mm with 4.5mm legs. This is 1mm thicker in the body than the original SAFT battery. However, in (S)GC it is still 3mm shorter than the DRAM chips, and they have 2mm clearance. I will likely be able to shave off another 0.5mm.
I am making an initial run of 50. The prototypes are blue but yes, production will be red. The potting epoxy is red
I won't start selling them until they're all made and packaged. Estimate is next Wednesday as I have other projects I am working on too.