In my case I use a set of "Pin Mics" quite frequently.
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See "Mitutoyo Digimatic Inside Micrometer Calipers" and "Fowler Water Resistent Electronic Inside Micrometers".
Although mine aren't digital, they still work quite well for checking pocket widths and hole sizes (within less than half a thou verified with a ring gage).
I also use an "Anvil Mike" as a step mic all the time (as pictured below).
Is a 3D analogue probe that would have been useful for you the other day, I think it would anyway. It goes in a 10mm arbor and when the dial reads zero, your spindle center is equal to te probe center. I mainly use it to do 5 axis part probing on the machine. I just program zero depth drill code that is linearized - no canned cycle. That was how I knew that Johns turning work on that 14K TKUS Oxidizer Faceplate you guys did for me was good before I did all of the milling on it.
Are what I'm now using to set tool offsets. The black thing is a taper chuck and the blue thing is the chuck support. I've measured and recorded the distance from the bottom of the chuck support to the gage lind and after zeroing out the heigth gage there I can directly measure my tool length offset without needing the machine. Set the Work offset Z value to the distance from machine home to part zero and you can enter the gage length directly or load tool offset data with NC code.
This isn't such a big deal if you use a standard tool carousel but if you are constantly loading tools it saves a lot of time and is much easier on my old bones. This system also makes replacing worn out or broken tools quick and easy. I'm able to swap out a tool on a Fanuc 16 mid program by manually moving the machine away from the work and then restarting the spindle in MDI and calling the offset for the new tool.
It's the bees knees and cost me less than 400.00 for the parts from Haimer!
You know, I've thought about getting one of those (or similar) a number of times. But when I think about the spindle taper possibly having a little run out, plus the 40 taper on the tool holder not being perfect, to say nothing of the collet receiving taper AND any concentricity problems of the OD & ID of the collet itself... well I just figured it might not live up to advertised expectations.
Is there a way to zero it out by spinning it while in the spindle to allow for any tolerance stackup?
I like your surface plate.
We have something similar for TLO setting on our Makino. And since that machine uses HSK toolholders, the flange butts up against the spindle nose, which makes things easier. BUT, Pete was looking for a better way the other day, since the flute tips of the .010 dia. end mills he was using sometimes get chipped when being measured. So he setup an electronic travel dial with a pointed end, instead of the height gage we normally use.
Personally, I never liked manually inputting tool offset numbers in the control... too much chance of transposing digits, with occasional exciting results.
There is an adjusting collar on the top of the asm. to precicely locate the center. It's not difficult to adjust but it is tedious. I bought a precision groung
50 taper ER 16 set up to hold it all. So far it's repeated very well and I don't take the asm. apart.
Cute isn't it? That's actually in a machine holding the oxidizer manifold/diffuser torus assembly right now. You'll see it when Vince welds on the plumbing hardware next week.
I don't generally have that option. The machine I'm using now doesn't have tool length comp. along the tool axis vector (G43.1/G43.4) so I'm programming the tool tip from the pivot. I have to know my tool gage length exactly because all of the TLO registers are zero.
With a ten inch tool in the spindle a command to part zero is a command to Z
15.9055. The exception is the 2D or 3D stuff where you can use G43 but I've gotten so used to measuring tool lengths to the gage line that I'm just used to doing it that way for everything at this point. You'd be in a world of hurt if you forgot a decimal point and commanded a move to Z10 instead of Z10. however.
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